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  • FWDK Official Language Use in Sa Courts Constitutional Rights Versus The Personal Preference of The Presiding Officer

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    Judge Cynthia Pretorius argued that Afrikaans should be dropped as an official language of the courts in favor of only using English. However, the South African Constitution mandates that the courts use at least two official languages. Removing Afrikaans would be unconstitutional and erode the multilingual nature of South Africa that is protected by the Constitution. While Afrikaans should not have preferential status over other languages, the solution is not to remove it but rather to promote the equal use and status of all official languages in courts, in line with the Constitutional requirements.

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    Judge Cynthia Pretorius argued that Afrikaans should be dropped as an official language of the courts in favor of only using English. However, the South African Constitution mandates that the courts use at least two official languages. Removing Afrikaans would be unconstitutional and erode the multilingual nature of South Africa that is protected by the Constitution. While Afrikaans should not have preferential status over other languages, the solution is not to remove it but rather to promote the equal use and status of all official languages in courts, in line with the Constitutional requirements.

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    11 views2 pages

    FWDK Official Language Use in Sa Courts Constitutional Rights Versus The Personal Preference of The Presiding Officer

    Uploaded by

    First_Last
    Judge Cynthia Pretorius argued that Afrikaans should be dropped as an official language of the courts in favor of only using English. However, the South African Constitution mandates that the courts use at least two official languages. Removing Afrikaans would be unconstitutional and erode the multilingual nature of South Africa that is protected by the Constitution. While Afrikaans should not have preferential status over other languages, the solution is not to remove it but rather to promote the equal use and status of all official languages in courts, in line with the Constitutional requirements.

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    OFFICIAL  LANGUAGE  USE  IN  SOUTH  AFRICAN  COURTS:  CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHTS  VERSUS  
    THE  PERSONAL  PREFERENCE  OF  THE  PRESIDING  OFFICER  

    Adv  Jacques  du  Preez,  FW  de  Klerk  Foundation  

    The  FW  de  Klerk  Foundation  notes  with  concern  that  judge  Cynthia  Pretorius  -­‐  an  
    unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  post  of  Deputy  Judge  President  of  the  North  Gauteng  High  
    Court  -­‐  has  told  the  Judicial  Service  Commission  that  Afrikaans  should  be  dropped  as  a  
    language  of  record  in  the  courts.  

    Pretorius  said  that  English  should  be  the  only  language  used  by  lawyers  in  court.  She  told  the  
    commission  -­‐  which  recommends  judicial  appointments  to  President  Jacob  Zuma  -­‐  that  
    Afrikaans  should  not  be  given  special  treatment  in  the  courts  and  should  be  abandoned  as  a  
    language  in  which  to  present  oral  argument.  Her  view  was  reportedly  shared  by  the  two  
    other  judges  contesting  the  same  position.  Pretorius  argued  that  Afrikaans  should  be  
    dropped  in  favour  of  English  because  the  latter  was  the  second  language  of  most  judicial  
    officers  and  other  legal  practitioners.  

    The  founding  provisions  of  the  Constitution  are  clear  on  the  use  of  South  Africa’s  11  official  
    languages  -­‐  including  Afrikaans.  The  judiciary  -­‐  in  dispensing  justice  as  a  branch  of  
    government  -­‐  is  bound  by  section  6(3)  of  the  Constitution  which  unequivocally  states  that  
    "national  and  provincial  government  may  use  any  particular  official  languages  for  the  
    purpose  of  government,  taking  into  account  usage,  practicality,  expense,  regional  
    circumstances  and  the  balance  of  the  needs  and  preferences  of  the  population  as  a  whole  or  
    in  the  province  concerned".    However,  there  is  a  peremptory  requirement  that  "the  national  
    government  and  each  provincial  government  must  use  at  least  two  official  languages."      

    Although  the  use  of  a  single  language  might  facilitate  court  proceedings  for  some,  it  would  
    accordingly  be  unconstitutional.  It  would  further  erode  the  constitutionally  mandated  
    multilingual  and  multicultural  character  of  South  Africa  and  the  constitutional  requirement  
    that  all  official  languages  must  enjoy  parity  of  esteem.  The  use  of  our  official  languages  
    should  not  be  determined  by  administrative  convenience  -­‐  but  by  the  fact  that  constitutional  
    recognition  of  the  languages  and  cultures  of  our  citizens  is  deeply  interwoven  with  their  
    sense  of  their  self-­‐worth  and  human  dignity.  

    Judge  Pretorius  is  correct  that  Afrikaans  should  not  enjoy  a  more  privileged  status  than  any  
    of  the  other  official  languages.  However,  the  solution  should  not  be  to  excise  Afrikaans  but  
    to  implement  the  requirement  in  section  6(2)  of  the  Constitution,  which  directs  the  state  to  
    "take  practical  and  positive  measures  to  elevate  the  status  and  advance  the  use  of  the  
    indigenous  languages  of  South  Africa".  Rather  than  breaking  down  the  equitable  treatment  
    and  parity  of  esteem  of  English  and  Afrikaans  as  languages  of  record  in  our  courts,  more  
    ought  to  be  done  to  promote  the  use  of  all  our  official  languages  in  the  courts.  English  -­‐  
    unlike  Afrikaans  and  the  other  listed  official  languages  -­‐  is  not  a  language  indigenous  to  
    South  Africa.  To  elevate  it  as  the  sole  language  of  practice  and  record  in  the  courts  would  be  
    irreconcilable  with  the  Constitution.  It  would  not  advance  a  multilingual  and  multicultural  

    www.fwdeklerk.org | Ph: 27219303622 | Fax: 27219303898


    Registration number: IT1863/99 | NPO 031-061 | PBO 930004278
     
     
     
    judiciary  or  the  multilingual  and  multicultural  spirit  of  our  nation.  
     
    [Published:  2013-­‐04-­‐11]    
     

    www.fwdeklerk.org | Ph: 27219303622 | Fax: 27219303898


    Registration number: IT1863/99 | NPO 031-061 | PBO 930004278

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