Solicitor-General Fhedzisani Pandelani. (GCIS/Supplied)
A judge has ruled the State Attorney’s classification of black advocates under the age of 30 as not being “historically disadvantaged” was unconstitutional and disregarded “the cumulative and multigenerational economic, social and educational consequences of apartheid”.
Gauteng High Court in Pretoria Judge Anthony Millar found that the “retrogressive” use of this definition in the State Attorney’s government litigation tender for referral advocates – which was issued on 5 October 2023 by National Treasury – rendered it “subject to review and setting aside”.
“The State, as the largest user of legal services in the Republic, cannot on the one hand be bound to take the steps envisaged in Section 217(2)(b) of the Constitution [which is focused on the protection or advancement of persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination] but at the same title exclude those for whom the provision was enacted from its protection,” he said.
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