There have been many losses in 2020, and the past few weeks have seen the legal world experience two great losses – South Africa’s George Bizos and America’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
This year has taught us there’s no time to wallow, rather to honour those who’ve passed by acknowledging the incredible contribution they’ve made to the world.
Here’s a look at the impact of these two legal minds.
GEORGE BIZOS (14 November 1927 – 9 September 2020)
Position: Judge, civil rights lawyer
Bizos’ friendship with former president, Nelson Mandela, is legendary, with the pair having met as law students at the University of Witwatersrand in 1941.
Mandela did not finish his degree, but practiced as an attorney while becoming part of the ANC.
Bizos went on to become an advocate, and would consult on cases Mandela was defending. As the anti-apartheid struggle increased, Bizos was called upon to defend Mandela in court several times.
Early career
Bizos started his career by defending victims in smaller cases in rural areas,. He said of this time: ‘The law was all we had in South Africa, the very last post of hope under apartheid.’
Later, his reputation as a cross-examiner in the dock became legendary. Using what he named the ‘stage whisper’, he would tear into the state’s apartheid torturers and murderers while still managing to maintain a sense of humanity through empathy.
Rivonia trial (1963 –1964)
George Bizos was part of the team defending Mandela and his associates in the infamous Rivonia trial.
Mandela said of Bizos: ‘He was really devoted to the cause. When he appeared for us, he did not do so as a man who is appearing for strangers, he did so as his contribution to a great cause to which we were all committed.’
Part of the struggle
He remained a confidante to Mandela throughout his incarceration, sharing information with the ANC as well as assisting Mandela’s family wherever he could.
Citizenship
For 32 years, Bizos was denied citizenship by the South African government, making it impossible to return to Greece to visit his family, as he knew he would not be allowed to return.
Truth and reconciliation
In the 1990s, Bizos represented the families of the late former SACP leader, Chris Hani, as well as Black Consciousness Movement leader and anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, at the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) hearings.
Legal Resources Centre
Bizos worked as senior counsel at the Legal Resources Centre. It was during his time with LRC that he represented families at the TRC, as well as leading the team for the government in passing the Constitution in 1996.
Marikana Massacre
Bizos represented families at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the police shooting of miners in Marikana. In his defence, he pointed out the similarities between the police shootings at Sharpeville and those of the Marikana police.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG (15 March 1933 – 18 September 2020)
Position: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 to 2020
The second woman ever to have served in America’s Supreme Court, Bader Ginsburg (or RBG as she’s affectionately known) left an enormous legacy in her wake, having impacted through her progressive, discrimination-eradicating decisions.
But even before joining the Supreme Court, RBG led an extraordinary life. Here are a few insights.
A prestigious start
After graduating top of her class at Cornell, she went on to join Harvard Law School as one of nine women in a class of 500.
In addition to finishing her degree, she attended classes for her husband who was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
She moved on to Columbia Law School, again graduating first in her class.
A woman for all women
While working as a law professor at Rutgers University (the second-ever female to do so), she co-founded the Women’s Rights Law Reporter, the first law journal about women’s rights.
Upon discovering the discriminatory pay between men and women at the university, she rallied fellow female colleagues to file an Equal Pay Act complaint – and won.
The fight continued when she became the first tenured female Columbia Law School professor, fighting for equal retirement benefits.
And, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, RBG started litigating sex discrimination cases, six of which ended up at the Supreme Court, five of which she won.
In 1996, Ginsburg wrote the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v Virginia, outlining that the state-supported Virginia Military Institute could not refuse to admit women.
A woman for all people
RBG took on the fight for many of the under-represented communities, pushing for the rights of the LGBT community, the disabled and undocumented.
This is just a snippet of the incredibly impactful lives these two individuals have led.
Going forward they would best be honoured by always speaking out for the voiceless in society, by living a life true to one’s principles, and by always choosing kindness over cruelty.
