biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1938– )
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| biography:
| Leading liberal judge and human rights campaigner, born in Boksburg, NE South Africa. He studied at the the University of Witwatersrand, was called to the bar, and practised as a commercial advocate in Johannesburg. In 1980 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa. He developed an interest in the less powerful members of society and the rights of the individual. He particularly concerned himself with the rights of prisoners and prison conditions, visiting many thousands of prisoners and detained people in South Africa. He was appointed Chairman of the South African Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation (1990–4), which became a watershed in legal history by revealing the truth about the mass violence in South African townships, and restored public confidence in the country's legal system. He served as Chief Prosecutor at the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague against former Yugoslav and Rwanda nationals accused of crimes against humanity (1994–6). Since 1994, he has been a Justice of the South African Constitutional Court. His insistence that victims should be given a fair hearing has distinguished his career as an international human rights lawyer. |
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