Judge Dennis Davis is the new chairperson of the Companies Tribunal.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel announced the appointment of the new members to the Companies Tribunal on Wednesday.

Established in terms of the Companies Act, the tribunal facilitates company disputes through conciliation, mediation and arbitration. This avoids potential lengthy and costly litigation.

Davis previously served as head of the Competition Appeal Court and the Tax Appeal Court. Between 1991 and 1997 he was the director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. He held joint appointments at Wits and UCT from 1995 to 1997.

He was appointed a judge of the high court in 1998 and as president of the Competition Appeal Court in 2000. Since his appointment to the bench, he has continued to teach constitutional law and tax law at UCT where he is an honorary professor of law. 

Davis is a member of the Commission of Enquiry into Tax Structure of South Africa and was a technical advisor to the Constitutional Assembly, where negotiations for South Africa's interim and final constitutions were formulated and concluded. He has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Cambridge, Florida, Toronto and Harvard.

Other new members appointed to the tribunal are:

Commercial law specialist Minah Tong-Mongalo as deputy chairperson;

Legal expert Hlaleleni Kathleen Dlepu, who is a former secretary-general of the Black Lawyers' Association;

Law and consumer advocacy expert Diane Terblanche, who is a former chair of the Consumer Tribunal;

Pension and family law expert Prof. Clement Marumoagae of the University of the Witwatersrand;

Corporate law and finance expert Joshua Sasha Kadish;

Commercial law expert Richard Bradstreet, a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town;

Commercial, mediation, and negotiation expert Fulufhedzani Shane Mudzunga;

Law and dispute resolution expert Nomagcisa Cawe, a former acting judge of the Labour Court and the chairperson of the Special Pensions Appeals Board;

Brian Jennings, a legal expert in mergers and acquisitions, and private equity transactions;

Legal expert Dr Alli Chicktay, a senior lecturer at Wits, a previous chair of the Companies Tribunal, and currently a commissioner with the Broadcast Complaints Commission of South Africa and the Community Schemes Ombud Service.