About this site

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. It is the product of almost two decades of research and includes analyses, chronologies, historical documents, and interviews from the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.

Chaskalson, Arthur

Jurist and campaigner for human rights. Chaskalson was head of the Legal Resources Centre from 1980 to 1995 and challenged the apartheid system on legal grounds.  He was a member of the ANC's Constitutional Committee and was a key figure in drafting the interim constitution.

In June 1994, he became the first President of South Africa's new Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa where constitutional matters are concerned. On 22 November 2001 he became the Chief Justice of South Africa.

He was awarded honorary membership of the New York Bar Association in 1985.

Source: Joyce, Peter. 1999. A Concise Dictionary of South African Biography. Francolin Publishers: Cape Town

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. Return to theThis resource is hosted by the site.