Durban: A former law academic, Avinash Govindjee, has realised his dream of being appointed a judge.
Govindjee, 44, of Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), was appointed to the Eastern Cape High Court. He took up office on January 1.
Last year, he served as an acting judge at the court before being recommended by the Judicial Service Commission for judicial appointment.
Govindjee, was born in Durban and later moved to Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), said becoming a judge was a deep-rooted ambition.
“However, my career has taken me through legal practice and almost two decades spent in academia before the opportunity arose,” he said.
He said after completing matric at Grey High School in 1994, he completed his BA and LLB qualifications at Rhodes University.
Govindjee returned to Gqeberha to start his articles of clerkship at Soni Incorporated with his mother, Urmila Soni, as his principal.
He said his mother had practised as an attorney and conveyancer for more than 40 years.
“My mother was one of the first non-white female attorneys in Port Elizabeth in the 1970s. I grew up spending time with her in the office after hours and on weekends. As a teenager, I assisted her with filing and paperwork before moving on to typing and dictation.
"My first decent cup of coffee was the reward for my work at her firm, and that probably helped to give me a taste for legal practice.”
Govindjee said he secured a scholarship to commence his LLM studies in labour law at the then University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), where he graduated cum laude. He said he did this while serving his articles and that he had successfully navigated the attorneys’ admission examination.
“Once admitted, I was promoted to professional assistant and later, director at Soni Incorporated. As the firm focused on conveyancing prior to my arrival, I developed a litigation department. During that period, I represented, among other clients, the local authority, public institutions and parastatals, and I attracted clients in employment law matters."
Govindjee said he had the opportunity to lecture some modules on the LLB qualification at UPE on a contract basis in 2001 and 2002.
“In 2002, I received a permanent appointment as a lecturer at the university. It started in 2003, while I working on a doctoral thesis in social security law. In 2011, the university promoted me to the rank of full professor pursuant to which I delivered an inaugural lecture on legal strategies for a second phase transition in South Africa during 2012.
“I used that platform to argue that the Constitution should be the starting point in the quest for meaningful social change, that changes to the Constitution itself are part of the idea of transformative constitutionalism, that an international and regional-friendly legal approach should be facilitated and that there was a place for ‘combinative governance’ to address key societal challenges,” he said.
Govindjee said, over the years, he held various leadership positions in the faculty of law, including serving as the deputy head of the Labour and Social Security Law Unit (LSSLU), the head of department for the Department of Public Law, and as executive dean.
“Serving the faculty of law in this capacity has been an absolute privilege and an honour. I feel proud to have led a supportive team of people and to be closely associated with NMU and its quest to place service to society at its epicentre.
“I was appointed as Dean at a time when the #FeesMustFall movement was in full flow and was able to work productively with student leaders, faculty staff and top management to recalibrate the operations of the faculty."
Govindjee said, as Dean, he also chaired the advisory board of the Law Society of South Africa’s School for Legal Practice in Gqeberha, as well as the advisory board of the faculty’s Centre for Law in Action.
He said in 2005, he was appointed a part-time commissioner of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and in 2009, as a part-time senior commissioner, serving in that capacity for almost 10 years.
“I conducted a number of successful conciliations and arbitrations during that time, was appointed by the CCMA’s head office to develop training material, and conduct training for aspirant commissioners, and was utilised by the head office as a senior commissioner in a high-profile case in Johannesburg,” he said.
Govindjee said, in January 2016, he joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), a service law firm, as a consultant in the employment law department. He was thereafter enrolled as an attorney of the Pretoria High Court on October 31 in 2018.
He said one of the challenges for aspirant judges was that they historically tended to be drawn from the ranks of senior counsel advocates.
“This meant that attorneys, magistrates, or legal academics were frequently overlooked for an appointment. Fortunately, the Judge President of the Eastern Cape Division, Judge President Mbenenge, gave me the opportunity to act as a judge for much of 2021.
“However, I then had to overcome the challenge of bridging my knowledge and skills as an academic with the requisite procedural dimensions of hearing and adjudicating matters in open court.
"Senior colleagues on the Bench have been particularly gracious in sharing their knowledge and practical experience in order to assist me to gain confidence in various procedural aspects of court work."
Govindjee said he considered his latest appointment as his top achievement. He said his goal was to remain faithful to the oath taken as a judge. “I aim to be present and focused each day in order to try to serve justice to the best of my abilities."
He is married to Kavita, and they have two children - Khush, 17, and Bhakti, 13.
“My path would not have been possible without the love and support of my wife. She has sacrificed much to enable me to live out my dreams and has been the perfect partner on my life’s journey."
His advice to others: “While it takes time and dedication to achieve something meaningful, anything is possible if one is able to dream big, and to back that up with sustained hard work and self-improvement.”
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