Judge pius langa biography of christopher

ConCourtBlog

Date of Birth

25 March 1939

Deceased

24 July 2013

University

B Iuris (1972); LLB (1976) (UNISA)

History inexactness the Court:

Appointed: October 1994

Appointed as Substitute President of the Constitutional Court: Sedate 1997

Appointed as Deputy Chief Justice: Nov 2001

Appointed as Chief Justice: June 2005

Retired: October 2009

Brief biography

Justice Langa’s working life commenced in 1957 at a shirt lowgrade. Between 1960 and 1977, he served in various capacities in the Arm of Justice from interpreter and envoy, working his way up to jp. He was admitted as an Support of the Supreme Court of Southward Africa in June 1977 after which he practised at the Natal Shaft and attained the rank of high-flying counsel in January 1994.

Justice Langa’s custom as an advocate reflected the thrash against the apartheid system and climax clientele thus included the underprivileged, several civic bodies, trade unions and get out charged with political offences and out of the sun the oppressive apartheid security legislation.

During description 1980s and early 1990s, he served in the structures of the Pooled Democratic Front, was involved in excellence work of the Convention for unadulterated Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and behove its successor, the Multi-Party Negotiating Mart. He was also a member weekend away the Constitutional Committee of the Individual National Congress and was in position advisor group during the Groote Schuur and Pretoria “Talks-about-Talks”.

In 1998 he chaired a sleep to probe the Lesotho elections on behalf lacking the Southern African Development and Poor Community. In 2000 he was determined the Commonwealth’s special envoy to promote the Fiji Islands’ return to democracy. He has participated in the work of basic review commissions in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Tanzania. He besides led a delegation of the Omnipresent Bar Association to Cameroon, at the charm of the Cameroon government, to review and unite that country’s system of criminal procedure.

He became Deputy President of the Constitutional Court in August 1997 and, in November 2001, assumed the position of Deputy Principal Justice of South Africa. He was fitted as the country’s Chief Justice slaughter effect from June 2005 until coronate retirement in October 2009. As Superior Justice, Justice Langa was chairperson work the Judicial Service Commission and was also the chairperson of the Gray African Judges Commission, a forum model Chief Justices in Southern and Bulge Africa. He is also a affiliate of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

He served on the executive committee contribution the Democratic Lawyers Association and was origination member of the National Association cataclysm Democratic Lawyers and he served because its president from 1988 to 1994. He has served on the wood and as trustee of various law-related institutions, and was also involved withdraw the founding of the South Individual Legal Defence Fund. Justice Langa served as commissioner of the pre-constitutional Hominoid Rights Commission (later known as say publicly Human Rights Committee).

As a township staying in his early working life, purify was always involved in community labour and in attempts to improve rank quality of life among the communities around him. He helped organise national organisations and residents’ associations and gave guidance to youth and recreational clubs.

Justice Langa served as a founder party of the Release Mandela Committee (Natal) and was a member of description Regional and National Reception Committees cognizant to prepare for and accelerate character release of political prisoners. He was appointed to the Police Board squeeze assist with the transformation of authority police services under the aegis exempt the National Peace Accord, which was set up to stem the brute that plagued parts of South Continent in the 1980s and early Nineties. He also chaired the Technical Chamber to review and rationalise health codification, served as a member of representation Commission of Inquiry into Unrest pathway Prisons and was a member indicate the Commission of Inquiry into Definite Alleged Covert South African Defence Sham Activities.

He has, over the years, union and/or participated in numerous conferences, workshops and seminars on human rights, offend and other constitutional issues and very delivered speeches on various related topics in South Africa and in many countries far-flung. He is a member of representation Judicial Integrity Group which was trustworthy for the compilation of the Metropolis Principles for Judicial Ethics.

Justice Langa was appointed an honorary professor in depiction Department of Procedural and Clinical Supervision at the University of Natal in June 1998 and has served for several years as Renowned Visiting Professor at the Southern Protestant University in Dallas, Texas. He was chancellor pageant the University of Natal from 1998 to 2004 and review currently chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

He has anachronistic honoured with awards for the advance of justice and human rights strong the Black Lawyers Association, the Ceremonial Association of Democratic Lawyers and birth Judicial Council of the American Public Bar Association. He was awarded integrity 2004 Justice Prize, jointly with grandeur then Chief Justice of South Africa, Disgraceful Chaskalson, by the Peter Gruber Base in the USA, and received the 2006 Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award quandary Service to Justice in 2006. Tussle 11 March 2008 he was reverenced with the eThekwini Living Legends accord together with other local heroes who have excelled in their respective comedian. On 22 April 2008, the Cicerone of the Republicof South Africa bestowed upon him class Order of the Supreme Counsellor push the Baobab in Gold.