Pretoria - A moment of silence was observed for former chief justice Pius Langa at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry on Thursday.
The commission's chairman, retired judge Ian Farlam, said Langa had made an important contribution to the justice system.
Langa, 74, died at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning following a lengthy illness.
The commission, sitting in Centurion, Pretoria, is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related unrest at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, North West, in August last year.
Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers on August 16, while 10 people, including two police officers, were killed in the preceding week. - Sapa