Carole Hélène Lewis (née Dyzenhaus; born 26 October 1953) is a South African retired judge and legal academic. She served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2003 until her retirement in 2019. Before that, she was a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. Until her appointment to the bench in November 1999, she was a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she was dean of the School of Law from 1993 to 1998.
Carole Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal | |
| In office 1 January 2003 – 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 1 November 1999 – 31 December 2002 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Division | Transvaal Provincial Division |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carole Hélène Dyzenhaus 26 October 1953 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Spouse | Stephen Lewis |
| Alma mater | Witwatersrand University |
Early life and academic career edit
Lewis was born on 26 October 1953 in Johannesburg in the former Transvaal Province.[1] She matriculated at the Hyde Park High School in Hyde Park, Johannesburg.[1] Thereafter she attended the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where she completed a BA in law and Latin in 1973 and an LLB cum laude in 1975.[2][3] During the final year of her degree, she received the Society of Advocates Prize for winning the moot competition.[4]
After serving her articles of clerkship, Lewis was admitted as an attorney in 1978, but she joined the Wits School of Law as a lecturer later that year.[2][4] She worked there for the next 20 years, during which time she completed her LLM cum laude at the same university in 1985.[2] She was appointed as an associate professor in 1987, promoted to full professor in 1988, and served as dean of the Faculty of Law between 1993 and 1998.[1] As an academic, she specialised in private law, especially contract law.[4][5]
In addition to her academic work, she was the editor-in-chief of the Annual Survey of SA Law from 1992 to 1999 and general editor of the South African Law Journal in 2000.[2][1] She served as a legal advisor to the Democratic Party during the negotiations to end apartheid and, after the 1994 general election, the post-apartheid Minister of Water Affairs, Kader Asmal, appointed her as an advisor on water law reform.[4] She was also an acting judge in the High Court of South Africa in 1998 and 1999.[3]
Judicial career: 1999–2019 edit
Lewis joined the bench permanently on 1 November 1999 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court.[2] She served there for three years, during which time she was an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2002.[1]
In November 2002, President Thabo Mbeki announced that he would elevate her permanently to the Supreme Court of Appeal; she joined the bench on 1 January 2003, alongside her Transvaal Division colleague Tom Cloete.[6] She was the second woman to be appointed to the appellate court, after Leonora van den Heever.[7] Notable judgments written by Lewis included Ikea Trading und Design v BOE Bank and the judgment that was overturned by the Constitutional Court in S v Thebus.
Retirement edit
Lewis retired in 2019.[8] In May 2023, Stellenbosch University appointed her to chair an inquiry into allegations of nepotism by the university's vice-chancellor, Wim de Villiers.[9][10]
Personal life edit
She is married to Stephen Lewis and has two children.[1] She joined the Black Sash as a teenager in 1970 and joined Lawyers for Human Rights shortly after it was formed in 1979.[4]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "Lewis, Carole Hélène". Supreme Court of Appeal. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Names in the news" (PDF). Advocate. 13 (1): 17. 2000 – via General Council of the Bar of South Africa.
- ^ a b "Public sector: Judges". The Mail & Guardian. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "University Gold Medal: Carole Lewis" (PDF). University of the Witwatersrand. 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Thamm, Marianne (18 March 2015). "Constitutional Court: JSC moves to fill vacancy after legal action threat". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "Mbeki appoints new judges". News24. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Nicholls, Caroline (25 May 2023). "The History of Women at the Supreme Court of Appeal" (PDF). Advocate: 51–52.
- ^ "History". Supreme Court of Appeal. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Charles, Marvin (2 May 2023). "Retired SCA Judge Lewis to lead probe into allegations of nepotism against Stellenbosch vice-chancellor". News24. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Charles, Marvin (1 July 2023). "Stellenbosch University nepotism report completed, council to meet". News24. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
External links edit
- C. H. Lewis at Judges Matter
- 2009 article on legal writing