Justice Albie Sachs has spent a lifetime defending human rights in South Africa. From resisting apartheid laws as a young man to serving more 15 years on the nation's highest court, an appointment made by President Nelson Mandela, his life has given him a rich perspective on law and justice.
As the University of Chicago's first Richard & Ann Pozen Visiting Professor of Human Rights, Sachs will present a free, public lecture series based on his new book, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 6.
In his five-week lecture series, Sachs will reflect on judges and decision-making. Among the questions he will tackle: Is a judge a neutral umpire, simply applying reason? Or should a judge be a living member of society who invests reason with empathy and a passionate commitment to the values of an open and democratic society?
All lectures will begin at 7 p.m. in the Social Sciences Research building, Room 122. Topics include:
- Jan. 6: "Terrorism, Torture and the Rule of Law"
- Jan. 13: "Punitive Justice vs. Restorative Justice"
- Jan. 20: "Social and Economic Rights as Fundamental Human Rights"
- Jan. 27: "Does the Law Have a Sense of Humor?"
- Feb. 3: "The Secular and the Sacred: The Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry"
Justice Sachs' career in human rights activism started at the age of 17, when he took part in the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign. As a lawyer, he defended people charged under racist statutes and repressive security laws. After going into exile in 1966, he spent 11 years in England and 11 years in Mozambique as a law professor and legal researcher. In 1988, a bomb placed in his car by South African security agents cost him an arm and the sight of an eye.
In 1990 he returned home, and as a member of the Constitutional Committee and the National Executive of the African National Congress, took an active part in the negotiations that led to South Africa becoming a constitutional democracy. After the first democratic election in 1994, Mandela appointed him to serve on the newly established Constitutional Court, from which he retired this fall.
The Pozen Visiting Professorship in Human Rights was endowed with a $1 million gift in 2008 from Richard Pozen, AB'69, and his wife, Ann Silver Pozen. As the first professor named to the position, Sachs will teach a College course in the Human Rights Program and participate in roundtables and discussions to increase the understanding of human rights on campus.
The Social Science Research Building is located at 1126 E. 59th St. The entrance to the building is a quarter-block west of University Avenue along 59th Street. Street parking is available.
For more information, please contact Sarah Patton Moberg at spmoberg@uchicago.edu or 773-834-0957.
—Prof. Jacqueline Stewart
