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Mr Rodges (Roy) Deon Barendse

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Mr Rodges (Roy) Deon Barendse

Capacity: Attorney
First admitted as an attorney: May 1989
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Colored
Date of Birth: April 1963
Qualifications: B. Proc (1985)(UWC)

Key judgments:

Candidate Bio | Updated February 2026:

Mr Roy Barendse is an Executive Consultant and Director at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Mr. Roy Barendse’s legal career spans more than 36 years and includes two terms as an Acting Judge in the Western Cape Division of the High Court in 2024 and 2025. He now seeks permanent appointment to the Western Cape Division of the High Court.

As an attorney, he practices in the fields of insurance law and general commercial litigation. During his stints as an Acting Judge, he presided over opposed motions and applications, civil trials, civil appeals, and criminal appeals.

He began his legal career in 1985, during the first State of Emergency, as Regional Coordinator for the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in the Midlands Karoo. At SACC, he assisted marginalized communities by securing bail and legal representation for individuals accused of politically motivated offences. This work led to his detention without trial on two occasions and cemented his commitment to advancing the rule of law in pursuit of a just society.

Admitted as an attorney in 1989, Barendse has practiced for over three decades at the firm now known as Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH). While his early practice focused on criminal and matrimonial law, he later transitioned into personal injury, medical malpractice, and insurance law. Throughout his professional life, he has remained a longstanding member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL), participating in initiatives such as the anti-death penalty campaign in the 1990s.

During his periods as an acting judge in the Western Cape, Barendse has presided over a range of civil and criminal matters. In Nkayi v. Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (2025), he addressed the constitutional obligations of public carriers regarding passenger safety. He has also handled matters involving commercial insolvency and provisional liquidation proceedings in Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd v. Sahara Freight South (Pty) Ltd (2024), the stay of eviction proceedings pending labor disputes in Sea Pride Processors (Pty) Ltd v. Masimla (2025), and bail appeals in serious criminal matters such as Ntloko v. State (2025).

Barendse’s only reported case in which he appeared as an attorney is Advocate Heese obo UH Peters v. Road Accident Fund 2012 (6) SA 496 (WCC). He regards the case as highly significant in the field of delictual claims for future loss of earnings. The court held that a claimant who derived income unlawfully (e.g., through tax evasion) and who faces the prospect of criminal prosecution is not entitled to compensation for future loss of earnings or earning capacity. The decision was subsequently confirmed on appeal by a Full Bench.

Although Barendse shifted his focus heavily toward personal injury and commercial matters in the most recent decades of his career, he credits his early work with oppressed communities as a defining influence on his approach to the legal profession. Specifically, Barendse highlights his work as Regional Coordinator of the Midlands division of the SACC in the mid-1980s, where he engaged with communities affected by the murder of the Cradock Four and provided support to families of those detained or killed.

Barendse’s work in private practice, commercial and civil litigation, alongside early involvement in human rights work, provides a range of exposure to the South African legal system and stand him in good stead before his first occasion of sitting before the JSC.

April 2026 JSC Interview

After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission has recommended Mr Roy Barendse for appointment to the Western Cape High Court.