In memoriam of Arthur Chaskalson

Quietly discussing Marikana in anticipation of the LRC office celebration of the birthday of George Bizos; slipping unobtrusively into our two-day workshop and engaging around the right to education in South Africa. These are the two images that we are left with of Arthur Chaskalson immediately prior to his medical check-up which subsequently saw him admitted to the Milpark Hospital. Less than two weeks later, South Africa lost a truly extraordinary human being.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC), an organisation that he founded 33 years ago, lost its Trustee and mentor; and all who worked with him know that we have been truly privileged to have done so.

Arthur Chaskalson was born in November 1931 and, having completed his law degree in 1954, was admitted to the Johannesburg Bar in 1956. He was counsel for many of our country's freedom fighters, including Nelson Mandela and others during the Rivonia Trial. He left a flourishing private practice as an Advocate at the Bar in order to help establish and work at the LRC, a non-profit organisation which worked against apartheid and which, today, continues to use law to pursue justice and human rights in South Africa.

Judge Chaskalson was centrally involved in the negotiation process and the drafting of our Interim Constitution. He was appointed by President Nelson Mandela in June 1994 to be the first President of South Africa's new Constitutional Court and was the Chief Justice of South Africa from November 2001 until his retirement in 2005. In this role, he established a culture of collegiality, collective endeavour and public accessibility that serves as a beacon to all.

He was an Honorary Professor and awarded honorary doctorates from at least 9 universities. He was part of the leadership of International Bar Association and served as President of the International Commission of Jurists from 2004 to 2008. In December 2002, he was awarded the national honour of Supreme Counsellor of the Baobab [gold] for his service to our country and a mark of recognition for his contribution to human rights and democracy throughout the world. His intellectual brilliance was matched by his exceptional service to the community; his analysis was undertaken with enormous empathy; his leadership was exercised through example; and he met national and international recognition with unwavering humility.

Arthur was not encumbered by dogma and always ready to listen. Yet, having weighed up what in any given circumstance, he believed to be right: his resolve was steely and concisely articulated. He was a very private person and, in his essence, a true family man. He was loved by many and will be missed by us all. To his sons, Matthew and Jerome and their families, and to his wife and anchor for 52 years, Lorraine: our deepest condolences.

Janet Love

LRC National Director

Issued by the LRC, December 4 2012

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