Richard Goldstone

Richard Goldstone, born on October twenty-sixth, nineteen thirty-eight, is a distinguished South African retired judge, lawyer, and university teacher. His legal career began in nineteen sixty-three as a commercial lawyer in Johannesburg, where he quickly gained recognition, taking silk in nineteen seventy-six. Goldstone's judicial journey commenced in nineteen eighty when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Africa, serving in the Transvaal Provincial Division until nineteen eighty-nine, and then in the Appellate Division until nineteen ninety-four.

Goldstone is renowned for his pivotal role in the fight against apartheid, where he emerged as one of the liberal judges who issued landmark rulings that mitigated the harsh realities of racial laws. Notably, he rendered the Group Areas Act nearly ineffective by imposing restrictions on evictions, leading to a significant decline in prosecutions under this oppressive legislation.

During the critical transition from apartheid to a multiracial democracy in the early nineteen nineties, Goldstone chaired the Goldstone Commission, which investigated political violence in South Africa from nineteen ninety-one to nineteen ninety-four. His impartial approach and ability to critique all parties involved earned him the reputation of being