Zeenat Carelse

Zeenat Carelse (born 16 October 1966) is a South African judge who became the inaugural president of the Land Claims Court in 2024. She was formerly a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal between 2021 and 2024 and a judge of the Gauteng High Court between 2009 and 2021. She began her career as a public prosecutor and formerly served as a magistrate in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Tembisa. She has also served lengthy acting stints in the Land Claims Court.

Early life and education Carelse was born on 16 October 1966 in Durban in the former Natal Province, now KwaZulu-Natal. When she was six years old, her family was subject to forced removal from their home under the apartheid-era Group Areas Act.

She matriculated from Bechet High School in Durban, where she was the head prefect, and then studied towards a joint BA–LLB at the University of Durban–Westville. Carelse also presided over politically sensitive cases, including a successful appeal against the fraud conviction of prosecutor Jeff Ledwaba, the former investigating director of the Scorpions, and an unsuccessful attempt by members of the governing African National Congress to nullify the so-called "festival of chairs" that elected Oscar Mabuyane as the party's provincial chairperson.

In addition to a stint as acting deputy judge president in 2020, Carelse was frequently seconded as an acting judge in the Land Claims Court of Randburg between 2009 and 2021. She also served three separate periods as an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal between October 2018 and June 2021. She took office on 1 July 2021. On 9 April 2024, following the interviews, the Judicial Service Commission announced that it would recommend Carelse for the position, pending confirmation by President Cyril Ramaphosa. She left the Supreme Court of Appeal in order to work full-time in the Land Claims Court.

Personal life She is married to Adrian Roderick Harris, with whom she has one child.