Speeches

Address by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Hon John Jeffery, MP, at the Law Reform Essay Competition, hosted by the South African Law Reform Commission, held at the Southern Sun Hotel, Beatrix Street, Pretoria, 29 September 2023

Programme Directors,
Justice Jody Kollapen, Chairperson of the Commission,
Fellow Commissioners,
Members of the Langa Family,
Mr Edmund Beerwinkel and the team from Juta’s,
Members of the adjudication panel,
Participants in the competition and their families,
Esteemed guests and friends,

It is indeed an honour to once again be part of this event.  

This year’s South African Law Reform Commission Legal Essay Writing Competition in honour of the late Chief Justice Pius Langa celebrates significant milestones that are of great importance - not only to the competition itself, but also to the Law Reform Commission.

Firstly, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Commission through the South African Law Reform Commission Act of 1973. This is an important milestone to recognise and to commend the legal research and law reform recommendations done by this institution over the period of half a century.

The work being done by the Commission is extremely important – it is tasked to do research with reference to all branches of the law and to make recommendations for the development, improvement, modernisation or reform thereof. 

Law reform proposals should be aligned to South Africa's priorities as a developmental state and be aimed at keeping the law in sync with developments in society and in tune with the needs of South Africa's diverse population and national policy priorities.

As society and the needs and demands of society change, so should the law.

Furthermore, this year marks 20 years of the Legal Essay Writing Competition which was initially established as the Ismail Mahomed Law Reform Essay Writing Competition, in honour of the late Chief Justice and former Chairperson of the SALRC, Justice Ismail Mahomed.

Additionally, this year commemorates five years of the competition being dedicated in honour of the late Chief Justice Pius Nkonzo Langa.

The winning essays and some of the entries for this edition of the competition cover a variety of topics.

These range from the appointment of judges, setting qualification standards for the appointment of Ministers, the development of a reputative marriage doctrine to assist vulnerable parties in valid customary marriages, to decolonising the South African Constitution and legal system and to looking at the effects of unconscious bias in the justice system.

I also noticed that one of the essays focused on trademark protection and I was then immediately reminded of the words of the writer Mark Twain who once remarked on the difficulty of intellectual property law and said that the only one thing which may be impossible for God is, and I quote, “to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” I must confess that I agree with his sentiments.

This competition would not be possible without the support of our competition partners, Juta and Company, who are also celebrating their 70th birthday.

Their support has, and still is, instrumental in championing this event and in creating a platform to encourage students to contribute to law reform in South Africa.

Juta’s have been publishing the winning essays which gives students’ essays visibility. They have sponsored the prizes for the students and their supervisors from the respective university law faculty. They also lead in the marketing of the competition.

And, importantly, I also want to pay tribute to the late Chief Justice Pius Langa.

Pius Langa was a great man and his life is one which continues to inspire us. Born in Bushbuckridge in 1939, Pius Nkonzo Langa, the second of seven children, completed his high school education through private study and obtained the B Iuris and LL B degrees through the University of South Africa.

In 1957 he started his working life in a clothing factory in order to fund his studies, between 1960 and 1977 he served in the Department of Justice, initially as an interpreter and messenger and later as a magistrate.

He was admitted as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1977, practised at the Natal Bar and attained the rank of Senior Counsel in 1994.

His practice as an advocate reflected the struggle against the apartheid system and he represented the underprivileged, the marginalised and the poor. His clients were various civic bodies, trade unions and people charged with political offences under the oppressive apartheid security legislation.

When the Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994, Justice Langa was appointed together with ten others as the first judges of the new Court.

He became its Deputy President in 1997 and in 2001 assumed the position of Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. He was appointed the country’s Chief Justice and head of the Constitutional Court with effect from 2005 and served until his retirement in October 2009. 

Pius Langa was a great man and a great jurist and we all miss him tremendously. In the words of Prof Pierre de Vos:
“This measured man, one who never seemed flustered and always seemed to have time to reflect before speaking, was both a good person and a brilliant jurist. His many meticulously crafted judgments leave behind a fitting memorial to his life and work.”

In this spirit I want to thank the Langa family have been so generous and supportive of this competition by attending the awards ceremony every year for the past five years and sharing memories of the late Chief Justice, his wisdom and contribution to the legal profession, to our justice system and to South African society.

We are often reminded of the well-known words, when he spoke of the transformative nature of the Constitution and said:
“This is a magnificent goal for a Constitution: to heal the wounds of the past and guide us to a better future. For me, this is the core idea of transformative constitutionalism: that we must change.”

This has been the biggest achievement of the Constitution – we have changed. We have changed because the Constitution has brought about significant societal change and, with it, social justice.

We have changed, because of the Constitution. Constitutional supremacy is the biggest highlight in and of itself.

The fact that the Constitution is the benchmark against which we measure conduct and laws, as well as being the compass that guides our actions as a nation, is the biggest step towards a better future for everyone.

Programme Directors,
We are very proud of this competition. The essay competition encourages critical legal writing by students, while generating new ideas for law reform.  Law reform is a fundamental pillar of a constitutional state.

So why does a country need good laws? Are laws truly able to impact on people’s daily lives in a significant way, and if so, how?

In 1994, the Constitution became the supreme law of the country, replacing parliamentary supremacy.  In the 1994 South African Journal on Human Rights the late Professor Etienne Mureinik described the Interim Constitution as a bridge from a culture of authority to one of justification, where every action of government is expected to be justified.

Since 1994, we have embarked on the mammoth task of transforming the entire justice system by putting in place the foundation and pillars to build and sustain our new democratic constitutional dispensation. 

Improving access to justice for all and enhancing the rule of law have been critical priorities for Government. 

Our main objectives have been to bring the justice structures and systems in line with the Constitution, to re-establish trust and public confidence in our justice institutions and to restore the legitimacy of the system.

Constitutional imperatives included the promotion of the right to equality, just administrative action, access to the courts, protection of the rights of all arrested, detained and accused persons, and other matters concerning the administration of justice. 

Since the dawn of democracy, various initiatives were undertaken to extend access to justice to those who had previously been excluded. Access to justice was further improved through the creation of more courts, particularly in previously disadvantaged communities.

Good laws make democracy possible. But laws also have a deeply personal impact on people’s daily lives.

Here we think of laws that have been passed such as the Promotion of Access to Information Act, where you can get information which affects you. We think of the Civil Unions Act, which brought about same sex marriages.

Currently, the Department of Home Affairs is working on a new Marriage Bill which seeks to rationalise different legislation dealing with marriages and to ensure that all persons, regardless of race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religious or cultural beliefs, are treated equally and with dignity.

Today we have laws to keep us safe online and protect us against cybercrime, we have data protection laws and laws to protect our personal information.

We have laws which give effect to various different human rights and how we protect and promote those rights.

As I mentioned earlier, we adapt our laws and change them as the needs of society change. At the moment, one of the important Bills before Parliament is the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.

Some people may ask why do we need a bill like this? We need it, not to prevent free speech as some people claim, but we need it precisely because we are living in a world in which discrimination and hatred is increasing, and we want to stop that.

We want to stop hate crimes taking place and targeting people on the basis of their race, their sexual orientation, their disabilities and so forth.

And bills and laws take a long time to pass, because of the enormous amount of research and legal comparative work which go into them. Furthermore, meaningful public participation takes long.

One can’t legislate quickly or in haste, because that may lead to unintended consequences.

And that is why law reform and legal research is so vitally important and why the work of the Law Reform Commission is fundamental.

And on the note of the Commission, I want to conclude by mentioning that this year’s competition awards ceremony coincides with the end of term of the current Commission under the leadership of Justice Jody Kollapen, Chairperson of the SARLC.

The Commission was appointed in October 2018 and the Commissioners have served with distinction. 

The last meeting of the Commission will take place tomorrow and their term will end on the 4th of October 2023.

I want to make special mention of Justice Kollapen and Mr Lawrence who both served two terms on the Commission – both from 2013 to 2018 in their first term, and then from 2018 in their second term.

Under their leadership the Commission has produced sterling work, such as Discussion Papers on, amongst others, Medico-Legal Claims, on the investigation of Legal Fees, on Maternity and Paternity Benefits for Self-Employed Workers in the Informal Economy, and on a Single Marriage Statute, to name but a few.

I want to sincerely thank all the Commissioners for their hard work and their dedication to law reform, to our Constitution and to accessible justice in our country.

To conclude, laws have the power to make our lives better, laws can contribute to a better society and to a peaceful world.

Our young people are often catalysts for social change.  We believe that for South Africa to thrive as a constitutional democracy, it is fundamental that our younger generations know their constitutional rights.

Human rights awareness is vital, as it contributes to a society which is based on freedom, human dignity and equality.

I want to sincerely congratulate the winners, the runners up and each and every student who submitted an essay.

My hope is that many of you will one day be the drafters, the interpreters and the defenders of our laws. 

I thank you.