Albie Sachs, Former South African Constitutional Court Justice Addresses the Arizona Historical Society

Press Release • Feb 24, 2010
On February 15, 2010, Former Justice Albie Sachs of the South African Constitutional Court visited Arizona and spoke at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, Arizona.

Online, February 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Appointed by then President Nelson Mandela, Justice Sachs, with a long history of social activism, contributed to the successful peaceful change of political and social direction of the Nation of South Africa.

Justice Albie Sachs kept his audience enthralled for an hour at the Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park on Monday,February 15, 2010.He presented a video tour of the South African Constitutional Court building, highlighting the ways that it reflects the new South Africa. The theme that justice must be transparent and open is evident throughout the structure, down to the openwork doors to each justice's chambers and the window that is behind the justices as they sit in court. The history of South Africa is also very much part of the structure, situated as it is on the site of the infamous Johannesburg Prison.The court has a website at www.constitutionalcourtofsouthafrica

Justice Sachs spoke eloquently about what it meant to be part of the new judicial system of the country. He shared his struggles coming to terms with and balancing "freedom rights" such as voting and speech with "social rights" such as heath care, education, and housing. Acknowledging that neither could be achieved in the most ideal way, he talked about how he sought to institute a principle of reasonableness to his decisions. He gave the audience a glimpse of the reality of living through the Truth and Reconciliation process, as he spoke about meeting face-to-face with the man who had orchestrated the bombing that nearly took Sachs' life. The talk reached far beyond the boundaries of South Africa and touched many of the issues that each of us face every day.

The event was sponsored by

The ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

The Historical League, Inc.

Allison Quattrocchi, J.D., Family Mediation Center

The ASU School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

The Faculty of Justice and Social Inquiry at ASU

And an anonymous donor

For more information, please contact:

Peter H. Welsh, PhD

Director

Arizona Historical Society

Museum at Papago Park

1300 N. College Ave.

Tempe, AZ 85281

480-929-0292x123 (V)

480-967-5450 (Fax)

pwelsh@azhs.gov

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