Age, Biography and Wiki

Johann van der Westhuizen was born on 26 May, 1952 in Windhoek, South West Africa, is a South African judge (born 1952). Discover Johann van der Westhuizen's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 71 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation N/A
Age 71 years old
Zodiac Sign Gemini
Born 26 May, 1952
Birthday 26 May
Birthplace Windhoek, South West Africa
Nationality Namibia

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 26 May. He is a member of famous with the age 71 years old group.

Johann van der Westhuizen Height, Weight & Measurements

At 71 years old, Johann van der Westhuizen height not available right now. We will update Johann van der Westhuizen's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

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Who Is Johann van der Westhuizen's Wife?

His wife is Sarojini Persaud

Family
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Wife Sarojini Persaud
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Johann van der Westhuizen Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Johann van der Westhuizen worth at the age of 71 years old? Johann van der Westhuizen’s income source is mostly from being a successful . He is from Namibia. We have estimated Johann van der Westhuizen's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
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Cars Not Available
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Timeline

1952

Johann Vincent van der Westhuizen (born 26 May 1952) is a South African who served on the Constitutional Court of South Africa from February 2004 to January 2016.

Van der Westhuizen was born on 26 May 1952 in Windhoek in South West Africa (now Namibia), where he attended the Eros Laerskool.

His father, Vincent, was a South African civil servant who, in his spare time, wrote poetry and fiction for popular magazines such as Huisgenoot; in van der Westhuizen's words, he "wrote Apartheid propaganda by day and revolutionary Afrikaans poetry about the red flag of the resistance by night".

He described his mother, Anna, as believing that "one must: One, save money; two, obey God; and three, obey the government."

However, van der Westhuizen later said that his father inspired his early discomfort with apartheid, which he later found philosophical support for in the writings of philosophers such as John Locke and Immanuel Kant.

The family returned to South Africa during van der Westhuizen's childhood, and he matriculated at the Hoërskool Oos-Moot in Pretoria.

1973

He studied law at the University of Pretoria, completing a BA in law cum laude in 1973 and an LLB cum laude in 1975.

1975

In 1975, he received the Pretoria Bar Council's Grotius Medal for the best final-year law student.

1976

Although he was admitted as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1976, he did not join the bar, instead remaining at his alma mater, where he had lectured in law since his BA graduation in 1973.

1980

He was a professor of law at the University of Pretoria from 1980 to 1999, when he joined the bench as a judge of the High Court of South Africa.

Born to a civil servant stationed in Windhoek, South West Africa, van der Westhuizen attended high school in Pretoria and studied law at the University of Pretoria, where he completed his doctorate in 1980.

Thereafter he was a professor at the university's Faculty of Law, serving additionally as the head of the Department of Legal History, Comparative Law and Legal Philosophy from 1980 to 1994 and as the founding director of the influential Centre for Human Rights from 1986 to 1998.

He continued to serve as a lecturer while studying towards his LLD, which he completed in 1980.

His doctoral dissertation, written in Afrikaans, was titled, "Noodtoestand as regverdigingsgrond in die strafreg", on necessity as a defence in criminal law.

In 1980, van der Westhuizen was made a professor in the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Law, and he was also appointed as the head of the Department of Legal History, Comparative Law and Legal Philosophy, a position he held until 1994.

1982

He was thrice an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research fellow in Germany in 1982, 1984, and 1990, and he was a fellow of Yale University's Southern Africa Research Program in 1991.

1986

In addition, in 1986, he became the founding director of the university's Centre for Human Rights, a position which he retained until he joined the bench.

1989

In parallel with his academic activities, van der Westhuizen joined the Pretoria Bar as an associate member in 1989.

In addition to serving as counsel in human rights litigation, he frequently represented film distribution companies in appealing the apartheid government's censorship decisions.

He also acted as a consultant and in-house advocate for the Legal Resources Centre and was a member of the board of trustees of Lawyers for Human Rights.

During the negotiations to end apartheid, van der Westhuizen was active in civil society processes to prepare for the post-apartheid transition.

1993

He was an adviser to the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, which adopted the Interim Constitution in 1993, and to the successor Transitional Executive Council; and he subsequently became intimately involved in drafting the final post-apartheid Constitution of 1996, serving as a member both of the Independent Panel of Recognised Constitutional Experts, which advised the Constitutional Assembly, and of the Technical Refinement Team, which oversaw the final drafting and editing process.

1994

He later said that, during his time there, he "learnt much from the vast experience of the white male judges, appointed before 1994 [the end of apartheid], about the law; court procedure; and farming. I also learnt from a few of them, how people should not be treated and how justice should not be dispensed."

1996

During the post-apartheid transition, he was additionally a legal adviser to the bodies that drafted the Interim Constitution and 1996 Constitution.

1998

In 1998, in a joint initiative of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Commission, he chaired the committee which drafted the Promotion of Equality Bill, a piece of legislation intended to enact the constitutional right to protection from unfair discrimination; it was ultimately passed as the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000.

1999

In January 1999, van der Westhuizen joined the High Court bench as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division and an appointee of President Nelson Mandela.

On 1 January 1999, President Nelson Mandela appointed van der Westhuizen to the bench as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa.

He presided in the Pretoria High Court for the next five years.

2004

He remained in the High Court until February 2004, when President Thabo Mbeki elevated him to the Constitutional Court.

On 7 January 2004, following consultation with the Judicial Service Commission, President Thabo Mbeki announced that van der Westhuizen would be elevated to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

He joined the apex court on 1 February 2004; he and Thembile Skweyiya filled the vacant seats left by retired justices Laurie Ackermann and Richard Goldstone.

The Mail & Guardian characterised van der Westhuizen as a "low profile" member of the court's progressive majority.

He wrote judgments in cases across a broad swathe of legal issues, including administrative law, criminal procedure (as in Fraser v ABSA and Magajane v Chairperson, North West Gambling Board), and human rights law.

2016

After his retirement in January 2016, he served a three-year term as Inspecting Judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services from April 2016 to December 2019.

Van der Westhuizen retired from the judiciary on 29 January 2016 at a special ceremonial session during which he handed down his final opinion, a unanimous judgment in Tronox KZN Sands (Pty) Ltd v KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Appeal Tribunal and Others.

During the ceremony, he joked that his legacy in the court would be that "I was the first judge to bring The Great Gatsby, President John F. Kennedy, Monty Python, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan into our constitutional jurisprudence. These will henceforth all be authorities to be quoted."

On 1 April 2016, van der Westhuizen succeeded retired justice Thembile Skweyiya as the Inspecting Judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services.

2017

In July 2017, after a prolonged delay, President Jacob Zuma appointed Leona Theron to fill van der Westhuizen's seat on the Constitutional Court bench.

2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa extended his three-year term to 31 December 2019, whereupon he was succeeded as Inspecting Judge by retired justice Edwin Cameron.

In his retirement, van der Westhuizen is an extraordinary professor in the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law and a trustee of the Centre for Human Rights.