On 4 December 1997, the Faculty of Law of the University of Pretoria awarded honorary LLD degrees (honoris causa) to President Nelson Mandela and Chief Justice Ishmail Mahomed.

Since then, honorary doctorate degrees have been awarded as follows:

• 9 April 2002 - Prof William Alexander Jardine Watson
• 18 April 2002 - Prof Walter Joseph Kamba
• 15 April 2004 - Prof Christopher John Robert Dugard
• 3 May 2006 - Prof SA Strauss
• 13 April 2007 - Justice Arthur Chaskalson, former Chief Justice of South Africa and the first president of the South African Constitutional Court
• 22 April 2008 - Justice Yvonne Mokgoro from the Constitutional Court
• 10 December 2009 - Ms Navanethem Pillay
• 11 May 2011 - Judge Frans Heinrich Grosskopf
• 9 December 2011 - Adv George Bizos SC
• 10 December 2013 - Justice Johann Vincent van der Westhuizen
• 16 April 2015 - Prof Karl E Klare

Download keynote addresses:

• President Nelson Mandela
• Chief Justice Ishmail Mahomed
• Justice Yvonne Mokgoro
• Adv George Bizos SC
• Justice Johann van der Westhuizen
• Prof Karl E Klare

President Nelson Mandela receiving an honorary degree from the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria.

Justice Arthur Chaskalson received an honorary doctorate degree from the Faculty of Law. On the left is Prof Christof Heyns, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and on the right Prof Pistorius, Vice Chancelor and Principal of UP at the time.


Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro was awarded a doctorate in law at the University of Pretoria on 22 April 2008.