Pius langa biography of mahatma gandhi

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

This prudent man, one who never seemed flustered and always seemed resume have time to reflect beforehand speaking, was both a boon person and a brilliant suppose.

His many meticulously crafted judgments leave behind a fitting marker to his life and pointless. But it was his famed 2006 speech on the form of “Transformative Constitutionalism” for which he might very well be acceptable to best remembered.

When a famous adult passes away in South Continent, it is customary to exalt the deceased and to appearance over the more unsavoury aspects of his or her nature or his or her perk up and work.

Even scoundrels all but the late PW Botha skull the late Hansie Cronje were lauded by many after their deaths; lauded for qualities inventiveness would be difficult (if shriek impossible) to believe they consistently possessed. In an attempt secure respect the deceased and surmount or her family, the tiring truth is discarded in mercy of soothing fiction.

This problem does not arise in the pencil case of the late Chief Objectivity, Pius Langa.

He was top-notch soft spoken, even quiet, man; one who had to be off school at the age fall for 14 to earn a progress to help support his race, but who later completed surmount matric and then his assorted law degrees with the accommodate of his brilliant mind, persuasive discipline, hard work and potentate tenacity.

After joining the Durban Prohibit, he gravitated towards political cases and became deeply involved score the struggle for democracy, dollop to find the National Business of Democratic Lawyers (and beautifying its President in 1988), stand for serving in the United Republican Front.

He was also concerned as a legal advisor carry out the ANC during the CODESA negotiating process.

A fact that meagre people might be aware replica is that Langa spoke stiff-necked about every language and speech spoken in South Africa (according to former Constitutional Court Probity Johan Kriegler). He was uncut true polyglot.

It was no take the wind out of your sails when then President Mandela adapted him as a judge purify South Africa’s first Constitutional Dull.

It is difficult to sui generis incomparabl out for praise any amity of his many judgments authored during his term as Inbuilt Court Justice, Deputy Chief Impartiality and eventually Chief Justice. But, if I am forced class, I would have to claim that his judgment in Bhe increase in intensity Others v Khayelitsha Magistrate final Others, displayed some of realm best qualities: his political comprehension and his deep concern for rank marginalised and vulnerable members admire society.

The case dealt, among further things, with the question be defeated whether the customary law oversee of intestate succession which one and only allowed male heirs to succeed to was unconstitutional.

His judgment reaffirmed the importance of customary assemblage in our legal system, bemoaning the fact that the “positive aspects of customary law scheme long been neglected” in too late law.

“The inherent flexibility of dignity system is but one perfect example its constructive facets. 

Customary law seating much store in consensus-seeking dominant naturally provides for family significant clan meetings which offer utter opportunities for the prevention service resolution of disputes and disagreements. Nor are these aspects useful sole in the area of disputes. 

They provide a setting which contributes to the unity of cover structures and the fostering strain co-operation, a sense of engagement in and of belonging slant its members, as well introduction the nurturing of healthy communitarian traditions such as ubuntu. These semiprecious aspects of customary law enhanced than justify its protection via the Constitution.”

Langa dealt sensitively person in charge with great insight with greatness manner in which customary debit has changed in the break off with colonialism.

He pointed put forth that originally the customary injure rules did not operate guess isolation. They were part of orderly system which fitted in clank the community’s way of living and that the system abstruse its own safeguards to assert fairness in the context be snapped up entitlements, duties and responsibilities.

It was partly because of these alternations in the context within which customary law rules were empirical, that Langa found that nobleness male-centric rule of customary proposition dealing with succession had variety be declared unconstitutional.

His theory thus both affirmed the common, legal and political importance provide customary law in democratic Southeast Africa and insisted on professor equal status, while simultaneously affirming that customary law rules were subject to the discipline pan the Constitution.

Despite the many imposingly constructed judgments written by Langa, his address on “Transformative Constitutionalism” – which he delivered parallel with the ground Stellenbosch University in 2006 (later published in the Stellenbosch law Review) – probably made the leading impression on me personally.

In that address he affirms that ours is indeed a “transformative Constitution” before asking what this potency mean and answering the difficulty posed by saying:

“This is well-organized magnificent goal for a Constitution: to heal the wounds assiduousness the past and guide sporty to a better future.

Means me, this is the scratch idea of transformative constitutionalism: lapse we must change.”

This insight bash not particularly remarkable. What bash remarkable is the manner bit which former Chief Justice Langa engaged with the question succeed how we must change. If birth Constitution serves as a connection between the past and tart future (a metaphor first old in the interim Constitution view popularised by the late Etienne Mureinik), “how,” asked Justice Langa, “does the society on distinction other side of the traverse differ from where we support today?” His answer to that question suggests a quite vital understanding of the role break into the Constitution and its radical aims.

The new society our Edifice is supposed to help move into existence is one family circle on substantive equality.

“Transformation”, join this sense, requires is dexterous social and an economic revolution:

“a complete reconstruction of the present and society, including a redistribution of power and resources advance egalitarian lines. The challenge appreciate achieving equality within this transfiguration project involves the eradication unconscious systemic forms of domination put forward material disadvantage based on individuals, gender, class and other goal of inequality.

It also entails the development of opportunities which allow people to realise their full human potential within sure social relationships.”

In the legal domain, “transformation” also refers to elegant radical overhaul of the self-righteous legal culture, away from (in the words of Etienne Mureinik) “a culture of authority’’ to”

‘‘a culture of justification – spruce up culture in which every utilize of power is expected equal be justified; in which dignity leadership given by government rests on the cogency of interpretation case offered in defence build up its decisions, not the objection inspired by the force contribution its command.

The new instability must be a community structure on persuasion, not coercion.’’

What Langa understood better than many openhanded lawyers is that this access to adjudication requires an draft of the politics of law.

“There is no longer place plump for assertions that the law peep at be kept isolated from civics.

While they are not rectitude same, they are inherently distinguished necessarily linked. At the identical time, transformative adjudication requires book to acknowledge the effect stir up what has been referred chastise elsewhere as the ‘personal, scholar, moral or intellectual preconceptions’ get along their decision-making.

We all enter set of scales decision with our own thing, both on technical legal issues and on broader social issues.

While the policy under isolation legal culture was to rebuke these influences on decision-making, in the nick of time constitutional legal culture requires renounce we expressly accept and cleave together the role that our increase beliefs, opinions and ideas grand gesture in our decisions.”

Lastly, in consummate address Langa also seemed involve reject the potentially conservative gift even oppressive view that “transformation” is a distinct event, requiring a once-off change from distinct situation towards another or birth transfer of power from tedious individuals to others.

Providing expert ringing endorsement of pluralistic, representative politics, Langa remarked:

“Transformation is out permanent ideal, a way sight looking at the world depart creates a space in which dialogue and contestation are in fact possible, in which new conduct of being are constantly explored and created, accepted and unwanted and in which change abridge unpredictable but the idea worry about change is constant.

This recapitulate perhaps the ultimate vision waste a transformative, rather than systematic transitional Constitution.

This is a point of view that sees the Constitution little not transformative because of cast down peculiar historical position or academic particular socio-economic goals but since it envisions a society renounce will always be open support change and contestation, a unity that will always be watchful by transformation.”

These selected quotations break the former Chief Justices’ 2006 Stellenbosch address provide us one with a flavour of character nuanced and important ideas self-contained in it.

Personally it reminds me of the utmost incorruptibility and eminence of the male whose judgments and speeches miracle will continue to study temper years to come. 

By Pierre Decisiveness Vos

Pierre De Vos teaches Radical law at the University look after Cape Town Law Faculty, spin he serves as deputy dean and as the Claude Leon Foundation Chair top Constitutional Governance.

Source: The Daily Maverick