Arthur Chaskalson
| Arthur Chaskalson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chief Justice of South Africa | |
|
In office November 2001 – June 2005 |
|
| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Deputy | Pius Langa |
| Preceded by | Ismail Mahomed |
| Succeeded by | Pius Langa |
| President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa | |
|
In office June 1994 – November 2001 |
|
| President | Nelson Mandela |
| Deputy | Pius Langa |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 November 1931 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Died | 1 December 2012 (aged 81) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Resting place | Westpark Cemetery, Johannesburg |
| Spouse(s) | Lorraine Chaskalson |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of the Witwatersrand |
| Religion | Judaism |
Arthur Chaskalson SCOB, (24 November 1931 – 1 December 2012) was President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994 to 2001 and Chief Justice of South Africa from 2001 to 2005. Chaskalson was a member of the defence team in the Rivonia Trial of 1963.
Born in Johannesburg, Chaskalson was educated at Hilton College and later graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a BCom (1952) and LLB Cum Laude (1954).
In 1963, Chaskalson, along with Bram Fischer, Joel Joffe, Harry Schwarz, George Bizos, Vernon Berrangé and Harold Hanson, was part of the former President Nelson Mandela's defence team in the Rivonia Trial, which saw Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment.
Chaskalson left a very successful legal practice to become a human rights lawyer, helping to establish the Legal Resources Centre, a non-profit organisation modeled after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the United States seeking to use the law to pursue justice and human rights around South Africa. Chaskalson served as the centre's director from November 1978 until September 1993. In 1975 and 1983, he was leading counsel in the cases of Veli Komani and Mehlolo Tom Rikhotso which successfully challenged the legality of apartheid legislation seeking to establish influx control, and crippled government's ability to enforce influx control laws.
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