Domingo to head School of Law
- Wits University
Professor Wesahl Domingo appointed to head the School of Law as from 1 January 2018.
Domingo is an Associate Professor at the Oliver Schreiner School of Law (Wits), where she has been teaching for sixteen years. She has a Bachelor of Social Science degree, with a major in Sociology from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of the Western Cape. She holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University, New York and a Doctor of Juridical Science degree (SJD) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After graduating with her masters degree, Prof. Domingo interned at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. She was also invited by Senator Paul Strauss, shadow senator of Washington DC, to work at his congressional office as a legislative aid. Prof. Domingo’s teaching and research interest include Family Law, Child Law, Succession, Gender Studies, Legal Education and Legal Pluralism. She has presented her work at conferences throughout the world including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hawaii, Boston, New York, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Seattle and Mexico. She has made several appearances on television and radio as an academic expert in the field of family law and legal pluralism.
Prof. Domingo is also an accredited family law mediator and does family law mediation training (focussing on different cultures and religion) for NGO’s. She also runs community workshops for women on culture and religion within marriage and divorce. Prof. Domingo was an editor for the South African Journal of Human Rights (SAJHR) for 10 years. She is the co-editor and writer of the textbook, Law of Persons and Family. She has been the recipient of the following academic awards: Columbia/Wits Academic Fellowship; Carnegie Large Research Grant; and the NRF Sabbatical Grant. In 2015 and 2016, she has co-supervised final year law students in the Annual Child Law Moot Competition.
In addition to her academic credentials, Prof. Domingo has a wealth of academic administrative and management experience. She has served as chairperson of the University of Witwatersrand Forum Committee which is a governmental statutory body which reports to the University’s Council. Prof Domingo was the chairperson of the University of the Witwatersrand’s Senate Academic Freedom Committee and a member of the Senate Institutional Culture Committee, and Senate ITC Committee. Prof. Domingo also serves as a committee member on the “Know Your Constitution” (KYC), a subcommittee within the South African Human Rights Commission. She is a member of the South African Law Reform Commission, and is on the Advisory Board dealing with Alternative Dispute Resolution: Contact and Care with Children.