On 12 May 2006, on the advice of the
Judicial Service Commission, President
Thabo Mbeki appointed Maya to a permanent seat in the Supreme Court of Appeal. She took office in June 2006. and the first
black woman ever to gain appointment as a judge of appeal. She later remembered that she had been refused entrance to the courthouse on her first day, by a gardener who thought she was lost, and she said that, among her colleagues on the bench, "There are those who ignored me and showed in subtle and not so subtle ways I had no place in being here." By the end of her tenure in the Supreme Court, Maya had over 200
reported judgments. Her notable opinions included a dissent in
Minister of Safety and Security v F: while the majority held that the state could not be held
vicariously liable for a minor's
rape by an off-duty police officer, Maya found otherwise, and the
Constitutional Court upheld her dissent in 2012 in
F v Minister of Safety and Security. She was also noted for writing the court's unanimous judgment in
AfriForum v Chairperson of the Council of the University of South Africa, a dispute about the
language policy of the
University of South Africa; it was the first recorded judgment of a superior court written in Xhosa. She said that it had been inspired by Justice
Johan Froneman's judgments in his own home language,
Afrikaans. The judgment was upheld in the Constitutional Court in
Chairperson of the Council of the University of South Africa v AfriForum. While serving in the Supreme Court of Appeal, Maya was an acting judge in the
Supreme Court of Namibia in 2008 and in the
Lesotho Court of Appeal in 2015, She was one of the seven candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted after its hearings, and
Pierre de Vos viewed her as a strong candidate with a demonstrated "sensitivity for gender issues". However, President
Jacob Zuma declined to appoint her, instead confirming the appointments of
Johan Froneman,
Chris Jafta,
Sisi Khampepe and
Mogoeng Mogoeng. In May 2012, Maya was one of four candidates – alongside
Raymond Zondo,
Ronnie Bosielo, and
Robert Nugent – nominated for the Constitutional Court seat vacated by Chief Justice
Sandile Ngcobo's retirement. Maya had recently been an acting judge in the Constitutional Court, and several prominent gender rights organisations lobbied in support of her candidacy. However, during her interview in Johannesburg in June, she "appeared nervous" and was subjected to stern questioning about
judicial independence and the exercise of
judicial restraint in
reviewing executive action. The Judicial Service Commission shortlisted all four candidates as suitable for appointment, but President Zuma elected to appoint Zondo. When Justice
Zak Yacoob's retirement was announced later in 2012, Maya declined a third nomination to stand for elevation to the Constitutional Court.
Deputy Presidency In June 2015, Maya was President Zuma's sole nominee for appointment as
Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, a position that had been vacated by
Kenneth Mthiyane upon his retirement in 2014. Following an interview in Johannesburg in July, the Judicial Service Commission recommended her as suitable for appointment. Zuma confirmed her appointment on 23 September 2015, and she became the first woman to serve as the court's Deputy President. When Supreme Court President
Lex Mpati retired the following year, she stood in as acting president. During and after her confirmation interview with the Judicial Service Commission in April, she was highly candid about what she described as the Supreme Court's "challenges", describing the court as "not the most collegial of courts" and its judges as afflicted with "superiority complexes and disrespect". The Judicial Service Commission endorsed her appointment, which was confirmed by Zuma with immediate effect on 26 May 2017. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Maya oversaw the Supreme Court's transition to virtual court hearings held through
Microsoft Teams, and she was generally viewed as a strong leader and capable administrator. She later told the Judicial Service Commission that she had arranged for the appellate judges to attend a
diversity seminar, over "vociferous opposition",
Nomination as Chief Justice In October 2021, President
Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Maya was included on a longlist of eight candidates to succeed
Mogoeng Mogoeng as
Chief Justice of South Africa, and the following month, he announced that he had shortlisted Maya and three others: Raymond Zondo,
Mbuyiseli Madlanga, and
Dunstan Mlambo. The Judicial Service Commission considered Maya's candidacy during an interview on 2 February 2022, She was asked at length about her own gender, and she cried when commissioner
Sylvia Lucas congratulated her at length for "breaking the
glass ceiling". The interview proceedings were controversial. Some commentators argued that Maya had been subjected to sexist treatment, with Rebecca Davis of the
Daily Maverick pointing to commissioner
Dali Mpofu's joke about having "spent a night" with Maya. Other commentators, however, believed that she had been given preferential treatment, especially by Supreme Court Deputy President
Xola Petse; they argued that she faced far fewer substantive and jurisprudential questions than did the other candidates. After all four candidates were interviewed, the Judicial Service Commission announced that it would recommend Maya for appointment. However, the commission's recommendation was not binding, and in March, President Ramaphosa announced that, contrary to the recommendation, he would appoint Zondo as Chief Justice. He said that he intended to nominate Maya to succeed Zondo as
Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. In July 2024, Ramaphosa appointed Maya as Chief Justice, effective September 2024. == Constitutional Court: 2022–present ==