Karthy Govender

Karthy Govender is a commissioner for the South African Human Rights Commission. Prof. Govender, along with Commissioner Jody Kollapen are two Commissioners of Indian Tamil ancestry.

Commissioner Govender is an associate professor in the Law Faculty at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, teaching Constitutional and Administrative Law. He gained legal academic qualifications in London, Natal and Michigan. After qualifying as a barrister in England, he passed the South African bar examinations in 1993. He is now an associate member of the Durban Bar, and has been involved in a number of cases dealing with the Constitution.

Before joining the Commission in March 1996, Commissioner Govender was a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Town and Regional Planning Commission, and also assisted in the drafting of the provincial constitution.

He takes responsibility for KwaZulu-Natal and is a member of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. His primary contribution is legal, writing judgments, giving opinions and mediating on human rights. He serves on both the mediation and arbitration panels of IMMSSA and has published and spoken widely on Constitutional and Administrative Law.