Nigel Willis

Nigel Paul Willis (born 5 June 1953) is a South African retired judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from July 2013 until his retirement in October 2018. Before that, between November 1998 and June 2013, he served in the Gauteng High Court, where he gained a reputation for conservative and pro-capitalist jurisprudence. He was also a judge of the Labour Appeal Court.

Born in Cape Town, Willis began his career in banking but practised as an advocate between 1980 and 1998, taking silk in 1997.

Early life and education Willis was born on 5 June 1953 in Cape Town. However, he attended school in Natal Province, matriculating in 1970 at Hilton College. He went on to the University of Cape Town, where he completed a Bachelor of Business Science in 1975.

In general, Willis was viewed as a conservative judge and even as a "'maverick' pro-capitalist", with Richard Calland describing him as "seeing the Constitution through the lens of private property". Because of his preference for laissez-faire capitalism, his judicial philosophy was sometimes called "fundamentally at odds" with or (by Pierre de Vos) "completely out of kilter with" In Machele v Mailula, the Constitutional Court criticised Willis for authorising an eviction without considering the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act, a decision which the Constitutional Court called "inexcusable", though Willis defended against that charge in a separate and subsequent eviction judgement, Emfuleni Local Municipality v Builders Advancement Services. though the Judicial Service Commission declined to recommend any appointment on that occasion; the Mail & Guardian reported that Willis had divided the commission panel, with some members viewing him as highly unsuitable for elevation. He was interviewed again the following year, and during that interview, he expressed his view that the Constitutional Court sometimes "missed the point" and made "orders that are not practically implementable", such as the order in Government v Grootboom.

Supreme Court of Appeal: 2013–2018 In April 2013, the Judicial Service Commission recommended that Willis and Halima Saldulker should be appointed to two vacancies at the Supreme Court of Appeal. Because Willis's interview had been short and "convivial", while opposing contender Clive Plasket was subjected to rigorous questioning, the announcement attracted a significant amount of public debate. He served in the appellate court until his retirement in 2018.

Personal life He is married to Glenda Daniels, an academic and former journalist, and has three children. He formerly served on the boards of several private game reserves in Botswana.