Johannesburg: South Africa's justice system must move beyond merely interpreting indigenous languages in courtrooms to developing them as languages of legal education, adjudication, and jurisprudence.
According to South African Government News Agency, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel delivered a public lecture on indigenous languages and the South African justice system at the University of Mpumalanga. Nel emphasized the importance of building institutions that can realize the multilingual promise of the Constitution, allowing every language to become a medium through which justice is imagined, reasoned, and made.
Nel highlighted that language is a core component of the Constitution, appearing in Chapter 1 among its Founding Provisions. He stressed that the Constitution demands action and practical measures rather than mere ceremonial recognition. Section 6, he noted, should be interpreted in conjunction with rights related to equality, dignity, freedom of expression, cultural participation, and access to courts. A multilingual constitutional order requires participation in the production of jurisprudence itself, beyond just interpreted access.
Translation, Nel argued, is not a neutral act but an encounter between conceptual worlds. He urged that English legal concepts should be tested against the grammar, history, and social experience of other languages. Translation should be transformative, revealing assumptions in the dominant language and creating new possibilities for legal thought.
Nel proposed a phased language implementation strategy and suggested a partnership between the University of Mpumalanga, the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI), and the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College. This collaboration aims to establish a national center of excellence for justice sector education, research, and professional development. A Memorandum of Understanding between these institutions could strengthen the administration of justice, focusing on education and training, research and innovation, indigenous languages, digital justice, and community engagement.
Nel outlined potential programs for developing justice sector education, including joint courses on indigenous languages in the justice system, court interpreting, legal translation, and customary law. A collaborative research program could address language barriers in courts and develop legal terminology in indigenous languages.
Nel assured that transitioning to a multilingual justice system is achievable over time. He likened the process to the gradual spread of light across a landscape, achieved through incremental steps such as training interpreters, educating students, and translating legal texts. In time, these quantitative changes can lead to a qualitative transformation in the justice system.