Justice from S. Africa's Constitutional Court to lecture at Law School

The Hon. Justice Yvonne Mokgoro of the Constitutional Court of South Africa will speak at Cornell Law School Friday, Jan. 31.

Scheduled for noon in the Berger Atrium of Myron Taylor Hall, Mokgoro's address is titled "Protection of Human Rights in South Africa: The Role of the South African Constitutional Court." She will speak under the auspices of the Law School's Berger International Legal Studies Program.

Mokgoro was appointed by South Africa President Nelson Mandela to the country's highest judicial body in October 1994. She received B.Juris and master of law degrees from the University of the North West in South Africa and an L.L.M. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She served as clerk for the Bophuthatswana Department of Justice before becoming prosecutor for the then-Mmabatho Magistrate's Court.

In 1984 she began teaching in the Department of Jurisprudence at the University of the North West, where she became a tenured associate professor. In 1992-93 she served as associate professor at the University of the Western Cape, moving to the position of specialist researcher in human rights for the Centre for Constitutional Analysis at the Human Sciences Research Council.

While Friday's talk is open to all, seating space is limited and attendees should arrive early. Those interested in being included in the lunch offered during the event should e-mail Tara Maria at the Law School, at tm226@cornell.edu, in advance.

The event is co-sponsored by Cornell's Institute for African Development.