Time is short. I would have been interested! -----Original Message----- From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of avinash shahi Sent: 29 October 2014 01:17 To: santoshkumar.rungta; kusumlata.2006; Pankaj Sinha; J L Kaul Cc: jnuvision; accessindia; sayeverything Subject: [AI] Special post: Justice Yacoob hangs green robe after 15 years
Note: Justice Yacoob is in Delhi these days He is to speak as one of the panelists at a book launch at National Law University in Dwarika on 30 October Sector 14. it would be nice if NFB or any other institution organizes an interactive session with luminary Justice Yacoob. contact me at the earliest to reach the concerned person who is fixing his programmes in Delhi. Rest you have an opportunity to listen him a NLU Auditorium 6:00 pm along with Prof Upendra Baxi on 30 October. We Indians shouldn't miss this opportunity. part 1&2 are pasted below http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/25742a804e61e6019cdbbff251b4e4e2/Justice-Yacoo b-hangs-green-robe-after-15-years--20130131 Thursday 31 January 2013 13:09 Candice Klein Justice Zak Yacoob worked underground during the struggle and was part of the process of birthing our noble constitution. Justice Zak Yacoob worked underground during the struggle(SABC) Tags: Justice Zac Yacoob Constitutional Court Advocate George Bizos Constitutional Assembly Durban Nelson Mandela Esteemed South African jurist and struggle stalwart, Justice Zak Yacoob, is marking his last day on the Constitutional Court bench today. The judge goes into retirement after serving 15 years as a Constitutional Court judge. Justice Yacoob was amongst the first judges to be appointed to the Concourt bench having been selected by former President Nelson Mandela. Yacoob was born on the third of March 1948. Just short of his second birthday, he contracted meningitis and was blinded as a result. His blindness serves both as a marker of an exemplary life and also an inspiration to all. Justice Yacoob worked underground during the struggle and was part of the process of birthing our noble constitution. Looking back, Justice Yacoob believes that he could have accomplished even more if he was not blind. As a blind person, Justice Yacoob faced many obstacles in his path to becoming a lawyer. He is however quick to acknowledge the many helping hands along the way. Not least of all his parents. He comes from a very prominent family in Durban and his father remains highly respected to this day. His parents didn't treat him any differently because of his blindness. Justice Yacoob acknowledges that he wouldn't be where he is today if his community had not rallied together to set up a school for the blind when they did. "Teachers were working exceptionally hard because there was no material in Braille to work with. These days you can get Braille out of a computer, in those days the only way we wrote Braille was we used literally a wooden headed sharp pen poking holes into a piece of paper," reminisces Jacoob. As a blind person, Justice Yacoob faced many obstacles in his path to becoming a lawyer. Today, many still marvel at Justice Yacoob's remarkable memory. He excelled at university, obtaining an LLB degree and later being admitted as an advocate of the KZN bar. In his heyday, he worked alongside another legal great, Advocate George Bizos. The 84-year-old Bizos remembers their work together in the Constitutional Assembly: "It was always surprising when we were discussing the draft constitution - if somebody made a proposal he, despite his disability, would say well if we accept that proposal it would be in contradiction with paragraph 37 (4) 2 and somebody would read it out and he would be absolutely right." But under the heavy yolk of apartheid, over and above his blindness, Justice Yacoob faced another major challenge: he was not white. "You know I have been briefed in all my life by only two white corporate lawyers, every other attorney who gave me work was either Indian or African and I used to be very angry cos the attorney used to say that they cant give work to people other than white 'cause they gotta give work to competent people." It was only after 1994, when briefing patterns changed, that he was able to make money as an Advocate. But he faced yet another glass ceiling within the legal profession. There was some debate, and probably still is, about whether a blind person could become a judge in the ordinary high courts. It was felt by some that it might be an impediment in that such a judge would be unable to see witnesses's faces and thus unable to make credibility findings on evidence. The Constitutional Court, by contrast, does not hear witness evidence and relies on legal papers and arguments from lawyers. Years later, Justice Yacoob says it's a good thing that the high court bench was closed to him. He says: "I think now that I would have found high court practice extremely boring, and that's why maybe that worked to my prejudice I mean if that meant that I came directly to the Constitutional Court it must have been an advantage isn't it?" Justice Yacoob is the last of the old guard of constitutional court judges appointed during the court's early years. Facing his retirement, Justice Yacoob feels that the important work of the Constitutional court is being left in good hands. On serving on a court which is the final arbiter in any constitutional dispute, Jacoob says: "I think it is on the one hand wonderfully enjoyable and challenging to be here; on the other hand it is in a way frighteningly awesome to have so much power." Later today, Justice Yacoob will hang up his green robe for the last time and prepare for the return to his home town of Durban. During his years on the bench his courtroom manner was nicknamed the Zak Attack. Part 2 One of South Africa's leading jurists, Justice Zak Yacoob, has gone into retirement from the Constitutional Court. Justice Yacoob lost his sight when he was just a baby. Yet he beat the odds to rise above the evils of apartheid and make it to the top of the game in the legal profession. Justice Yacoob is officially on retirement after serving 15 years in the highest court of the land. While blindness can be a profound disadvantage, in one way it worked for the young Yacoob. After qualifying as an advocate, he worked to establish his legal practice while at the same time working with the ANC underground. His blindness proved the perfect cover for this dangerous work. "I never went to jail or anything because I don't think that it occurred to the security police that a blind person could be a member of any underground organization so I think I got spared there quite nicely." Justice Zak Yacoob is a formidable jurist. During hearings it's not unusual to hear Justice Yacoob's voice booming over the speakers, ready with a sharp-witted question or a barb. He's so renowned that his characteristic strike is known in legal circles as the Zak Attack. Recently his son, an elementary particle physicist, sat in on one of his dad's court cases. It was one of his last court hearings before his retirement. Justice Yacoob's daughter, herself an accomplished Advocate, Seena recalls: "Ja, my brother sat in on that case for the first time and that afternoon what he said to me was he really does treat us like we're in court cos he does that. I believe they call it the "Zak attack" but he does that to us all the time, this is how we grew up." Perhaps, these verbal sparring matches are what stood Seena Yacoob in good stead when she ultimately faced off with the eminent Justice Zak Yacoob in court. She was representing the KZN department of Education in a case involving the cutting of school subsidies. "One would expect from a government an attitude that said we are very sorry indeed. In the spirit of responsiveness and full accountability they ought to have provided the full reason as to why they made the promise in the first place and why they went back, that's what expected from government these days or is that a fool's paradise?" The debate between the two Yacoobs became so intense that Justice Johann Froneman was forced to elbow his way into the discussion. To some laughter, Justice Froneman commented: "I dont want to get involved in a domestic dispute but..." Justice Yacoob never tires of the self-imposed duty to make the Constitution accessible to all. As a young lawyer, Zak Yacoob fought many battles on behalf of the victims of an oppressive system. His star rose as part of the defence team in the Delmas Treason Trial. This trial and his underground work meant that he spent a lot of time away from his young family. His wife of 42 years, Anu, says her husband is a wonderful father. "He was a loving father to the children, helped me bath them and much to the shock of his parents he used to help me change their nappies when they were babies until he became a bit more involved with political trials and the underground. He was very much a hands on father." Years later, Justice Yacoob laments that he wasn't there for his family the way he would have wanted to be. "I feel a little guilty 'cause I don't think you can ever repay them or cure the deficit that your being away would have resulted in. It was necessary; though I don't regret doing it I regret the fact that I had to do it." Justice Yacoob never tires of the self-imposed duty to make the Constitution accessible to all. "Telling people what the Constitution is all about, ensuring that more and more people understand that ordinary people have responsibilities in the process of making the constitutional structure; that courts are not the only people who do it; and that we all have a duty; and if I can speak to more and more people about that I'd enjoy it very much and I would hope that it would do some good." Long time friend, George Bizos echoes these sentiments: "He made a tremendous contribution to our constitutional law , i hope that he will continue being involved talking to young people." Justice Yacoob smiles at what he calls Bizos 'kind words': "Because he's a soft hearted chap he feels a bit sorry for me 'cause I cant see and that is one of the reasons that motivates his conclusion, but if you put the tape off I'll tell u a story about George you will love http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/16aa8f004e651c98b0f0fa7da4cd6ad7/Justice-Yacoo b-hangs-green-robe-after-15-years---part-2-20130102 -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Clean India Campaign: Let us also chip in! Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessin dia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. 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