Capacity: Judge President, Gauteng
First appointed as judge: 1997 – Labour Court
Further appointments:
2000 – Gauteng High Court
2005 – Supreme Court of Appeal
2010 – Judge President, Labour Court
2012 – Judge President, Gauteng High Court
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: African
Date of Birth: September 1959
Qualifications: B.Proc (Limpopo), LLB (Unisa), LLD (honoris causa) (UFH)
Key judgments:
- South African Police Services v Solidarity obo Barnard 2013 (3) BCLR 320 (LAC); (2013) 34 ILJ 590 (LAC) (2 November 2012
- Law Society of South Africa v President of the Republic of South Africa [2018] 2 All SA 806 (GP)
- Multichoice (Pty) Limited v National Prosecuting Authority, In Re; S v Pistorius 2014 (1) SACR 589 (GP) (25 February 2014)
- S v Egglestone 2009 (1) SACR 244 (SCA) (30 May 2008)
- Freedom Under Law v Motata (33227/2020) [2021] ZAGPPHC 14 (28 January 2021)
Candidate bio:
As Judge President of the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg and Pretoria, Judge President Dunstan Mlambo heads the largest and busiest high court system in the country. On paper, Mlambo’s CV makes him the most prepared to assume the hefty role of Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa — but there are other factors at play.
Prior to taking judicial office, Mlambo was an attorney in private practice as a public interest and trade union lawyer. He started his legal career as a legal assistant in the KaNgwane Government before joining the Legal Resources Centre as a legal fellow in 1987. He later entered South Africa’s ‘Magic Circle’ in 1988 by joining Big 5 corporate law firm Bowman Gilfillan as a candidate attorney, rising through the ranks to become associate partner in 1993 at age 34. He then branched off to establish his own law firm, Mlambo & Modise Attorneys, from 1995 until joining the bench in 1997 as a Labour Court judge.
Mlambo’s tenure in the Labour Court did not last long, as he moved to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg in 2000, and spent five years there. In 2005, he was promoted to the Supreme Court of Appeal, as one of the first Black judges in that court. Later, in 2010, in a move that surprised many, Mlambo put his name forward to head up the Labour Court as Judge President, succeeding former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. The General Council of the Bar, in its submission to the JSC on Mlambo, describes this move as “unusual”, noting that “to prefer hard work over status is real ethical integrity, where the focus of the hard work is to make the busiest [court] division in the country work better.”
Although Mlambo had now entered formal judicial leadership as Judge President, he would leave two years later to take on a tougher role as Judge President of the Gauteng High Court. Mlambo has previously acted at the Constitutional Court. It is in his role as Judge President of the Gauteng High Court that Mlambo has made his mark — and some believe this role has prepared him to be Deputy Chief Justice.
Judge President Mlambo is highly regarded not just as a judicial leader and administrator, but also as an innovative leader.
In 2018, Mlambo reintroduced the ‘premium service’ of the Commercial Court in Johannesburg to try and claw back from private arbitration some of the complex commercial cases essential to the development of commercial law. More significantly, Mlambo was instrumental in the establishment of both the Mpumalanga and Limpopo High Courts as standalone court divisions, complete with brand-new, modern buildings.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown in March 2020, Mlambo issued the first set of directives on how courts should operate in the interim. Former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng only issued directives several days later. The Gauteng High Court was praised for functioning with “relatively little disruption” and for running some trials via remote hearings during the lockdown. However, media reports also described a “collapse of infrastructure” at the Pretoria High Court, one of the two seats making up the Gauteng High Court.
Mlambo is praised for introducing and sustaining Caselines, a virtual case management system that allows the filing and processing of court documents online. Gauteng was the first High Court where a case could be dealt with completely online from start to finish. By 2025, more than half of the superior courts had operational Caselines.
As an innovative leader, Mlambo issued a Directive on the implementation of mandatory mediation in the Gauteng Division for all civil trial matters. The Directive was implemented with effect from 22 April 2025. It appears that Mlambo took cognisance of the busyness and backlog faced by the Division. The purpose of the Directive is to alleviate these backlogs and constraints. This is a significant step in how civil matters are dealt with and should undoubtedly be adopted in other divisions.
Mlambo is also known to place a premium on collegiality, leading the country’s largest contingent of almost 90 judges spread between Johannesburg and Pretoria (compare this to the second highest, the Western Cape, with 45 judges). The General Council of the Bar notes that there is “significant unity” among judges in Gauteng. Many have, in public interviews, noted that they operate as a family — a culture fostered by the Judge President.
Mlambo has taken significant strides in transforming the judiciary. Gauteng regularly attracts a high number of high-calibre lawyers to act as judges, many of them Black and women advocates with lucrative practices. It is said that Mlambo approaches many of these personally. Of the 16 judges appointed to Pretoria between 2012 and 2021, 11 were women. Of the 21 judges appointed to Johannesburg in the same period, 12 were women.
However, Mlambo’s style of recruiting acting judges has also been criticised by the GCB for being “opaque, lacking transparency, arbitrary and a form of gatekeeping without a discernible criteria for the application process [and] without tangible peer-review safeguards.”
Mlambo is not merely an administrator, but also an impressive jurist. He has written significant judgments such as President of the Republic of South Africa v Office of the Public Protector, holding former President Zuma personally liable for costs in an abandoned attempt to interdict the Public Protector’s “State Capture” report — a decision recently upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal. In Multichoice (Proprietary) Limited v National Prosecuting Authority, Mlambo found that the Oscar Pistorius murder trial could be broadcast.
He also wrote the judgment in the Labour Appeal Court in South African Police Services v Solidarity obo Barnard, one of the most significant South African cases on whether affirmative action measures constitute unfair discrimination. Mlambo found that the decision not to promote Barnard, a white woman, was justifiable. The decision was overturned by the SCA but upheld by the Constitutional Court.
Mlambo has a widely recognised public profile, although he is also seen as a politically divisive figure. This seems to be an unfair consequence of Mlambo taking on the traditional role of heads of courts sitting in some of the most complex, high-profile cases. He has presided over some of the most politically sensitive cases in recent years, involving national state institutions and politicians.
Outside of the judiciary, Mlambo has made significant contributions to social justice causes. He sat as a board member of Legal Aid South Africa for 20 years, including several as chairperson. In this role, he led the institution to a series of clean audits and away from the ‘judicare’ model (where private lawyers join cases ad hoc and claim fees) to the more successful ‘justice centre’ model (where salaried lawyers are permanently appointed to Legal Aid centres to offer services to the indigent). He resigned in 2019 to become chairperson of the newly established Community Advice Offices of SA (CAOSA), a national organisation supporting community-based paralegals in townships and rural areas.
Mlambo has addressed numerous international conferences on topics such as legal aid, refugee law, judicial ethics, and constitutional law. He was recently elected president of the Africa Chapter of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges.
Asked what he regards as his most significant contribution to the law and the pursuit of justice, Mlambo, in his nomination form submitted to the JSC for the Chief Justice position in 2022, said:
“I have… effectively used the tools of judicial management, my strong people skills and my understanding of the enormous expectation on the legal system to advance great efficiency in both process and outcomes in my work as a leader in the judiciary.
I subscribe to the principle that leaders of the judiciary should be accessible to the judges they lead, that an efficient and enabled judiciary is key to the fulfilment of the rights in our Constitution. My leadership of Legal Aid SA, the Labour Court, and the Gauteng Division of the High Court (both busy and challenging divisions) has instilled in me the crucial skills of leadership – the ability to listen, to motivate, to be visionary, to take people along with you, to lead by example and finally, to act as a uniting force in bringing together diverse people for a common good.
The law, its promise and its fulfilment remain important in how we unfold as a society and in how we attain the constitutional promise of social justice. I have been privileged to have been a part of this journey for most of my life and remain ready and willing to continue to do so.”
Born in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, Mlambo holds a B.Proc law degree from the University of the North (now University of Limpopo), an LLB from Unisa, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Fort Hare. From the breadth of his experience — and particularly as a leader able to guide complex systems towards greater efficiency and effectiveness — Mlambo appears to be the most prepared candidate for the role of Deputy Chief Justice.
Watch JSC Deputy Judge President Interview of C J Musi – July 2025
Deputy Chief Justice Interview Synopsis
Judge President Dunstan Mlambo appeared before the Judicial Service Commission as a candidate for the position of Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) of South Africa. In his interview, Mlambo detailed his extensive legal and judicial career spanning over three decades – from his early days as a legal assistant to his current role as head of both the Gauteng Division and the Labour Court.
A central theme of the interview was Mlambo’s pioneering work in judicial modernisation. He spoke at length about introducing electronic case management systems such as CaseLines and Court Online, which have significantly improved case flow and reduced delays. He also addressed long-standing challenges in the judiciary, including court infrastructure backlogs, judicial capacity constraints, and institutional inefficiencies, offering practical solutions informed by both local experience and international comparisons.
Mlambo affirmed his commitment to gender equality and transformation, highlighting his efforts to appoint and empower women judges, and to implement policies that combat sexual harassment within the judiciary. He underscored the importance of safeguarding judicial independence and institutional autonomy, expressing concern over unwarranted attacks on judges and advocating for constructive engagement with civil society, Parliament, and the executive to preserve public confidence in the judiciary.
Internationally, Mlambo has been active in the field of refugee and migration law, currently serving as president of the African chapter of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges. This global engagement, along with his domestic leadership experience across the labour, high, and appellate courts, enriches his constitutional vision and reform agenda.
The commissioners posed questions on judicial accountability, customary law, mediation, and the operational challenges of the Constitutional Court. Mlambo proposed several reforms, including the use of smaller judicial panels to address court backlogs in the Constitutional Court, and the remittal of certain cases to the Supreme Court of Appeal. He described the role of the Deputy Chief Justice as one that requires operational insight, collaborative leadership, and a firm commitment to advancing constitutional values.
Throughout the interview, Mlambo came across as a thoughtful, experienced, and principled leader. His strong track record of reform, inclusive leadership style, and deep commitment to constitutional democracy positioned him as a strong candidate to support the Chief Justice and strengthen the judiciary’s institutional role.
February 2022 Chief Justice Interview
Watch an interview with Judge President Dunstan Mlambo: