Albie Sachs

Drucilla Cornell

Karin van Marle

Many critical theorists talk and write about the day after the revolution, but few have actually participated in the constitution of a revolutionary government. Emeritus Justice Albie Sachs was a freedom fighter for most of his life. He then played a major role in the negotiating committee for the new constitution of South Africa, and was subsequently appointed to the new Constitutional Court of South Africa. Therefore, the question of what it means to make the transition from a freedom fighter to a participant in a revolutionary government is not abstract, in Hegel’s sense of the word, it is an actual journey that Albie Sachs undertook. The essays in this book raise the complex question of what it actually means to make this transition without selling out to the demands of realism. In addition, the preface written by Emeritus Justice Albie Sachs and his interview with Drucilla Cornell and Karin van Marle, further address key questions about revolution in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries: from armed struggle to the organization of a nation state committed to ethical transformation in the name of justice. Albie Sachs and transformation in South Africa: from revolutionary activist to constitutional court judge illuminates the theoretical and practical experiences of revolution and its political aftermath. With first-hand accounts alongside academic interrogation, this unique book will intrigue anyone interested in the intersection of Law and Politics.

From Revolutionary Activist to Constitutional Court Judge

Albie Sachs and Transformation in South Africa

A lawyer’s response to the current travails of South African constitutionalism - PULP FICTIONS No. 5 Edited by Karin van Marle 2009 ISSN: 1992-5174 Pages: 10 Print version: Available Electronic version: Free PDF available About the publication In this edition of Pulp fictions we have shifted from the usual paper and respondent format. In May this year Judge Johan Froneman delivered a talk called, ‘A lawyer’s response to the current travails of South African constitutionalism’ to the South African Law Deans Association. The talk is reproduced here. In his talk he carefully considers some of the many challenges and tensions faced by not only lawyers and legal scholars, but also by ordinary South Africans living within a post-apartheid context. Responding to a statement by retired Constitutional Court judge, Johan Kriegler, that in many cases commitment to the principles of rule of law and democracy amount to ‘mere lip service’, Froneman paradoxically calls for exactly ‘lipservice’ to be paid to the constitution. Froneman’s talk, like all words, could of course be interpreted in many ways. However, given his commitment to engagements that go beyond the merely instrumental, we could consider interpretations that disclose possibilities such as lip-service as performativity,1 lip-service as double-gesture,2 or at least lip-service to the principles and ideals of constitutionalism and human rights in the vein of what Patricia Williams calls an ‘unlocking’.3 About the Editor: Karin van Marle is a Professor at the Department of Legal History, Comparitive Law and Jurisprudence, at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria

A lawyer’s response to the current travails of South African constitutionalism - PULP FICTIONS No. 5

Mia Swart

The Limits of Transition: The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission 20 Years on is an interdisciplinary collection that celebrates and critiques the work of the TRC after 20 years. The authors consider whether the TRC has continued relevance for South Africa. The book further explores the legacy of the ‘unfinished business’ of the TRC.

Karin van Marle

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