Two senior Indian-origin judges appointed to S Africa's Companies Tribunal

Johannesburg, Dec 15 (PTI) Two senior Indian-origin judges have been appointed to the Companies Tribunal, an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry established in terms of the Companies Act to provide independent, speedy resolution of company disputes.

Judge Mohammed Navsa and Judge Visvanathan Ponnan will join Judge Kathleen Satchwell, Judge Robert Nugent, and Judge Boissie Henry Mbha on the Tribunal.

Navsa, 68, was heavily involved in setting up and running the community law clinic and spent 14 years at the Legal Resources Centre, including as its director from 1990 to 1994.

A few months after Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically-elected President in 1994, Navsa was granted senior counsel and shortly thereafter was appointed as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court.

He progressed through the ranks of the judiciary to the provincial division of the Supreme Court, the bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal and as Acting Judge at the highest judicial institution in South Africa, the Constitutional Court.

Ponnan, 64, joined the Gauteng High Court in 2001 and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal in December 2004.

He was also a Commissioner for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration between 2000 and 2001 and an acting judge in the Eastern Cape High Court in 2000.

"Their collective expertise distinguished judicial careers, and deep commitment to justice brings renewed strength to the Tribunal at a pivotal time in its evolution," the Tribunal said in a statement issued on Monday.

"These esteemed members share a reputation for integrity, fairness, and sound legal reasoning. Each has made a significant contribution to South Africa’s jurisprudence, particularly in areas closely aligned with the Tribunal’s mandate—commercial law, administrative justice, and dispute resolution." "Their combined experience positions the Tribunal to further entrench a culture of accessible, efficient, and equitable justice for companies and stakeholders across the country,” the Tribunal said.

The statement said that the experience of the judges in complex decision-making, mediation of high-level disputes, and the application of principled judgment will enhance the Tribunal’s capacity to resolve matters swiftly, impartially, and in a manner that strengthens confidence in the Tribunal’s processes. PTI FH AMS