Internationally acclaimed Judge Richard Goldstone received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of the Free State on Friday.
Speaking before the official ceremony, Goldstone said despite receiving many awards from around the world, he was excited by the latest.
“To be honoured in one’s own country. It means more and is a wonderful experience.”
Goldstone said he had close ties with the UFS faculty of law and had spent many Sunday afternoons walking through the campus gardens.
Visiting the Bloemfontein campus this week, he was delighted to see the “tremendous promise of transformation” taking place.
“It is uplifting and exciting to walk on campus seeing students from different backgrounds and from overseas on campus. It's inspiring.”
He said 350 years of racial rule had left huge imbalances in South Africa’s society and the result would be with it for many more decades.
Goldstone said the cost of remedying this legacy would be high, not just financially, but also in human pain.
“This is the greatest challenge for us all that we must face.”
The former Constitutional Court judge said huge progress had already been made in addressing the imbalances but warned citizens should not take the changes made for granted.
Addressing questions, Goldstone said South Africa’s Bill of Rights and the Constitution were in place and therefore the visible tension between the government and the judiciary was not of major concern.
“It is common in all democracies.”
However, this tension should be watched to ensure it did not get out of hand, he said.
The former prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal was worried about one aspect of South Africa’s judiciary though – the lack of resources in lower courts.
“I am concerned when I read about inadequate facilities in the magistrate’s courts; it is really in the lower courts where justice affects the people.”
Goldstone said the South African situation was not exceptional as most countries did not have enough resources for their criminal justice systems.
At the award ceremony, UFS rector Jonathan Jansen said Goldstone had been the public face of international criminal justice for a number of years.
He said Goldstone represented South Africa “beautifully” in terms of positive values, which were the same values the UFS was striving for. – Sapa