Of soft vengeance and laughter

Abstract

We celebrate the judicial career of Justice Albie Sachs. However, we would do well to remember his other careers – as lawyer, freedom fighter, writer, scholar – and to understand how these experiences shape the identity that has left such a unique imprint upon South African justice. Justice Sachs has himself taken note of the existence of ‘a fascinating and not very obvious chemistry between [his] non-judicial experiences and [his] decision-making as a judge’. For example, after losing his arm to a car bomb, Sachs spoke of the ‘soft vengeance’ he would mete out on his oppressors: subjecting them to a regime of human rights for all. Once he had reached the bench, his own experience of captivity and torture was sublimated into support for the right to a fair trial, and respect for dignity as a foundational value of the new South Africa.