Jody Kollapen

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Commissioner Jody Kollapen joined the SAHRC in December 1996, after five years with Lawyers for Human Rights, which he joined in 1991 to co-ordinate the Political Prisoners' Release Programme. He then spent two years as a Projects Director before being appointed National Director in 1995. He is of South African Indian Tamil ancestry.

As a practising attorney, Kollapen worked on political cases such as the Sharpeville Six, the Delmas Treason Trial, and the failure of the Medical and Dental Council to enquire into the behaviour of the doctors who treated Steve Biko. He was also a member of the selection panel that chose the Commissioners for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Kollapen is responsible for Gauteng Province, and is responsible for overseeing the work of the Commission relevant to Civil and Political Rights including issues relating to the Administration of Justice. He serves as a member of the National Council on Correctional Services, and chairs the SA Law Commission's Project Committee on Sentencing. He is the chair of the Legal Resources Trust and serves on the board of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, IDASA and the London based Article 19.