Constitutional Court Judge Johan Froneman hangs up robe
Concourt leading light leaves legacy as he heads into retirement
Constitutional Court Judge Johan Froneman last week retired from the bench after serving on that court for just over a decade.
Born and raised in the Thomas River area in the Eastern Cape, Froneman started his schooling in Cathcart before moving to Grey College in Bloemfontein, where he matriculated in 1970.
He obtained a BA degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 1974 and his LLB degree from the University of SA in 1977. After completing his pupillage at the Pretoria Bar he started his practice as an advocate of the Eastern Cape Bar in Makhanda in 1980.
He was awarded silk status just 10 years later and was appointed as a judge to the Eastern Cape High Court in 1994.
In 1996, he was appointed as Deputy Judge President of the newly established Labour and Labour Appeal Courts, a post he held until 1999.
In 2002, he acted for two terms in the Supreme Court of Appeal and in October 2009, was appointed to the Constitutional Court.
In between all his other commitments, Froneman also managed to squeeze in time to serve as professor extraordinaire at Stellenbosch University where he lectured a course in human rights at LLM level.
He attended Harvard and Oxford Universities in 1999 and 2008 respectively, in a visiting capacity.
As Froneman hangs up the court’s trademark green robes, academics and lawyers alike speak highly of him and the indelible mark he has left on the country’s constitutional jurisprudence.
Geoff Budlender, SC, said Froneman had brought to the bench a deep and broad knowledge of the law which he had always infused and underpinned with the values of the constitution.
“He is a wonderful person, a fine lawyer and has been an important influence on that court. He will be deeply missed.”
The softly spoken Froneman said there was much that he would miss about the Johannesburg-based Concourt now that retirement beckoned.
“The building itself is very special. The artwork and everything in it adds to that.
“It has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I will also miss the collegiality of my colleagues and all the staff at the court.”
Froneman said he would always remember the wonderful interaction with the court clerks and believed he had cemented a lifelong friendship with many of these talented young people.
Many of the cases argued before the court would also stay with him, but some in particular stood out.
He said the cases involving language had always been particularly difficult for him.
“I am Afrikaans-speaking and from an Afrikaans family, and it made dealing with the language issue difficult for me.
“It was also the first time I experienced divisions along racial lines, but despite deeply held differences of opinion, the collegiality in our court prevailed.”
In each case involving language, Froneman had chosen to write his judgment in Afrikaans.
In the case involving the language policy of his alma mater, Stellenbosch University, Froneman’s judgment upheld the university’s more inclusive language policy.
The policy was challenged by organisations and individuals that felt the new policy infringed on the rights of Afrikaans-speaking students and that it had abandoned Afrikaans as a primary language of instruction.
Froneman said he had also found the litigation around Cash Paymaster Services and the SA Social Services Agency (Sassa) distressing.
“The way in which the [social Development] department and the minister [Bathabile Dlamini] failed the most vulnerable was shocking.”
In that matter, Froneman ordered that Sassa’s invalid contract with CPS to pay grants be extended for 12 months to save the programme of social from total collapse.
Froneman said his years on the Eastern Cape bench under the guidance of then judge president Doc Somyalo had provided a solid grounding for his time at the Constitutional Court.
“Under Judge Somyalo there was less tension in the transition from old to new than in many other courts. He created an environment in which the [then] new constitution could work in every sense.”
As he heads off into retirement, Froneman said his travel plans with his attorney wife, Sonette, had been put on hold due to the pandemic.
However, he will take up an invitation as a visiting professor to the University of the Free State, and intends to find some time to pursue a personal writing project close to his heart.
He said he loved Makhanda and it would remain his home. Rhodes University Law Dean, Prof Rosaan Kruger, said Froneman had contributed to the country’s constitutional jurisprudence throughout his judicial career.
“He has infused every aspect of our law with constitutional values — from his early judgments asserting the constitutional rights of arrested persons, through his pioneering judgment on class actions in 2000, and his insistence on accountability of the Eastern Cape department of social development and its officials in their treatment of vulnerable citizens.
“His legacy is one that will continue to shape our constitutional dialogue.”
In between all his other commitments, Froneman also managed to squeeze in time to serve as professor extraordinaire at Stellenbosch University where he lectured a course in human rights at LLM level