Justice Yvonne Mokgoro: South Africa’s trailblazing defender of justice, human dignity and the constitution
Retrieved on:
Monday, May 15, 2023
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Many great legal minds have made important contributions to the development of the law, justice and constitutionalism in South Africa.
Key Points:
- Many great legal minds have made important contributions to the development of the law, justice and constitutionalism in South Africa.
- One figure who stands out as a particularly influential jurist of the era is retired judge Yvonne Mokgoro.
- She was among the first justices of the country’s new constitutional court, serving from 1994 to 2009.
The early years and education
- She finished high school at the local St Boniface High School in 1970.
- Her university education was mostly part time.
- She also studied at the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, where she earned a second LLM degree in 1990.
Legacy
- Her academic writing and judgments have aided the development of constitutionalism in South Africa.
- She believes that all South Africans have a patriotic duty not to allow the constitution to slide into disrepute.
- She has urged the
revival of African jurisprudence as part of the total or broader process of the African renaissance. - It was about her responsibility to the people of South Africa, ensuring justice for everyone and improving people’s lives.
Judgments
- Mokgoro’s advocacy for group solidarity and reconciliation is discernible in several of her judgments.
- She thus advanced the rights of immigrants and refugees in South Africa, and advocated for the protection of all children.
Legal icon
- Mokgoro deserves to be celebrated as a selfless jurist who highlighted the centrality of the constitution and human rights in South Africa.
- She is an icon of the legal profession, a defender of the marginalised.