(Archive photo: Anja van der Merwe/Maroela Media)
An application by Solidarity to compel the authorities to explain how a decision on the abolition of Afrikaans from entrance examinations for legal practitioners was made, will be heard in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.
The application was brought against the South African Legal Practice Council (RPR) and the Information Regulator after the RPR apparently failed to disclose records following Solidarity’s application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).
Solidarity requested access to documents and information that preceded and influenced the decision to end Afrikaans as an examination language.
This access was not properly given and as a result Solidarity says the RPR failed to fulfill its constitutional and statutory obligations in terms of Paia.
According to Emil Glas, organizer of Solidarity’s Legal Network, it is unacceptable that answers are still missing on a case that is both about mother tongue rights and fair access to the legal profession.
“When a body like the Legal Practice Council makes a decision that affects thousands of Afrikaans-speaking students and future legal practitioners, there must be transparency about how and why the decision was made. Legal practitioners who are members of the RPR certainly have the right to know on what grounds and why decisions are made. However, the opposite indicates that something is being tried to be hidden.
“We cannot just watch as Afrikaans is systematically removed from professional spaces and certainly not where there has been no proper explanation.”
Solidarity made several attempts to resolve the matter without litigation, but the RPR’s continued failure or refusal to provide the requested information made the court application inevitable.
Among other things, the court will have to decide whether the RPR has fulfilled its obligations in terms of Paia and whether Solidarity is entitled to the records and information requested.
Glas says Solidarity’s Legal Network is happy to act in the interests of communities for whom Afrikaans, as well as the legal profession, is important, especially where the RPR does not act responsibly towards its members and consequently neglects its duty towards these groups.
“We would like to remind the RPR about their duty to develop all languages in the legal profession and not to punish Afrikaans.”
Solidarity’s Legal Network takes on the responsibility to protect the legal profession and to start actively acting for members. “It is high time that the legal profession began to enjoy the necessary protection it deserves.”