Profile
Judge Nigel Willis’ achievements that encompasses over five decades.
Judge Nigel Paul Willis
5 June, 1953
Born in Cape Town, South Africa.
1970
Matriculated at Hilton College, South Africa, with distinctions in Mathematics and Latin. School prefect, Head of House, Chairman of the Debating Society.
1972
Enrolled at the University of Cape Town for the four year degree of B.Bus.Sc.
1973
Selected by the former Chief Justice M.M. Corbett to be one of the three “best debaters” to undertake a debating tour of British universities.
1974/75
President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC);
1974
Nedbank Prize for the best essay in economics among all university students in economics.
December 1975
Graduated B.Bus.Sc (with honours).
1975
Joined Barclays National Bank (as it then was) as an executive trainee.
1976 – 80
Manager, Student Business of the Rondebosch Branch of Barclays National Bank Limited.
December 1979
Obtained the C.A.I.B. (SA) (Certificated Associate of the Institute of Bankers), upon completing the final examinations for the Institute of Bankers Diploma. Medallist in several of the examinations.
December 1979
Completed the L.L.B degree at the University of South Africa.
19 March 1980
Admitted as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
June 1980
Commenced practice as an advocate (barrister) in Cape Town.
1983 – 1984
Head of the litigation of Damant Bostock & Magang (now Armstongs) in Gaborone, Botswana.
26 April, 1984
Opened practice as an advocate (barrister) in Johannesburg where he was continuously in practice until being appointed as a Judge of the High Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division, now known as the South Gauteng High Court) in 1998.
19 April, 1989
Appointed Commissioner of the Small Claims Court.
2 August, 1991
Appointed a member of the Industrial Court, Transkei.
15 February, 1994
Appointed Acting President of the Industrial Court, Transkei.
March 1994
Appointed a Presiding Officer in the Electoral Tribunal of the Independent Electoral Commission (I.E.C.) in 1994.
31 May 1995
Elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers (FIBSA).
July 1996
Appointed as a Senior Commissioner in the newly established Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in terms of the new Labour Relations Act.
17 November, 1997
Appointed as Senior Consultus (Senior Counsel).
Third Quarter, 1998
Appointed an Acting Judge of the High Court (Transvaal Provincial Division, now known as the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg).
10 November, 1998
Appointed as Judge of the High Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division, now known as the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg) by President Nelson Mandela.
1 November, 1999
Appointed as Judge of the Labour Appeal Court of South Africa.
2008
Completed M.Phil at St Augustine College (an accredited Roman Catholic College in Johannesburg, South Africa). The degree was awarded later.
2008 and 2009
Shortlisted by the Judicial Service Commission as a candidate for appointment to the Constitutional Court.
7 July 2012
Awarded Ph.D (Dr. Phil.) degree (cum laude) by the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany.
Title of Dissertation: ‘The Work of the Spirit, The Contribution by American Contemporary Scholars of Pentecostalism to an Understanding of the Worldwide Pentecostal Movement – the Reasons for its Growth, its Intellectual Challenges and its Potential in Dialogue about Faith in a Globalizing world.’
Dissertation
This may be viewed online at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität and also downloaded directly:
April 2013
‘The Pentecostal Movement, its Challenges and Potential, published by Peter Lang, GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt am Main, Germany as part of its International Theology series.
1 July 2013
Appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
24 January 2015
Ordained a deacon of the Anglican church in the Cathedral of St Mary, the Virgin, Johannesburg.
7 July 2015
Elected a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa.
30 January 2016
Ordained a priest of the Anglican Church in the Cathedral of St Mary, the Virgin, Johannesburg.
1 October 2018
Retired from active service as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
13 December 2018
Elected a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (FAArb (SA))
Other
Judge Willis had been on the mediation and arbitration panels of the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa (“IMSSA”). He was a member of the IMSSA panel from 1984 until appointment as a judge. He was one of the leading mediators and arbitrators in the field of labour and industrial relations at the time.
Judge Willis had been a part-time Senior Commissioner at the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration) from 1996 until his appointment as a judge
Judge Willis had been a member of the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa for several years before appointment as a judge.
Judge Willis has been a member of the Council of the Regenesys School of Public Management (which trains and educates numerous office bearers in the public sector).
Judge Willis has been chairman of two private game reserves in Botswana: Jwala Game Reserve (1989-2010) and the Dopotta Game Reserve (1997-2010.)
Judge Willis is a member of the executive committee of the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana (NOTUGRE). He has played a key role in drafting the Memorandum of Understanding and the Treaty for Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe to establish the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier National Park.
From 2005 to 2013, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Willis has been Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg. In 2015 Judge Willis was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church and, in the same year, was awarded the designation Professional Banker of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa (26 Feb 2015)
In 2016 he was Ordained as a Priest in the Anglican Church of South Africa
Judge Willis is the father of three children and a married man. He serves on the arbitration panels of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa and the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) and the Association of Arbitrators (Sothern Africa).
Judge Willis has a keen interest in conservation. He is much involved in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and is an assistant priest at St George’s Church in Parktown, Johannesburg. He writes regular book reviews for an online publication, pARTicipate.