HF Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law
Endowed in 1986 by De Beers, the HF Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law is located in the Department of Public Law.
The Chair in Human Rights Law was founded with the purposes of promoting the development of human rights law in South African through the three main pillars of academic endeavour – research, teaching and community interaction.
The founding incumbent of the Chair was Emeritus Justice Laurie Ackermann, who went on to serve with distinction as a member of South Africa’s first Constitutional Court. Prof Gerhard Erasmus, an internationally regarded expert in international and comparative human rights law, served as the second incumbent of the Chair.
Prof Sandra Liebenberg is the third and current incumbent of the Chair.
Professor and HF Oppenheimer Chair
Prof Sandra Liebenberg
Professor Sandra Liebenberg is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of socio-economic rights, and served as Chair of the expert committee advising the Constitutional Assembly on the Bill of Rights in the 1996 Constitution.
Activities
Key activities of the Chair include:
Producing high quality research and publications.
Designing and teaching the major undergraduate module on human rights.
Supervising and mentoring a range of postgraduate (LLM and LLD) students in the field of human rights.
Co-directing special Faculty projects such as the Socio-Economic Rights and Administrative Justice Project (SERAJ).
Organising the prestigious Annual Human Rights Lecture series of the Chair.
Engaging in a range of human rights-related community service activities such as supporting NGO advocacy and public interest litigation, hosting workshops and conferences, and publishing articles in the popular media. In 2014, Prof Liebenberg’s work in this area was recognised through a prestigious Chancellor’s Award.
Building international linkages such as the flagship international course on the judicial protection of economic, social and cultural rights jointly organised on an annual basis by the Chair, the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University, Finland, and the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights.
Public Lectures
Members
Dr Anisa Mahmoudi
Anisa is an admitted attorney and Postdoctoral Fellow with the Chair. She holds LLB (UCT), LLM (UCL), and LLD (Stell) degrees. Her research focuses on advancing African women's rights, addressing systemic gender inequality, and achieving transformative equality across the continent.
Lerato Melato
Lerato completed her articles and practised at ENSafrica for two years. She was a junior lecturer at Stellenbosch University from 2022 to 2025. Her LLD focuses on the development of an interpretive approach for the consideration of international law in the interpretation of the Bill of Rights.
Melissa Robertson
Melissa is an admitted attorney pursuing her LLD at Stellenbosch University, researching constitutional substantive gender equality and climate change adaptation in South Africa. She holds three degrees (BA, LLB, LLM), previously worked at ENSafrica, and assists the Chair with research.
Lisa de Waal
Lisa de Waal is an LLD candidate researching the legal bases for justifying and deriving a constitutional right to public transport under South African law. Lisa is an admitted attorney and holds BSocSci, LLB and LLM degrees (UCT) and an LLM degree (Queen Mary, University of London).
Joy Hlatshwayo
Joy Hlatshwayo is an LLM candidate who holds BCom (Law) and LLB degrees from Stellenbosch University. She has a passion for housing rights, informed by movement lawyering and grassroots advocacy. Her research examines alternative accommodation under section 26 of the Constitution.
Gugulethu Mudzingiranwa
Gugulethu Mudzingiranwa holds a Political Science degree and an LLB and is pursuing an LLM in Public Law. Her research focuses on the protection of women’s sexual and reproductive health rights within the African regional human rights system. Outside academia, she volunteers at Khayamandi.
Zandile Tabata
Zandile is pursuing an LLM, with her research centred on unfair discrimination on the grounds of citizenship. Zandile is also an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
Stacey Goliath
Stacey Goliath holds BA(Law), LLB and LLM degrees. She is currently working on her LLD degree which focuses on the human rights of future generations while working as a Junior Lecturer at Stellenbosch University.
Yolisa Majali
Yolisa Majali is a seasoned Administration Officer at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Law, supporting three academic chairs. With over 15 years of public sector and governance experience, she holds a Diploma in Management and excels at organizing workflows, events, and stakeholder relations.