Gold Medal RECIPIENT 2024

JUSTICE ALBIE SACHS

Justice Albie Sachs has been a prominent figure in the fight for liberation, democracy, human rights and social justice in South Africa. His activism began at age 17, when, as a law student at the University of Cape Town, he participated in the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign. He was at the Congress of the People in Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was adopted. By age 21, he was practising as an advocate, primarily defending individuals charged under apartheid’s oppressive laws Justice Sachs endured personal persecution, including raids, banning orders, and solitary confinement without trial. In 1966, he went into exile, spending 11 years in England and 11 in Mozambique, the latter being where he was severely injured by a bomb placed in his car by South African security agents. Despite this, he continued his work with the ANC, helping to draft the organisation’s statutes and its Code of Conduct forbidding the use of torture. Returning to South Africa in 1990, he played a significant role in drafting the new democratic Constitution and was appointed to the Constitutional Court by Nelson Mandela in 1994. He authored notable judgments on same-sex marriages, the right of prisoners to vote, and the rights of homeless people. His term on the bench ended in 2009. Beyond his judicial work, Justice Sachs has contributed to healing divided societies worldwide and has been active in art and architecture, significantly influencing the design of the Constitutional Court building and its art collection on the site of the Old Fort Prison in Johannesburg.

A Historical Occasion

Those who were honoured for their contributions are indeed worthy of this recognition because they exemplify creativity, scholarship, selflessness and the courage of their convictions in making a difference in the society that they inhabit.