The Beauty of the Law
In the beautiful language that it is written in, the law is a masterpiece. Predicated on a Constitution that is one of the most robust in the world, South African law is a thing of beauty. It gives justice to the marginalized, brings perpetrators to justice, and speaks when we don’t have the words.
Like a living creature, the law evolves, strengthening its DNA with each precedent set by brilliant minds. It speaks truths, and its beauty is glaringly obvious when administered by a fair and unbiased court, with presiding officers who uphold the integrity of the law.
However, in the hands of the cunning, the law can be used to cut down and destroy. Ultimately, it is the integrity of those wielding it – attorneys, litigants, support staff, and judicial officers – that determines its true beauty.
Justice for all doesn’t mean just justice for you. Although one may win and the other lose when sitting opposite each other, justice, when administered justly, gives justice to both. Which end of justice you are deserving of is entirely of your own doing.
Here are some of the most beautiful extracts from judgments that I find truly captivating:
“Although a principal and important consideration in relation to a fair trial is that the trial must be fair in relation to the accused, the concept of a fair trial is not limited to ensuring fairness for the accused. It is much broader. A court must also ensure that the trial is fair overall, and in that process, balance the interests of the accused with that of society at large and the administration of justice.”
And perhaps one of my favorites:
“The notion that ‘we are not islands unto ourselves’ is central to the understanding of the individual in African thought. It is often expressed in the phrase umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which emphasizes ‘communality and the inter-dependence of the members of a community’ and that every individual is an extension of others. According to Gyekye, ‘an individual human person cannot develop and achieve the fullness of his/her potential without the concrete act of relating to other individual persons’. This thinking emphasizes the importance of community to individual identity and hence to human dignity. Dignity and identity are inseparably linked, as one’s sense of self-worth is defined by one’s identity. Cultural identity is one of the most important parts of a person’s identity, precisely because it flows from belonging to a community and not from personal choice or achievement.“
A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
