Gabrielle Liang | University of Johannesburg Faculty of Law Archives - JURIST - Commentary

Commentaries by Gabrielle Liang | University of Johannesburg Faculty of Law

Author Gabrielle Liang (middle), pictured with Judge Dennis Davis (right) and Suhail Vawda.

Judge Dennis Davis: A Legacy of Progressive Jurisprudence in South African Law

Gabrielle Liang | University of Johannesburg Faculty of Law

October 21, 2025 04:19:42 pm

On October 1-3, the Labour Law Colloquium was once again held at Stellenbosch University. This annual event, which brings together the leading minds in the labour law world, often celebrates the works of prolific South African thinkers. In 2024, the Labour Law Colloquium honoured the recently retired Chief Justice Zondo. This year, the conference included [...]

READ MORE ▸

Commentary

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Justice Delayed, Nation Betrayed: The Critical Importance of South Africa’s Apartheid-Era Crimes Inquiry

Gabrielle Liang | University of Johannesburg Faculty of Law

May 30, 2025 03:49:22 pm

In a landmark moment for South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate decades-long allegations that successive post-apartheid governments obstructed the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. This move, prompted by a civil suit filed by survivors and relatives of apartheid victims, marks an inflection point in the country’s democratic journey. [...]

READ MORE ▸

28 countries unite against Axis Powers

On January 2, 1942, twenty-eight countries formally agreed not to make peace with the Axis Powers separately. At the time, all twenty-eight were fighting against the Axis as Allies in World War II. The agreement was part of the Declaration by the United Nations, signed the previous day. In December of 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to this group of allies as the "United Nations."

US government agents arrested thousands in Palmer raids

On January 2, 1920, over 500 government agents acting on the direction of US Attorney General Mitchell Palmer carried out a massive counter-terror operation in 33 US cities, arresting between six and ten thousand aliens suspected of Communism, radicalism and anarchism. The "Palmer Raids" and the detentions and deportation proceedings that followed them were denounced by a number of prominent lawyers and judges who later established the American Civil Liberties Union. Read an excerpt from Attorney General Palmer's 1920 article, The Case Against the 'Reds' and learn more about the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare of 1919-20.