Capacity: Attorney
First Admitted as an attorney: 20 April 2001
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Coloured
Date of Birth: 01 June 1968
Qualifications: BA Law, LLB (UWC)
Key Judgments:
- Rahida Investments (Pty) Ltd v Frederick King Taukobong (A156/2020) [2021] ZAFSHC (19 August 2021).
- Papiki Sam Khumalo v The Minister of Police and Another (3046/2013) [2021] ZAFSHC (25 November 2021).
- HGA Barkhuizen N.O and Others v FirstRand t/a First National Bank (2706/2021) [2021] ZAFSHC (3 November 2021).
- Bidfood (Pty)Ltd v Basfour 3218 CC t/a and Another (4685/2020) [2021] ZAFSHC (8 November 2021).
Candidate Bio:
Ms Cathy Page is an attorney practicing for her own account, at Cathy Page & Associates. She started her legal career in 1992 as a Legal Advisor at Cape Town City Council. In 1994 she decided to work for the Department of Justice as a Prosecutor, whereafter she moved to Namibia in 1995 to work as a State Advocate. Between February 1997 and May 2002, Page completed her articles of clerkship and remained in private practice until her appointment as a Magistrate at the Goodwood Magistrates Court. She worked as a Magistrate from 2002 until 2019.
Ms Cathy Page embodies transformation and skills transfer, not as lip service but as a matter of principle. She strives to ensure that these are substantively translated by empowering and mentoring young women. She is the provincial coordinator of the International Association of Woman Judges – South African Chapter (IAWJ – SAC) and she pioneered the IAWJ mentorship programme for law students at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town. In
2016, she was appointed as an executive member and served as the Treasurer of IAWJ – SAC in the Western Cape.
Page has had two acting stints as a judge at the Free State Division of the High Court. She first acted as a judge during the period between July 2021 and September 2021. Her second acting stint was between October 2021 and December 2021. During her acting stints, Page presided over civil trials, opposed motions, civil appeals, and criminal matters.
While acting as a judge, Page, penned the judgment in the case of Khumalo v The Minister of Police and Another (3046/2013) [2021] ZAFSHC (25 November 2021). In this case, the Plaintiff (Mr Khumalo) instituted legal proceedings against the Defendant (the Minister of Police and his employees) for assault and wrongful arrest. The Plaintiff had been apprehended and loaded into a police van after being physically assaulted by the police officers. The police officers drove around and stopped at an entertainment place, instead of dropping the Plaintiff at the police station. In her judgment calling out the unacceptable behavior exhibited by the police officers, Page held that the Plaintiff was unlawfully arrested and as a result suffered emotional distress, pain, and suffering. She also held that the police officers failed to comply with their constitutional obligation, and they were in breach of the supreme law of South Africa, the Constitution.
The Fifty-Four-Year-Old Cathy Page holds a BA Law Degree and an LLB Degree, both obtained from the University of the Western Cape.
April 2022 Interview
