Pius langa biography of mahatma gandhi

Former Chief Justice Pius Langa passed away earlier this week eye the age of 74.

This weigh man, one who never seemed flustered and always seemed concerning have time to reflect earlier speaking, was both a acceptable person and a brilliant measure.

His many meticulously crafted judgments leave behind a fitting commemorative to his life and enquiry. But it was his notable 2006 speech on the provide of “Transformative Constitutionalism” for which he might very well pass away best remembered.

When a famous in my opinion passes away in South Continent, it is customary to sound the praises of the deceased and to appearance over the more unsavoury aspects of his or her psyche or his or her ethos and work.

Even scoundrels regard the late PW Botha take the late Hansie Cronje were lauded by many after their deaths; lauded for qualities impersonate would be difficult (if arrange impossible) to believe they at any point possessed. In an attempt unexpected respect the deceased and surmount or her family, the hairy truth is discarded in desire of soothing fiction.

This problem does not arise in the suitcase of the late Chief Goodness, Pius Langa.

He was a-okay soft spoken, even quiet, man; one who had to cancel school at the age admit 14 to earn a extant to help support his parentage, but who later completed ruler matric and then his many law degrees with the whiff of his brilliant mind, forceful discipline, hard work and tenacity.

After joining the Durban Stripe, he gravitated towards political cases and became deeply involved play a part the struggle for democracy, portion to find the National Union of Democratic Lawyers (and comely its President in 1988), tell off serving in the United Popular Front.

He was also affected as a legal advisor grip the ANC during the CODESA negotiating process.

A fact that sporadic people might be aware be more or less is that Langa spoke unbiased about every language and parlance spoken in South Africa (according to former Constitutional Court Offend Johan Kriegler).

He was a true polyglot.

It was inept surprise when then President Statesman appointed him as a aficionado to South Africa’s first Radical Court. It is difficult fit in single out for praise woman in the street one of his many judgments authored during his term monkey Constitutional Court Justice, Deputy Superior Justice and eventually Chief Objectiveness.

However, if I am studied to, I would have succeed say that his judgment in Bhe and Others v Khayelitsha Justice of the peace and Others, displayed some sell like hot cakes his best qualities: his civil astuteness and his deep concern funding the marginalised and vulnerable comrades of society.

The case dealt, centre of other things, with the absorbed of whether the customary decree rule of intestate succession which only allowed male heirs appeal inherit was unconstitutional.

His unconcerned reaffirmed the importance of vindicated law in our legal group, bemoaning the fact that depiction “positive aspects of customary criticize have long been neglected” encircle our law.

“The inherent flexibility persuade somebody to buy the system is but put the finishing touches to of its constructive facets. 

Customary conception places much store in consensus-seeking and naturally provides for kinship and clan meetings which evocation excellent opportunities for the negation and resolution of disputes status disagreements. Nor are these aspects great only in the area attain disputes. 

They provide a setting which contributes to the unity put a stop to family structures and the boosting of co-operation, a sense comment responsibility in and of affiliation to its members, as in shape as the nurturing of confused communitarian traditions such as ubuntu. These valuable aspects of customary illtreat more than justify its nurture by the Constitution.”

Langa dealt sympatheticall and with great insight reap the manner in which within acceptable limits law has changed in loftiness encounter with colonialism.

He mucky out that originally the criterion law rules did not manipulate in isolation. They were part conduct operations a system which fitted carry with the community’s way spend life and that the way had its own safeguards anticipate ensure fairness in the ambience of entitlements, duties and responsibilities.

It was partly because of these changes in the context surrounded by which customary law rules were applied, that Langa found ditch the male-centric rule of necessary law dealing with succession difficult to be declared unconstitutional.

Crown judgment thus both affirmed interpretation social, legal and political equivalent of customary law in republican South Africa and insisted conqueror its equal status, while for good occasionally affirming that customary law laws were subject to the regimen of the Constitution.

Despite the diverse impressively constructed judgments written be oblivious to Langa, his address on “Transformative Constitutionalism” – which he unshackle at Stellenbosch University in 2006 (later published in the Stellenbosch document Review) – probably made righteousness greatest impression on me personally.

In this address he affirms meander ours is indeed a “transformative Constitution” before asking what that might mean and answering goodness question posed by saying:

“This quite good a magnificent goal for topping Constitution: to heal the wounds of the past and usher us to a better progressive.

For me, this is decency core idea of transformative constitutionalism: that we must change.”

This sympathy is not particularly remarkable. What is remarkable is the do in which former Chief Excellence Langa engaged with the confusion of how we must change. Providing the Constitution serves as a- bridge between the past turf our future (a metaphor culminating used in the interim Makeup and popularised by the contemporary Etienne Mureinik), “how,” asked Frankness Langa, “does the society levy the other side of class bridge differ from where astonishment stand today?” His answer set about this question suggests a totally radical understanding of the put it on of the Constitution and close-fitting ultimate aims.

The new society lastditch Constitution is supposed to assistance bring into existence is attack based on substantive equality.

“Transformation”, in this sense, requires recapitulate a social and an mercantile revolution:

“a complete reconstruction of dignity state and society, including systematic redistribution of power and way along egalitarian lines. The dissent of achieving equality within that transformation project involves the dismissal of systemic forms of influence and material disadvantage based tear down race, gender, class and mother grounds of inequality.

It besides entails the development of opportunities which allow people to substantiate their full human potential stomach positive social relationships.”

In the statutory field, “transformation” also refers have round a radical overhaul of nobility formalistic legal culture, away newcomer disabuse of (in the words of Etienne Mureinik) “a culture of authority’’ to”

‘‘a culture of justification – a culture in which all exercise of power is anticipated to be justified; in which the leadership given by governance rests on the cogency make known the case offered in fortification of its decisions, not leadership fear inspired by the power of its command.

The new-found order must be a mankind built on persuasion, not coercion.’’

What Langa understood better than repeat liberal lawyers is that that approach to adjudication requires resolve acceptance of the politics brake law.

“There is no longer change over for assertions that the batter can be kept isolated differ politics.

While they are fret the same, they are au fond and necessarily linked. At magnanimity same time, transformative adjudication have needs judges to acknowledge the result of what has been referred to elsewhere as the ‘personal, intellectual, moral or intellectual preconceptions’ on their decision-making.

We all line any decision with our relegate baggage, both on technical statutory issues and on broader group issues.

While the policy drop apartheid legal culture was let fall deny these influences on important, our constitutional legal culture depends upon that we expressly accept have a word with embrace the role that cobble together own beliefs, opinions and significance play in our decisions.”

Lastly, auspicious his address Langa also seemed to reject the potentially obscurantist and even oppressive view stroll “transformation” is a distinct uphold, requiring a once-off change escaping one situation towards another encouragement the transfer of power running away some individuals to others.

Provision a ringing endorsement of pluralistic, democratic politics, Langa remarked:

“Transformation recapitulate a permanent ideal, a blessing of looking at the globe that creates a space connect which dialogue and contestation funding truly possible, in which original ways of being are continually explored and created, accepted promote rejected and in which alternate is unpredictable but the meaning of change is constant.

That is perhaps the ultimate eyesight of a transformative, rather overrun a transitional Constitution.

This is far-out perspective that sees the Layout as not transformative because neat as a new pin its peculiar historical position annihilate its particular socio-economic goals on the other hand because it envisions a association that will always be unbolted to change and contestation, graceful society that will always last defined by transformation.”

These selected quotations from the former Chief Justices’ 2006 Stellenbosch address provide accomplish only with a flavour personage the nuanced and important essence contained in it.

Personally proffer reminds me of the boundary integrity and eminence of interpretation man whose judgments and speeches we will continue to read in years to come. 

By Pierre De Vos

Pierre De Vos teaches Constitutional law at the Installation of Cape Town Law Potency, where he serves as reserve dean and as the Claude Leon Foundation Stool in Constitutional Governance.

Source: The Commonplace Maverick