Constitutional Court of South Africa

The new constitutional hall was built on top of the prison that unethically held some of the South African’s most famous “criminals.” Nelson Mandela and Mohandas Gandhi were all held in this prison at different points in time. The symbolism of building the hope of tomorrow’s legal system on top of the ruins of the apartheid based system of the past are intentional and obvious throughout the Constitutional Court building (which is like the Supreme Court). There is a great desire not to forget the past, but to honor it by creating a better future.

We had the opportunity to visit the prisons. It was shocking. It is almost impossible to believe that the prisons were utilized during my lifetime and people were treated in such inhumane conditions.

A Mandela quote welcomes you into the former prison, stating “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones-and South Africa treated its imprisoned South African citizens like animals."

I think that this says it clearly. The prison conditions were horrible and the people who were sent their were often, in my opinion, not criminals. I only wish I could say that the rest of the world learned a lesson from this and that it will never happen again….but I cannot say with confidence that is the truth.

After visiting the prison, we were given a tour of the Constitutional Court building, which is one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen. The lobby is meant to feel like a tree, which is the symbol of the Court. There is artwork throughout the lobby to represent leaves (mobiles hanging from the ceiling) and tree trunks (pillars extending from the ground to the ceiling).

The court chambers themselves were unbelievable, rich with symbolism. There were 5 things in particular that stood out to me.

1. The bricks along the wall came from the prison, to remind the judges of their history
2. Cow hides were hung in front of each judges chair, each hide is like a person’s finger print to remind them of the differences that exist between them.
3. The audience chambers are above the judges, to remind them of the accountability they have to the public.
4. Windows exist surrounding the chambers, but the windows are ground level to only show the feet of the people outside. From the feet view you cannot tell race of the person the feet belong to, like the issuing of rulings should try to do.
5. The art work within the chambers was created by rural women in South Africa, commissioned to remind the judges of the importance of all the people.
6. The air vents allow air conditioning created by renewable energy to flow into the room, reminding the of their responsibility as part of the global community.

The rest of the tour was equally amazing. The law library was amazing and the art that flowed through the building left me speechless. The architecture of the entire building is simply amazing. There are exposed steel beams and rich colored wood paneling throughout the facility. It is modern and traditional Africa at the same time-the pictures cannot do it justice. (not a pun)

Our tour of the Constitutional Court was completed when we were met by Dr. Weisfelder’s old friend, Yvonne Mokgoro, who happens to be one of the justices on the Court (image meeting Ruth Bader Ginsburg in person). This was a huge honor and she spoke to us for about an hour and a half about her feelings on the changes that South Africa has experienced since the end of apartheid.