John Eldrid Smith (born 5 November 1958) is a South African judge who has served in the Supreme Court of Appeal since July 2024.
He joined the bench in July 2010 as a judge of the Eastern Cape Division in the High Court of South Africa.
[1] Later the same year, he co-founded the firm of Smith, Tabata and Van Heerden, which was later reincorporated as Smith Tabata Inc.[2] While working there as a partner, he was active in progressive professional organisations: among other things, he joined the National Association of Democratic Lawyers in 1983 and ultimately joined its senior leadership, serving as its national vice-president from 1989 to 1990 and as its general secretary from 1990 to 1992.
[1] Finally, he chaired the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Transformation in Cricket, which was appointed by Minister of Sport Ngconde Balfour in 2001.
[1] In April 2010 in Cape Town, Smith was interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission as a candidate for possible permanent appointment to the bench of the High Court of South Africa.
The commission's October 2023 deliberations were later made public in court filings, and it transpired that Smith had been one of the top five candidates (among ten in total) but had failed to receive the support of a majority of the panel.