UCT DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LECTURE THE STATE OF THE RULE OF LAW

Geoff Budlender SC, advocate


Thursday 22 January 5.00 pm

There will be a reception at 6.00 pm after the lecture.

This lecture is FREE but booking is essential to secure a place.

The rule of law is a founding value of our Constitution. Thirty years later, many issues are raised about the current state of the rule of law, and the future of the rule of law. This lecture will address the following:

  • Is the judiciary independent? Judicial independence at a time of transformation.
  • Is the judicial appointment process fit for purpose? What impact has it had on the nature and quality of our judiciary?
  • Compliance with the Constitution and orders of the courts.
  • ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ Causes, consequences and remedies.
  • Law, politics and lawfare: politics by other means?
  • The ethical responsibilities of lawyers to the courts, the administration of justice, and the Constitution.
  • How to build public confidence in the courts.

Recommended reading

Mafora, D. 2023. Capture in the Court. Cape Town: Tafelberg.

Ngcukaitobi, T. 2018. The Land is Ours. Cape Town: Penguin Random House South Africa.

 

Biography

Advocate Geoff Budlender SC appears frequently in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and High Court, and also in the courts of Namibia and Botswana. He has acted as a judge of the High Court in Johannesburg and Cape Town. He is a Professor Extraordinary in Public Law at Stellenbosch University and was honoured with the George Bizos Human Rights Award. He is the former Chair of the University of Cape Town Council (2004–2008) and was President of the SRC in 1971.

TO BOOK: https://www.webtickets.co.za/performance.aspx?itemid=1575224253

 

Geoff Budlender

Advocate Geoff Budlender SC appears frequently in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and High Court, and also in the courts of Namibia and Botswana. He has acted as a judge of the High Court in Johannesburg and Cape Town. He is a Professor Extraordinary in Public Law at Stellenbosch University and was honoured with the George Bizos Human Rights Award. He is the former Chair of the University of Cape Town Council (2004–2008) and was President of the SRC in 1971. Together with Felicia Kentridge and Arthur Chaskalson, he founded the Legal Resources Centre, which provided free legal services in cases of forced removals during apartheid.