The Constitutional Court

Our tour of Constitution Hill continued with a visit to the Constitutional Court of South Africa 🇿🇦 which is housed in a purpose-built building next door to Number Four. During its construction, the notorious holding prison where accused men were held while awaiting trial was demolished. Part of it was kept and incorporated into the state-of-the-art court facility. Red bricks from the demolished prison were used in the new building. They can be seen clearly in the courtroom. The building is very cleverly designed.

Inside the main room, a row of horizontal windows has been set up behind the seats of the judges. While the windows are at head height on the inside, they are on ground level on the outside. Those sitting in the court consequently have a view of the feet of passersby moving along, above the heads of the judges, to remind them that in a constitutional democracy the role of judges is to act in the interests of the people of the nation, rather than in their own self-interest.

There are 11 judges who rule on constitutional matters. They are appointed by the Prime Minister for a 12 year term. When they reach their 70th birthday, they must retire. There is a cow hide displayed in front of each of their chairs, an acknowledgement of the traditional ways of justice as practised in rural villages. Similarly, the emblem of the court shows people discussing matters under a tree, as would have happened in rural communities. There is a South African flag hanging behind the judges' chairs, which was handmade by a group of local ladies. It is intricately embroidered and beaded and is a real work of art.

The court building is open to the public who want to attend hearings. The public seating is very close to the action, unlike court buildings elsewhere in the world.

The doors to the court have the 27 rights of the Bill of Rights carved into them, written in all 12 official languages of South Africa. There were 11 official languages, but sign language was added recently, making 12 in all.

Amongst other notable rulings in this court, the death penalty was abolished in 1995, and same sex marriage was recognised in 2006.

In the court atrium, there is an impressive art gallery which houses a collection of more than 200 contemporary artworks.

We were very impressed with the court building. There are lessons for all of us to learn here 😀.Read more