Johann van der Westhuizen | |
|---|---|
| Inspecting Judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services | |
| In office 1 April 2016 – 31 December 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Jacob Zuma |
| Preceded by | Thembile Skweyiya |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Cameron |
| Justice of the Constitutional Court | |
| In office 1 February 2004 – 31 January 2016 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Succeeded by | Leona Theron |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 1 January 1999 – 31 January 2004 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Division | Transvaal Provincial |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Johann Vincent van der Westhuizen 26 May 1952 Windhoek, South West Africa |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Spouse | Sarojini Persaud |
| Education | Hoërskool Oos-Moot |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Pretoria |
| Thesis | Noodtoestand as regverdigingsgrond in die strafreg (1979) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Pretoria Faculty of Law (1980–1998) Centre for Human Rights (1986–1998) |
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. 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. During the post-apartheid transition, he was additionally a legal adviser to the bodies that drafted the Interim Constitution and 1996 Constitution.
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. He remained in the High Court until February 2004, when President Thabo Mbeki elevated him to the Constitutional Court. 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.