DOCSLIB.ORG

Interpretation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Interpretation Chapter 32 Interpretation Lourens du Plessis 32.1 Introduction (a) Aspects of Bill of Rights interpretation in pre-1994 case law (b) Bill of Rights interpretation as depicted in early post-1994 constitutional jurisprudence (c) Rights interpretation and/as constitutional interpretation (d) The scope of constitutional interpretation (e) The mechanics of rights analysis (i) Direct application and interpretation of a specific substantive right (ii) Subsidiarity and indirect application as preferred modes of interpretation 32.2 Interpreters of the Constitution (a) Constitution-makers (b) Courts (c) Legislative and executive organs of state (d) Citizens and other non-state organs protected, empowered and obliged by the Constitution 32.3 Theories of interpretation and their relevance for constitutional interpretation (a) Common-law theories of statutory interpretation (b) Constitutional interpretation and the inadequacy of common-law theories of statutory interpretation (i) Constitutional democracy and the end of the dominance of literalism-cum-intentionalism (ii) The linguistic turn (iii) 'Politics': predicament or prospect? (iv) Purposive interpretation as the increasingly preferred alternative to literalism-cum-intentionalism (c) Theories of, theoretical positions on and leitmotivs in constitutional interpretation (i) Three comparative examples (ii) Theoretical position(s) in relation to interpretive leitmotiv(s) (iii) Transitional constitutionalism (aa) The Constitution as bridge: justificatory constitutionalism (bb) The Constitution as memory and promise: memorial constitutionalism (iv) Transformative constitutionalism (v) Theoretical accounts and assessments of constitutional adjudication (d) Contemporary developments: linguistic-turn thinking and the new textualism (e) The Constitution as text sui generis among law-texts (i) The Constitution as prescriptive, abstractly-normative law-text (aa) Law as text and text(s) as law (bb) Narrative and normative law-texts (cc) Prescriptive and persuasive (normative) law-texts (dd) Abstract and concretized normative law-texts (ee) The Constitution as genre text (ii) The Constitution as supreme law (iii) The Constitution as negotiated and negotiating text 32.4 The enacted Constitution-in-writing (a) The Constitution and the construction of enacted law (b) Multilingualism (c) Interpretive waymarks in the written constitutional text (i) Conspicuous waymarks (aa) The Preamble to the Final Constitution (bb) FC s 1: Founding Provisions (cc) FC s 7: Rights (dd) FC s 8: Application (ee) FC s 36: Limitation of Rights (ff) FC s 39: Interpretation of Bill of Rights (gg) FC Chapter 3: Co-operative Government (hh) FC s 195: Basic Values and Principles governing Public Administration (ii) FC s 239: Definitions (ii) Inconspicuous waymarks 32.5 Methods of constitutional interpretation (a) Method(s) as doing(s) (b) Reading strategies (i) Construing the Final Constitution in a case law context (ii) Reading in conformity with the Final Constitution (iii) Subsidiarity (aa) Jurisdictional subsidiarity (bb) Adjudicative subsidiarity (c) Method(s) as canon(s) and canon(s) as method(s) (of construction): Canon-guided reading strategies (i) Grammatical interpretation (ii) Systematic interpretation (iii) Teleological interpretation (iv) Historical interpretation (v) Comparative interpretation (or transnational contextualization) (aa) International law (bb) Foreign law 32.6 Constitutional interpretation in a constitutional state OS 06-08, ch32-p1 7 Rights (1) This Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. (2) The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights. (3) The rights in the Bill of Rights are subject to the limitations contained or referred to in section 36, or elsewhere in the Bill. 39 Interpretation of Bill of Rights (1) When interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum — (a) must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; (b) must consider international law; and (c) may consider foreign law. (2) When interpreting any legislation, and when developing the common law or customary law, every court, tribunal or forum must promote the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights. (3) The Bill of Rights does not deny the existence of any other rights or freedoms that are recognised or conferred by common law, customary law or legislation, to the extent that they are consistent with the Bill. 32.1 Introduction* Treatises on statutory interpretation in South Africa, and in other jurisdictions where Interpretation of Statutes is a legal discipline in its own right, most often start by posing the question 'what is statutory interpretation?'. They then proceed to proffer a working definition of some sort to get further discussion going. 1 These treatises assume that statutory interpretation is a readily describable, interpretive analysis of enacted law, guided by common- and statute-law canons of construction that manifest as rules and presumptions. * The invaluable support of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) and the personal support (and patience) of Theunis Roux and Stu Woolman in the completion of this chapter is hereby gratefully acknowledged. SAIFAC fellows such as Michael Bishop, Sebastian Seedorf and David Bilchitz read drafts of this chapter and gave me critical input during seminars. Their engagement — along with Stu Woolman's edits – considerably enhanced the quality of the end product. But, of course, any shortcomings that have remained are my sole responsibility. The hospitality and support of the Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht in Heidelberg, Germany during the final phases of the completion of this chapter are hereby also acknowledged. OS 06-08, ch32-p2 A similar introduction to the chapter on 'Interpretation' in this four volume treatise on South African constitutional law would be inadequate and inappropriate. Certain reading strategies in constitutional interpretation do require the use of some of the conventional canons of statutory interpretation. And constitutional interpretation also involves an analysis of the written constitutional text to determine meaning. However, constitutional interpretation is also an enterprise that goes much further than any other form of legal interpretation. It is a practice emanating from, rooted in and part of the shaping of a constitutional democracy. 2 Its most distinctive and consequential feature as an interpretive endeavour is its ability to underwrite 1 See, for example, LC Steyn Die Uitleg van Wette (5th Edition, 1981) 1: [W]at is wetsuitleg? . Dit is om die wils- en gedagte-inhoud van die wetgewer vas te stel . aangewese op die woorde wat die wetgewer gebruik het om daardie wils- en gedagte-inhoud te openbaar. ['What is statutory interpretation? . It is to determine the content of the legislature's will and thinking . relying on the words that the legislature employed to reveal its will and thinking.'] For a similar approach, see P Langan Maxwell on the Interpretation of Statutes (12th Edition, 1976) 1. See also LM du Plessis The Interpretation of Statutes (1986) 1: The subject Interpretation of Statutes is concerned with the pinciples, rules, methods and techniques which jurists employ in order to understand statutes, ie legal precepts deriving from legislative activity, and to apply their provisions to concrete, practical situations. See also C Botha Statutory Interpretation. An Introduction for Students (4th Edition, 2005) 1. 2 For a description of 'constitutional democracy', see T Roux 'Democracy' in S Woolman, T Roux, J Klaaren, A Stein, M Chaskalson & M Bishop (eds) Constitutional Law of South Africa (2nd Edition, OS, July 2006) Chapter 10, 10-18–10-22. constitutional supremacy, warding off unconstitutional action, halting the abuse of power, or providing redress for the adverse consequences of unconstitutional conduct. Constitutional interpretation, as mediated by the courts and other political actors, can also use supreme constitutional authority either to undo existing law inconsistent with the Final Constitution, or to keep impugned law intact, but then to develop it so that it conforms with the dictates of the Final Constitution. Constitutional interpretation also activates — and gives content to — the values that underlie and pervade a democratic, constitutional state (Rechtsstaat). 3 The first section of this chapter surveys some of the major notions of constitutional interpretation evident in the case law in the decade or so preceding the advent of constitutional democracy in South Africa on 27 April 1994. These shortcomings in the South African courts' pre-1994 jurisprudence on constitutional interpretation gave rise to the inclusion of interpretive directives in two consecutive written constitutional texts and helped to transform judicial attitudes towards constitutional interpretation shortly after the commencement of the Interim Constitution (IC) in 1994. The second main section of the chapter focuses on the authorized interpreters of the Final Constitution. The third main section considers the possible relevance of various theories of interpretation to constitutional interpretation. Conventional theories of statutory interpretation are inadequate — though
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Constitutional Authority and Its Limitations: the Politics of Sexuality in South Africa
    South Africa Constitutional Authority and its Limitations: The Politics of Sexuality in South Africa Belinda Beresford Helen Schneider Robert Sember Vagner Almeida “While the newly enfranchised have much to gain by supporting their government, they also have much to lose.” Adebe Zegeye (2001) A history of the future: Constitutional rights South Africa’s Constitutional Court is housed in an architecturally innovative complex on Constitution Hill, a 100-acre site in central Johannesburg. The site is adjacent to Hillbrow, a neighborhood of high-rise apartment buildings into which are crowded thousands of mi- grants from across the country and the continent. This is one of the country’s most densely populated, cosmopolitan and severely blighted urban areas. From its position atop Constitu- tion Hill, the Court offers views of Hillbrow’s high-rises and the distant northern suburbs where the established white elite and increasing numbers of newly affluent non-white South Africans live. Thus, while the light-filled, colorful and contemporary Constitutional Court buildings reflect the progressive and optimistic vision of post-apartheid South Africa the lo- cation is a reminder of the deeply entrenched inequalities that continue to define the rights of the majority of people in the country and the continent. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY AND ITS LIMITATIONS: THE POLITICS OF SEXUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA 197 From the late 1800s to 1983 Constitution Hill was the location of Johannesburg’s central prison, the remains of which now lie in the shadow of the new court buildings. Former prison buildings include a fort built by the Boers (descendents of Dutch settlers) in the late 1800s to defend themselves against the thousands of men and women who arrived following the discovery of the area’s expansive gold deposits.
    [Show full text]
  • Applications Open for the Inaugural Pius Langa Memorial Fellowship At
    PRESS RELEASE: Applications open for the inaugural Pius Langa Memorial Fellowship at UCL Johannesburg, 26 August 2021 – For immediate release The Constitutional Court Trust (CCT) is delighted to announce the establishment of a new fellowship programme to benefit young lawyers in South Africa committed to forwarding constitutional and human rights law in South Africa and / or Africa. This new fellowship will afford one early career lawyer per year the opportunity to study towards a LLM at University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom, one of the top ranked universities in the world1. The new fellowship is named in memory of Chief Justice Pius Langa, a decision that, according to CCT chairperson Justice Sisi Khampepe, is most fitting: “Justice Langa was not only central to the establishment of the Constitutional Court Trust but, more importantly, his dedication, humility and commitment to the notion that service must be at the heart of leadership are rare qualities we believe young lawyers should be aspiring to emulate in contemporary South Africa.” Chief Justice Langa’s family has welcomed the establishment of this fellowship: “We are humbled that the Constitutional Court Trust has seen it fitting to honour the legacy of Justice Langa in this way. We think it’s a fitting tribute to the contribution that he made towards the development of constitutional and human rights law. We look forward to seeing a new generation of lawyers committed to justice and transformation in Africa being developed through this fellowship programme." Starting in 2022, the Pius Langa Memorial Fellowship is an exciting new step for the CCT.
    [Show full text]
  • Chief Justice Pius Langa Memorial Lecture by Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister
    Chief Justice Pius Langa Memorial Lecture by Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister of Energy, Member of the ANC National Executive Committee, ANC National Working Committee and the South African Communist Party Central Committee, 16th March 2019 Today we meet in conversation over the sterling role of one of the shinning stars of our times, the late Chief Justice Pius Langa. In him we celebrate a patriot, a member of the African National Congress in good standing, an underground political activist who directly interfaced with the highest levels of leadership in the liberation movement such as OR Tambo and Moses Mabhida. From a personal note, he was my boss in the period that he was President of NADEL at the time we had other leaders such as Linda Zama. Furthermore I worked with him closely following my appointment as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development in 2009. Therefore today I am here to participate in this public conversation about his life as a friend, a colleague and a comrade. In recognition of his outstanding service to the people of our country, former President Thabo Mbeki bestowed on him the highest honour, the Order of Boabab in Gold. Five days from today, the world will be celebrating the International Human Rights Day. It is a fitting tribute to the late Chief Justice Pius Langa that on this occasion we focus attentively on the core fabric of our claim to humanity. It is a fitting tribute to him that we should highlight through this public lecture his impeccable role in buttressing the very human rights freedoms that we collectively aspire for, as amongst others amplified by the International Human Rights Day.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 Making the Road.Fm
    INTRODUCTION HAPTER C 1 Michael Cosser, Narnia Bohler-Muller & Gary Pienaar 1Introduction 1.1 Making the road by walking The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the final draft of which was forged over a two-year period between 1994 and 1996, assumed a particular profile in the body politic in 2016. Following the release of the Public Protector’s 2014 report on improvements to President Zuma’s Nkandla residence,1 the Constitutional Court in March 2016 declared binding her findings and recommendations about the need for the President to repay public monies spent on non-security upgrades to his residence.2 Such high-profile cases, however, can distract us from the importance of the Constitution in shaping the lives of ordinary people. In catapulting the Constitution into the limelight, the ‘Nkandla judgement’, as it is known colloquially, has created renewed interest in what meaning the Constitution has for South Africans in 2018 and beyond. The initial impetus for this book came from a public address by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. Delivered on 30 June 2016 and entitled ‘Why does the Constitution matter?’, his address began with an almost throwaway comment: that he was ‘privileged enough … to participate in constructing our foundational jurisprudence on constitutional law.’3 Ngcobo went on to say that the process of building a constitutional 1 Public Protector South Africa ‘Secure in comfort’ http://www.pprotect.org/library/ investigation_report/2013-14/Final Report 19 March 2014 pdf (accessed 23 May 2017). 2 Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others 2016 (3) SA 580 (CC).
    [Show full text]
  • Murcott MJ.Pdf
    Towards a social justice-oriented environmental law jurisprudence in South Africa MJ Murcott Orcid.org/0000-0001-8311-2195 Thesis accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Laws in Constitutional Law at the North-West University Promoter: Prof. LJ Kotzé Graduation: May 2020 Student number: 25855867 For Jean and Charles Murcott i ABSTRACT The problem that this thesis seeks to address is the South African judiciary's failure, in general, to recognise in the adjudication of environmental law disputes that social injustices are connected to harmful environmental conditions and thus to environmental and climate injustices for South Africa's poor. This thesis proposes a legal theory of transformative environmental constitutionalism as a means, in the adjudication of environmental law disputes, to foster an appreciation from a socio-ecological systems perspective, of the interconnected nature of social, environmental and climate injustices, particularly in the socio-ecological crisis of the Anthropocene. This thesis argues that the implementation of a legal theory of transformative environmental constitutionalism by the judiciary could facilitate the emergence of a social justice-oriented environmental law jurisprudence more responsive to the plight of South Africa's poor and the deterioration of the environment, as interconnected concerns. Key words: Transformative constitutionalism, environmental constitutionalism, transformative environmental constitutionalism, social justice, environmental justice, climate justice,
    [Show full text]
  • South Africa Under the Rule of Law: Peril and Promise
    507 South Africa under the Rule of Law: Peril and Promise Edwin Cameron, Constitutional Court of South Africa The Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting Keynote New Orleans, Louisiana Thursday, January 3, 2019 Good morning. It is an honor to be here with you and to give this keynote. My warrant for accepting your invitation is that I am a justice in South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court. Yesterday, on the flight from Atlanta, I sat next to a man called Clint, who had spent twenty-four years in the U.S. Navy. We had an interesting conversation about the work he was coming to do in New Orleans mapping the seabed. Then he asked me a question: What is the point of your coming to America to speak to American law professors? It was a good question, and I wasn’t sure how to answer it. The answer I gave was that my country’s journey in law has been arresting, and challenging, in ways that I hope will engage you. Let me tell you how I hope to do this. First, my introduction lays out South Africa’s transformation from an oppressive racial autocracy to a constitutional democracy. Then I tell three arresting stories that show what the law and lawyers and social activists have achieved under our Constitution. In conclusion, I mention three suggestive lessons I have learned about the law and the role of judges in South Africa, which I hope may have pertinence to you. We are a young democracy, not quite a quarter-century old.
    [Show full text]
  • A Delicate Balance the Place of the Judiciary in a Constitutional Democracy
    A Delicate Balance THE PLACE OF THE JUDICIARY IN A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY A Delicate Balance THE PLACE OF THE JUDICIARY IN A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY PROCEEDINGS OF A SYMPOSIUM TO MARK THE RETIREMENT OF ARTHUR CHASKALSON Former Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa Presented by SCHOOL OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND and THE SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS Edited by JONATHAN KLAAREN BA (Harvard), MA (Cape Town), JD (Columbia), LL B (Witwatersrand), Ph D (Yale) Professor of Law, Director of the Mandela Institute, University of the Witwatersrand 2006 Published in association with The School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand First published 2006 by Siber Ink CC PO Box 30702 Tokai 7966 Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA www.siberink.co.za ISBN 1-920025-12-X This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechan- ical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Cover: James Berrangé Set by GJ du Toit Fine Typography Printed and bound by Creda Communications (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town Preface In May 2005, Arthur Chaskalson retired from the Constitutional Court bench. An eminent human rights lawyer during the apartheid era, he was appointed the first President of South Africa’s Constitutional Court in 1994. He became Chief Justice in 2001, following constitutional amendments that combined the offices of President of the Constitutional Court and the head of the South African judiciary.
    [Show full text]
  • Pretoria Student Law Review (2018) 12
    PRETORIA STUDENT LAW REVIEW (2018) 12 Pretoria Tydskrif vir Regstudente Kgatišobaka ya Baithuti ba Molao ya Pretoria Editor in chief: Jurgen Zwecker Editors: Primrose E.R. Kurasha Agnes Matasane Vaughn Rajah Kirstin Swanepoel 2018 (2018) 12 Pretoria Student Law Review Published by: Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) The Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) is a publisher, based in Africa, launched and managed by the Centre for Human Rights and the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. PULP endeavours to publish and make available innovative, high-quality scholarly texts on law in Africa. PULP also publishes a series of collections of legal documents related to public law in Africa, as well as text books from African countries other than South Africa. For more information on PULP, see www.pulp.up.ac.za Printed and bound by: Minit Print, Hatfield, Pretoria Cover: Design by Adebayo Okeowo To submit articles, contact: PULP Faculty of Law University of Pretoria South Africa 0002 Tel: +27 12 420 4948 Fax: +27 12 362 5125 [email protected] www.pulp.up.ac.za ISSN: 1998-0280 © 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editors’ note vi By Jurgen Zwecker Precarious life, judgement and a story of a stork 1 By Prof Karin van Marle Towards an ethically organic jurisprudence: A paradigmatic re-imagining of South African constitutionalism 7 By Louis G. Hennop The cogitation of the value of epistemic diversity in South African jurisprudence, as influenced by the project of intellectual history: Lessons from Rhodes must fall — ‘All “Rhodes” lead to the colonisation of the mind’ 18 By Tshepo K.
    [Show full text]
  • The Judiciary December 2019 | Q3 Issue September 2019 | Q2 Issue
    THE JUDICIARY DECEMBER 2019 | Q3 ISSUE SEPTEMBER 2019 | Q2 ISSUE JUDICIARY DAY 17TH NELSON MANDELA ANNUAL LECTURE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF MPUMALANGA HIGH COURT Judiciary Newsletter 1 2 Judiciary Newsletter NATIONAL OFFICE ADDRESS: 188 14th ROAD, NOORDWYK MIDRAND, 1685 SWITCHBOARD NUMBER 010 493 2500 Judiciary Newsletter 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 06 Judiciary Day 14 17th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture 20 Opening the doors to justice for all 22 The role of Courts in a constitutional dispensation 25 Remarks by Judge President Legodi during the opening of the Mpumalanga High Court 27 Risk Influencer of the Year THANKS TO OCJ COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR SUBMISSIONS FOR OCJ COLLEAGUES TO THANKS 29 The Chief Justice speaks 30 SA Judges attend Mediation training in Utah, USA 32 A new chapter for Justice Cameron 34 SAJEI - 9th International Conference on Judicial Training 36 Tribute to Judge van der Linde EDITORIAL STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS Editor: Judge President Dunstan Mlambo Writers: Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng | Acting Deputy Chief Justice Khampepe Judge President Legodi | Ms P Mafenya | Ms LD Ntuli | Ms N Kgatle Photographers: Ms LD Ntuli | Ms P Mafenya | Ms N Kgatle Designer: Ms N Kgatle TheSouthAfricanJudiciary NATIONAL OFFICE: 188 14th Road, Noordwyk, Mindrand, 1685 @OCJ_RSA Judiciary RSA T: +27 10 493 2500 E: [email protected] @OCJ_RSA W: www.judiciary.org.za 4 Judiciary Newsletter Editor Welcome to the holiday season Issue of the Judiciary Newsletter! This time of the year provides an opportunity for reflection on the year that has been and an evaluation of whether we have achieved all that we set out to do when the year started.
    [Show full text]
  • CONSTITUTIONAL COURT of SOUTH AFRICA Case CCT 44/00 the STATE Versus RUSSELL MAMABOLO Appellant Intervening E.TV BUSINESS DAY FR
    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA Case CCT 44/00 THE STATE versus RUSSELL MAMABOLO Appellant Intervening E.TV BUSINESS DAY FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION INSTITUTE Amici Curiae Heard on : 27 February 2001 Decided on : 11 April 2001 JUDGMENT KRIEGLER J: Introduction [1] How far can one go in criticising a judge? Our law, while saying that A[j]ustice is not a cloistered virtue@1 and that Ait is right and proper that . [judges] should be publicly 1 Ambard v Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago [1936] 1 All ER 704 (PC), per Lord Atkin at 709, quoted in Argus Printing and Publishing Co Ltd and Others v Esselen=s Estate 1994 (2) SA 1 (A), per Corbett CJ at 25GCH. KRIEGLER J accountable@,2 does place limits on the criticism of judicial officers and the administration of justice for which they are responsible. This appeal concerns the constitutional validity of some of these limits. More specifically it relates to a conviction for contempt of court resulting from the publication of criticism of a judicial order. Leave was granted to appeal directly to this Court because the case raised constitutional issues of substance on which a ruling by this Court was desirable in the interests of justice.3 The first issue was whether the law relating to the particular form of contempt of court, more colourfully than definitively referred to as scandalising the court, unjustifiably limited the right to freedom of expression vouchsafed by the Constitution.4 The second is whether the procedure recognised and sanctioned by our law whereby a judge could deal summarily with cases of this kind, fell foul of the fair trial rights guaranteed by the Constitution.5 An ancillary constitutional issue relates to the binding force of judicial orders and the related obligation imposed by the Constitution on all organs of state to assist and protect the courts.6 In respect of each of the first two issues, a finding that the law does indeed limit the 2 The Argus Printing and Publishing case, above n 1 at 25ECF.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandile Ngcobo: a Short Study in Judicial Leadership
    ARTICLE Sandile Ngcobo: A Short Study in Judicial Leadership Richard Calland Associate Professor, University of Cape Town Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT This personal tribute to the retired Chief Justice discusses his judicial leadership while he held the position of Chief Justice. It seeks to fill a gap and to ensure that this aspect of Justice Ngcobo’s professional record is not overlooked. This tribute does not attempt to delve into the academic literature related to judicial governance and leadership other than in passing; nor does it draw on the even bigger scholarly pool on leadership in general. Instead, it offers a discursive, somewhat personal account of my perception of the leadership role that Ngcobo played, especially during his brief, but to my mind seminal, period as Chief Justice between 2009 and 2011. Keywords: judicial leadership; reforming Chief Justice; Judiciary; independence For very good reasons, Sandile Ngcobo is widely regarded as a jurist of the highest order. Understandably, this volume and much of the critical acclaim and commentary on his career has focused on Ngcobo’s distinguished contribution to South Africa’s jurisprudential journey since 1994. But far less has been said or written about the former Chief Justice’s leadership role. This short essay seeks to fill a gap and to ensure that this aspect of Justice Ngcobo’s professional record is not overlooked. As such, it re-deploys some of the material and knowledge that I have cited elsewhere in my commentaries on the South African Judiciary,1 attempts at modernising it,2 and its critical place in the politics of the country since the advent of constitutional democracy in the mid-1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • Minister of Justice for All Nearly Twenty Years Into South Africa’S Democracy, Our Justice System Has Outgrown Its International Peers
    EDITION 342 OCTOBER 2013 WWW.LEADERSHIPONLINE.CO.ZA leadership magazine SA'S #1 AWARD WINNING BUSINESS MAGAZINE INTERVIEWSINTERVIEWS •• INSIGHTSINSIGHTS •• INTELLIGENCEINTELLIGENCE interview s ● insight s ● intelligence Sol Kerzner King of hospitality EDITION 342 OCTOBER 2013 Mo Ibrahim Giving back to his roots Tony Ehrenreich Fighting for our trade unions Jeff Radebe Transforming the judicial system ISBNISBN 1-00000-000-1 0251-9988 00342 GREG SOLOMON • REDI THLABI • ROBERT VENTER • NONKULULEKO GOBODO 99 781000770251000009998807 JEFFREY RADEBE JEFFREY RADEBE Minister of Justice for all Nearly twenty years into South Africa’s democracy, our justice system has outgrown its international peers e should not be judged more Minister of Transport, and as well as acting KwaMashu in Natal. As a high school science harshly because of our skin Health Minister. student in Durban, he actually wanted to W colour. We should not be paid Radebe achieved inspiring milestones in all of become a medical doctor. In his last year of any less because of our gender, and his leadership roles and has remained unwaver- Matric his mathematics teacher fell pregnant we shouldn’t be treated with violence ing in his quest to make a difference in South and the school had no one else to teach them. just because we are different. Africa. In public works he initiated the transfor- “Students from the University of Natal Medical mation of the procurement system. “We pioneered School came to our school over weekends to teach Inherently, humans have a desire for equality the black contractor development programme us mathematics. During this time, they also intro- and fairness.
    [Show full text]