Mail & Guardian Reporters
The question about why there are virtually no photographs of the judges in the Appellate Division has been answered by the librarian at the Rand Supreme Court.
She told a reporter that if the media published the judges’ photos, it would be “putting their lives in jeopardy.” She refused to tell an M&G reporter where he could find their photographs in Gauteng. And she explained to another reporter that even if he found their photographs, he would be unable to publish them without permission from the chief justice.
The chief justice’s secretary was more accommodating, saying most of the judges, including the chief justice, preferred to remain faceless. But she said the press was welcome to publish the group photograph which hangs in the AD’s hall in Bloemfontein.
* BERNADETTE Gibson, who suffered severe acid burns at the hands of a negligent gynaecologist, has been ordered to pay the costs of her marathon trial.
Despite being offered a settlement of almost R300 000, her lawyer, Peter Soller, fought on at great expense for R3,2-million in damages. Gibson was eventually awarded R133 000 but now, as expected, she faces a costs bill of more than R400 000 because she declined the out-of-court settlement. Judge Claassen reportedly said Soller had called “unnecessary witnesses”.