Jacobus de Wet

Jacobus de Wet
15th Chief Justice of Ceylon
In office
31 May 1882  29 May 1883
Appointed by James Robert Longden
Preceded by Richard Cayley
Succeeded by Bruce Burnside
Personal details
Born (1838-08-25)25 August 1838
Cape Town, South Africa
Died 19 April 1900(1900-04-19) (aged 61)
Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
Spouse(s) Emma Susannah Fuller
Children Helen Frances de Wet Davies (Adopted)
Alma mater Leiden University
University of London

Sir Jacobus Petrus de Wet (25 August 1838 – 19 April 1900) was the 15th Chief Justice of Ceylon. He was appointed on 31 May 1882 succeeding Richard Cayley and was Chief Justice until 29 May 1883. He was succeeded by Bruce Burnside.[1][2][3]

de Wet was born to Johannes Carolus and Catharina Aletta (née zeederberg) de Wet, he was the second of their seven surviving children. His mother died young when de Wet was only twelve years old. In 1851 his father married Magdalena Elisabeth (née Deneysen). de Wet came from a well to do Dutch speaking Cape family.[4]

de Wet attended Leiden University however did not complete his studies, instead obtained his BA degree at the University of London. He was called to the Inner Temple, London, as a barrister-at-law in June 1863. Shortly after being admitted as a barrister, he returned to the Cape and six months later, on 14 December 1863, he was also admitted to the Cape Bar.

In April 1882 de Wet and Emma sailed for Colombo, Ceylon, via Calcutta, India. de Wet assumed his duties as Chief Justice four months after Sir Richard Cayley had left for England, on 31 May 1882.[4]

He was knighted in the 1883 Birthday Honours.[5]

References

  1. "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  2. WET, Sir Jacobus Petrus DE. Who Was Who. A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  3. John Ferguson (1996) [1887]. Ceylon in the Jubilee Year (Repr. ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 254. ISBN 978-81-206-0963-1. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Schulze, W.G. "One J.P. de Wet South Africa's First Judicial Export" (PDF). Sabinet.co.za. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  5. The London Gazette: no. 25253. p. 3699. 24 July 1883.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Richard Cayley
Chief Justice of Ceylon
1882-1883
Succeeded by
Bruce Burnside
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