Capacity: Judge
First appointed as a judge: January 2022 (Eastern Cape, Makhanda High Court)
Further Appointments: Special Tribunal (2024)
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: African
Date of Birth: February 1966
Qualifications: B Iuris (1988), LLB (1992) (Walter Sisulu University)
Key Judgments:
- Lion Match Company (Pty) Ltd v. Commissioner, South African Revenue Service (1047/2023; 1067/2023) [2025] ZASCA 112; 2025 (6) SA 448 (SCA) (28 July 2025)
- Selective Empowerment Investments 1 Ltd v. Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (1325/2023) [2025] ZASCA 71; [2025] 3 All SA 368 (SCA) (30 May 2025)
- Van Veen v. Director of Public Prosecutions and Others (104/2024) [2025] ZASCA 46 (17 April 2025)
- Uchechukwu v. Govuza and Another (3728/2023) [2024] ZAECMKHC 22; 2024 (2) SACR 51 (ECMk) (20 February 2024)
- S v. SN (CC16/2022) [2022] ZAECMKHC 43; 2022 (2) SACR 149 (EC); [2022] 3 All SA 497 (ECG) (20 April 2022)
Candidate Bio | Updated February 2026:
Judge Thandi Norman is a Judge of the Eastern Cape High Court Division.
Following her initial appointment to the Makhanda High Court in 2022, Judge Norman was appointed as a Judge of the Special Tribunal in November 2024 and has also acted as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on several occasions, amounting to approximately one year of service from December 2024 to the present. After only four years of judicial experience, Norman now seeks to be appointed to the SCA.
Norman began her career as a Public Prosecutor from 1988 to 1990. After being admitted as an advocate in 1992, she served in various roles before entering practice in 1997. In 2011, Norman obtained Silk Status (Senior Counsel), holding dual chambers in Johannesburg and Durban.
Norman’s involvement in commission work dates back to 1995, when she assisted the Goldstone Commission’s inquiry into taxi violence. More recently, she served as an Evidence Leader at the State Capture Commission, established by former President Jacob Zuma in 2018 to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud in the public sector.
At the High Court, Norman has presided over sensitive matters, including S v. SN, which involved the rape of a minor child by her uncle. After convicting the defendant and imposing a 25-year sentence, Norman also ordered that the victim attend therapy sessions for two years, emphasising that if the court does nothing beyond condemning the unlawful act, “the child will go back home with no support from the justice system.”
During her acting stint at the SCA, Norman decided Van Veen v. Director of Public Prosecutions, in which an investment manager linked to a hedge fund loss of about R146 million sought a permanent stay of prosecution on charges including fraud, citing an 11-year extra-curial delay due to his subsequent brain tumour diagnosis. He argued that the delay caused trial prejudice and that his condition rendered him unfit to participate meaningfully in his defense. Norman dismissed the application, finding that he had failed to establish trial-related prejudice.
Judge Norman also penned a dissenting opinion in Lion Match Company v. Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, concluding that the tax court’s refusal to postpone proceedings after the withdrawal of Lion Match’s legal representatives was inconsistent with the interests of justice. She reasoned that “[j]ustice demands” that a taxpayer be heard, meaning they are “fully prepared and legally represented,” especially in complex tax matters.
Additionally, Judge Norman is a member of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ), and she has previously served as the President of the South African Women Lawyers Association (SAWLA) in KwaZulu-Natal, a member of the Black Lawyers Association, Advocates for Transformation and as honorary Secretary of the General Council of the Bar.
Over her 30-year legal career, Judge Norman identifies her key contributions as legal education and mentorship, a commitment to prosecutorial independence, and the protection of victims of sexual abuse through judicial measures such as therapy orders. She also highlights her pro-bono work for indigent clients, involvement in land restitution matters, and her practice of writing judgments in clear, plain language so that they are accessible to the public. Norman’s varied legal career combines prosecutorial and advocacy experience with judicial service, participation in commissions, and professional leadership within the legal sector.
Despite not having many years of judicial experience behind her, Judge Norman’s vast legal experience could contribute to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
April 2026 JSC Interview
After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission has resolved to recommend Judge Thandi Norman for appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
October 2025 JSC Interview
Following deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided that it will not recommend any candidate for appointment for the vacancy at the Supreme Court of Appeal. Judge Thandi Victoria Norman’s October 2025 interview for a position on the Supreme Court of Appeal was unsuccessful. She was not nominated for appointment.
October 2021 JSC Interview
Interview of Adv T V Norman SC by the JSC, October 2021, for a position on the Eastern Cape High Court (Grahamstown)
Adv Norman’s application was successful. She was nominated for appointment to the Eastern Cape High Court (Grahamstown)