By Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele

The Johannesburg Attorneys Association held its 72nd annual general meeting (AGM) in Parktown on 10 September. The guest speakers at the AGM were previous Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and South African Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Tony Leon and DA parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane.

Mr Leon spoke on why the rule of law matters. He said that the rule of law and the obtaining of legal services is in essence a commodity that should be available to as many people as possible, at the most competitive pricing structure available.

Mr Leon said that the practice of law has changed unrecognisably from when he was practising, adding that the rule of law does not change.

Speaking on the role of and developments in parliament, Mr Maimane said that South Africa is a much better place than it was in 1994 and that citizens often forget the strides the country has taken.

Mr Maimane said that while the nation obsesses about the life of one leader, it ignores the greater challenges that South Africa faces. ‘We have to work harder 20 years later at protecting the institutions that protect our democracy, rather than simply living with the acceptance that they are there’, he said.

Mr Maimane said that when one speaks about the rule of law, one cannot separate it from the institutions that protect the execution of the law. He then explained why it was important to defend those institutions.

Nomfundo Manyathi-Jele, nomfundo@derebus.org.za

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2014 (Nov) DR 7.