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Miss Elzanne Mureen Jonker

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Ms E M Jonker_6874

Capacity: Attorney
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White
Date of Birth: January 1978
Qualifications: BA (1999) LLB (2001) (University of Stellenbosch)

Key Cases as an Instructing Attorney:

Candidate Biography | Updated August 2026:

Ms Elzanne Jonker is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a Member of the Legal Practice Council.

Jonker is a Director at Minde Schapiro & Smith Inc., where she leads the Magistrates’ and High Court Litigation department. She graduated with BA and LLB degrees from the University of Stellenbosch in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and commenced her professional career by joining the firm as a candidate legal practitioner in 2002. Ms Jonker was admitted as an attorney and a notary public in 2004 and was further admitted as a conveyancer in 2007.

As an attorney, Ms Jonker has developed a specialised practice in administrative law, constitutional law, and municipal law. To a lesser extent, she has also worked on cases related to labour law, criminal law, contract law, family law and personal injury law. Her expertise extends to corporate and commercial litigation, as well as handling appeals in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.

Jonker has served as an instructing attorney in high-profile, precedent-setting Constitutional Court cases addressing constitutional issues. In Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly, the Court held that section 11 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act could not apply to Members of Parliament, as it infringed their constitutional parliamentary privileges and freedom of speech. The Court found that limitations on parliamentary speech and conduct must be regulated through Parliament’s own rules and orders, rather than ordinary legislation. The Court therefore declared the omission of the words “other than a member” from section 11 unconstitutional and read those words into the provision.

In Premier, Gauteng and Others v Democratic Alliance, the Court held that the Gauteng Executive Council’s dissolution of the City of Tshwane Municipal Council was unlawful because the constitutional requirements for dissolution under section 139(1)(c) had not been satisfied. The Court found that although the Council was dysfunctional and unable to fulfil some executive obligations, the circumstances did not warrant dissolution, which is a drastic measure. The Court emphasised that the provincial executive had other mechanisms available to address the political deadlock, including investigating its causes.

In Democratic Alliance and 1 Other v Minister of Home Affairs and Another, Jonker instructed advocates on a significant constitutional issue related to a 1995 provision of the South African Citizenship Act. The 1995 provision caused South Africans who voluntarily acquired citizenship of another country to automatically lose their South African citizenship. The Constitutional Court ruled that this provision was unconstitutional and invalid from its promulgation in 1995.

In Democratic Alliance and Another v Public Protector and Others; President of the Republic of South Africa v Public Protector and Others, the Constitutional Court of South Africa affirmed the South African President’s right to suspend the Public Protector. This case clarified the oversight and disciplinary process for the Public Protector.

Jonker served as an Acting Judge at the Western Cape High Court between April 2025 and May 2026. During this stint, she sat in the civil and criminal appeal courts, ruling on matters related to civil law, Road Accident Fund claims, case management rolls, criminal appeals, mental health reviews and automatic bail appeals.

Beyond her roles in private practice, Jonker has significant experience in quasi-judicial and educational capacities. This includes serving on the management committee responsible for the Magistrates’ Court portfolio for over five years and being a member of the Tygerberg Attorneys Association for twenty-four years. Beyond this, Jonker has served as a Commissioner of the Small Claims Court since 2010 and has lectured candidate legal practitioners on behalf of Legal Education and Development (LEAD).

Jonker will now come before the JSC once again for a vacancy at the Western Cape High Court.

April 2026 JSC Interview

After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission decided not to recommend Ms Elzanne Mureen Jonker for appointment to the Western Cape High Court.