Chris Jafta

Christopher Nyaole " Chris " Jafta (* 1959 in Matatiele ) is a South African lawyer and since 2007, judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa.

Family and Education

Jafta is married to Nomviwo Jafta. With her he has two children, a daughter and a son. In his hometown, he attended both the primary and the secondary school. He then went on to study law at the University of Transkei. There, in 1983 the conclusion BJuris and 1987, the Bachelor of Laws, he was awarded.

Professional career

Started his professional career in 1983 as Jafta translator in court. Between 1984 and 1985 he worked as a prosecutor before him the post was removed at the behest of the South African Bureau of State Security, because he did not want to adhere to instructions given by the Authority in the litigation. As a result, he was demoted to clerk. In July 1986, there was a nomination for judicial officials. He held until 1988, before the practical training in a law office in Umtata (now Mthatha ) This position began. In August of the same year he accepted a position as a lecturer at his alma mater. Until 1992 he gave lectures there in the area of ​​economic and constitutional law. He then completed the practical training at the Bar Association in Johannesburg. Upon completion of training, he settled in Mthatha as a lawyer and dealt mainly with cases from the labor and constitutional law. In 1997 Jafta took over for four months the post of Acting Judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. In January 1999 he returned to this same court and was appointed in November of this year there permanently to the judge. In June 2001, he took over for two years on provisional basis the Presidency of the Court. Then he moved to the Labour Appeal Court of South Africa. As of June 2004, he was first again provisionally and from November 2004 full-time as a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. In December 2007 he finally moved, first as a judge on time and then as a full- time judge on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa.