Ralph Zulman

Ralph Hirsch Zulman (23 September 1938 – 8 August 2020) was a South African judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from 1996 to 2007. Formerly an advocate and Senior Counsel in Johannesburg, he joined the bench in 1990 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa. He was the chairman of the General Council of the Bar in 1988.

Early life and education The son of Mosie and Annie Zulman, Zulman was born on 23 September 1938 in Durban. He matriculated in 1955 at Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg and went on to the University of the Witwatersrand, where he completed a BComm in 1959 and an LLB cum laude in 1961.

Judicial career In 1990, Zulman was appointed as a judge of the Transvaal Division of the Supreme Court.

An expert on cross-border insolvency, Zulman represented South Africa at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's colloquium on the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency,

Retirement and personal life Zulman was Jewish – his parents were founding members of Johannesburg's Oxford Shul – and he was an active member, and former national vice-chairperson, of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. his report, published in December 2018, resulted in governance reform at the committee. He died of COVID-19 complications on 8 August 2020 in Johannesburg.