South African judiciary bids farewell to late Judge Taswell Papier

The South African judiciary and legal fraternity held a moving memorial to honour late judge Taswell Papier at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday, after he passed away due to illness earlier this month.

Presiding over the memorial, Western Cape judge president Nolwazi Madindla-Boqwana said judge Papier will be remembered as a pioneer of access to justice with a legal career rooted in human rights and service to the poor and marginalised.

Judge Papier's close friend, Judge Vincent Saldanha, went on to deliver an emotional eulogy for his fallen colleague.

Judge Vincent Saldanha described Judge Taswell Papier as one of the most remarkable human beings who changed the trajectory of lives for many young people.

Saldanha said Papier, who studied law at the University of the Western Cape and later earned a master’s degree in human rights law at Harvard, represented thousands of student political activists and vulnerable communities.

Papier also opened a legal office in Mitchells Plain, where he championed pro bono work as a professional standard in the legal profession.

"Like all of us, he was human with all his frailties, and he had very little defactors, besides, of course, the Apartheid security police, who still fear him." 

Others who paid tribute said Papier served with integrity, compassion and distinction, mentoring generations of legal practitioners while also strengthening the country's constitutional justice.