The initial commitment, informed by the constitutional dream of the struggle, has been trundled underfoot by ministers and presidents
This is an edited version of the Inaugural Arthur Chaskalson Memorial Lecture delivered at the Equal Education Law Centre
The sense that the commissioners who nominated five candidates for appointment to the Constitutional Court voted for their constituencies, rather than with their conscience, is difficult to shake off.
"We have a painful and shameful history of widespread and institutionalised violence."
His absences from court this year have been criticised, but the Chief Justice defends his contribution to the judiciary
Franny Rabkin tracks down the court records of two young men sentenced to death by two very different judges
A Lonmin employee maintains he "wouldn’t have an idea" why an entry regarding food parcels for SAPS was deleted from the mine’s occurrence books.
Unexpected progressiveness from Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng is drawing a chorus of approval in legal circles.
Former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, Arthur Chaskalson, has been laid to rest in a small, official funeral.
Tributes to former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson continued to pour in from political parties, the legal fraternity and civil society on Monday.
President Zuma has sent condolences to the family of Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson who passed away in Johannesburg.
Attacks on the judiciary are unwarranted.
President Zuma says those who feel the extension of Chief Justice Ngcobo’s term is unconstitutional should have spoken up when the law was drafted.
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/ 12 January 2011
Prominent people have signed a petition in support of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, after he was labelled an anti-Semite for his views on Israel.
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/ 1 February 2009
The call is part of a growing demand by Palestinian sympathisers to investigate the role of South African Jews in the IDF.
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/ 14 October 2008
In the first in a series of articles, Sello S Alcock looks at the careers of the founding Constitutional Court judges.
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/ 2 September 2008
Former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson defended his successor, Pius Langa, in a letter on Tuesday, saying Langa has shown ”commendable leadership”.
Leading legal professionals have dismissed suggestions that the Constitutional Court is in disarray and that it suffers from poor leadership.
Dozens of prominent South Africans have signed a statement condemning a racist video that surfaced at the University of the Free State (UFS) last month. The list of 81 signatories includes renowned authors Nadine Gordimer and Andre Brink, journalists John Perlman and Max du Preez, retired judge Arthur Chaskalson and cartoonist Zapiro.
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/ 2 February 2008
South Africans need to defend the notion of a fair trial in relation to Jacob Zuma, said African National Congress (ANC) national executive committee member Mathole Motshekga at an ANC party gathering at Polokwane in Limpopo, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Saturday.
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/ 25 January 2008
High-profile criminal cases involving senior South African officials have renewed fears among opposition parties and the legal community that judicial independence may be at risk. President Thabo Mbeki’s government has had a testy relationship with the judiciary.
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/ 15 January 2008
We are concerned about the tone of the debate around the contemplated trial of Mr Jacob Zuma, write Arthur Chaskalson and George Bizo.
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Top leaders of the African National Congress said on Tuesday they had ”grave misgivings” about the timing and handling of corruption charges against newly elected leader Jacob Zuma. Zuma has been charged with fraud, corruption, money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion.
The recent concerns of former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson and liberation struggle lawyer George Bizos about statements made by supporters of African National Congress president Jacob Zuma should be dismissed, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Monday.
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The African National Congress’s national executive committee will meet for the first time on Monday since being elected at the party’s national conference in Polokwane. Items on the agenda include the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to charge new ANC president Jacob Zuma with fraud and corruption.
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The corruption charge against Jacob Zuma, the new head of the African National Congress (ANC), is on the agenda of the first meeting since his election of the party’s national executive council on Monday, the party secretary general said on Sunday. ”The corruption charge against Zuma is on the agenda,” Gwede Mantashe, said.
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African National Congress president Jacob Zuma’s innocence or guilt should be decided by the courts and not through rhetorical statements from his detractors or supporters, retired chief justice Arthur Chaskalson and one of South Africa’s top lawyers, George Bizos, said on Saturday.
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/ 12 September 2007
There is background to why Dali Mpofu, supremo at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), announced last week that the broadcaster was severing ties with the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). On the SABC side, the broadcaster’s leadership sees itself as a ”responsible” player in nation-building and promoting the ”national interest”.