Yasmin Shehnaz Meer (born 28 June 1955) is a South African judge who has been acting Judge President of the Land Claims Court since 2012. She was appointed as a puisne judge in that court in 1996, and she has additionally been a judge of the Western Cape High Court since 2003. Before she joined the bench, she was an attorney at the Legal Resources Centre.
Shehnaz Meer | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the High Court | |
| Assumed office 27 January 2003 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Division | Western Cape |
| Judge of the Land Claims Court | |
| Assumed office 1996 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yasmin Shehnaz Meer 28 June 1955 |
| Parents | |
| Alma mater | University of Durban-Westville University of Cape Town University of Warwick |
Early life and career
editMeer was born on 28 June 1955.[1] Her mother was political activist Fatima Meer.[2][3] After matriculating at the Durban Indian Girls' High School in 1972,[4] she attended the University of Durban-Westville, where she completed a BA in 1975. Thereafter she completed an LLB at the University of Cape Town in 1979 and an LLM at the University of Warwick in 1982.[5]
After serving her articles of clerkship at Dullah Omar's law firm,[2] Meer was admitted as an attorney in 1983.[4] She entered legal practice at the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town, where she worked as an attorney on public interest litigation matters for the next 13 years.[4] She was the centre's deputy national director from 1994 to 1996 and then its acting national director in 1996.[1]
Judicial career
editLater in 1996, Meer was appointed as a judge in the newly established Land Claims Court,[1][5] and she was among the five judges who sat in the first session of the court when it opened in June 1997.[6]
In November 2002, President Thabo Mbeki announced that he would additionally appoint Meer as a judge of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa. She joined the High Court on 27 January 2003,[7] and thereafter she divided her time between the High Court in Cape Town and the Land Claims Court in Johannesburg.[4] One of her judgments in the High Court, on transparency in political party funding, was upheld by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in My Vote Counts v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.[5]
In 2012, after Land Claims Court Judge President Fikile Bam died, Meer was installed as the court's acting Judge President.[5] She continued to hold that position in an acting capacity as of the end of 2023.[8]
Appellate courts
editMeer was an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2011,[5] and she has been nominated for elevation to the Constitutional Court on several occasions. She was shortlisted for elevation in 2003,[2] and interviewed again in 2008.[9] On two later occasions, in 2009 and 2021, she was nominated but withdrew from contention before the Judicial Service Commission held its hearings.[10][11][12]
Personal life
editMeer is divorced and has three children.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Judge Yasmin Shehnaz Meer". Daily Maverick. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Judgement time for Concourt hopefuls". The Mail & Guardian. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Fatima Meer's amazing journey". The Mail & Guardian. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Public sector: Judges". The Mail & Guardian. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Judge Y S Meer". Judges Matter. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ Whittle, Barbara (July 1997). "Land Claims Court officially open". De Rebus: 430.
- ^ "Mbeki appoints new judges". News24. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Family awarded R1m in restitution claim for land used by Sappi and York". Business Day. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Concourt post still not filled". The Mail & Guardian. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Another judge withdraws from JSC Concourt interviews". The Mail & Guardian. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "JSC shortlists candidates for judicial positions". News24. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ Hawker, Dianne (6 April 2021). "Who's up for the top judicial posts in the ConCourt?". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
External links
edit- Y. S. Meer at Judges Matter
- Review by the Bar Council