At the age of 91, Emeritus Constitutional Court Justice
Albie Sachs remains closely connected to some of the defining questions of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. His judgments continue to shape how equality, dignity, political participation, and executive power are understood, decades after they were handed down.
The University of the Free State (UFS)
Faculty of Law, in collaboration with the Free State Centre for Human Rights, hosted its annual Albie Sachs Prestige Lecture in partnership with the
Albie Sachs Trust for Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law (ASCAROL), bringing together members of the judiciary, academics, students, and legal practitioners for a discussion on constitutionalism, democracy, and the rule of law. The
partnership, formalised in 2024, established the annual lecture as a platform for engaging with Justice Sachs’ work and the constitutional values that continue to shape South African society.
For Justice Sachs, the exercise was not simply about revisiting the legal reasoning contained in judgments that have become part of South Africa’s constitutional history. It was an opportunity to show that constitutional law is rooted in the lives, experiences, and circumstances of the people it governs.
After the students presented their analyses, Justice Sachs reflected on how life experiences enter judicial pronouncements, and the importance of understanding the South African context in which constitutional questions arise.
He described this as “judicial statecraft”, pointing to the nuances and experiences that help shape how constitutional questions are understood and ultimately decided. “Law, constitutional law, is about human beings,” Justice Sachs said, emphasising the need not to become so absorbed in technical legal language that the people at the centre of a dispute disappear from view.
That perspective ran through his reflections on the three judgments. In the August case, the question centred on who counts as a citizen; in Fourie, on who belongs as an equal; and in Masetlha, how public power should treat the individual. Across all these judgments, a deep concern with dignity, difference, belonging, participation, and the human consequences of law remained distinctive.
Although different constitutional concerns were considered, in his response, Justice Sachs returned to a common question running through them: “What does it mean to be South African?”
For the students, the event offered a different way of encountering judgments that they would ordinarily meet through textbooks, lectures, and case law. Biekies, who presented August, described the experience as an honour, particularly because it meant engaging directly with one of the judges behind the country’s constitutional jurisprudence.
Having recently visited the Constitutional Court, Biekies said meeting Justice Sachs brought a human dimension to the work she had studied. The experience, she said, “humanises the law” and reminded her why she had chosen to study it.
She also commended the Faculty of Law for creating opportunities that allow students to move beyond the pages of their prescribed material and engage directly with leading figures in the country’s legal and constitutional landscape. “As a student, you are always thinking about school, books, lectures, assignments, and studying. Having opportunities like this allows us to go beyond the book, engage with legal scholars, and rub shoulders with people who are among the very best in their fields. It is a huge opportunity to network and learn.”
Prof Serges Kamga, Dean of the Faculty of Law, said the format aligned closely with the values underpinning the Faculty’s partnership with ASCAROL. “Under our collaboration with the Trust, we seek to promote social justice and the rule of law,” Prof Kamga said. He added that bringing students into the centre of the lecture also reflected Justice Sachs’ commitment to youth empowerment and strengthening student-centredness in teaching, learning, and research.
Prof Anthea Rhoda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, said events such as this one play an important role in fulfilling the University’s goals. “Through initiatives like this, the Faculty creates a dialogue on law, democracy and ethics. The Prestige Lecture shows the values and principles of the Albie Sachs Trust and positions the University as a space where constitutional principles are studied, debated, and lived out,” she said. “This orientation is expressed in the Faculty of Law’s work towards the constitutionally mandated transformation of our society.”
She added that the Lecture reflects the University’s broader vision. “The University of the Free State’s vision is to become an innovative, research-led, student-centred and regionally engaged university that contributes meaningfully to responsible societal futures,” she said.
For Justice Sachs, however, the most significant part of the afternoon may have been the students themselves. He praised their connection with the cases, their fluency and eloquence, and their willingness to express their own views about judgments in which he had been directly involved. With characteristic humour, he described the experience as “the judge being judged”.
But the exchange also carried a deeper message. Justice Sachs urged the new generation to take the next step. His generation had done its work. Now, he said, the new generation must take the next step, remaining challenging, daring, and respectful while valuing the Constitution and the rule of law.
That responsibility is particularly significant in a country whose constitutional democracy continues to evolve. The law students sitting before Justice Sachs were not only studying judgments from South Africa’s past. They were beginning to consider what those judgments require of them as future lawyers, scholars, and participants in the country’s constitutional project.
The lecture therefore placed two generations of constitutional thought in the same room. One had helped build the jurisprudence. The other is now being asked to question it, understand it – and ultimately decide what comes next.