Issued by: Constitutional Court
NORWEGIAN NATIONAL GIFT
To mark the birth of the new constitutional order in South Africa, the Norwegian government has made a gift of NK10million (nearly six million rand) for the development of the library and research capacity of the Constitutional Court. On Wednesday, 14 February 1996, at 5:00 pm, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Mrs Gro Harlem Brundtland, will unveil a plaque in the library recording the endowment.
The intention to make a gift in recognition of the new constitutional order was announced at the time of the inauguration of President Mandela as a mark of respect by the Norwegian people for the achievement of democracy and human rights in South Africa as well as a symbol of solidarity and support with all South Africans in their effort to build the new South Africa in a spirit of reconciliation and nation-building.
The donation will enable the Constitutional Court to develop its library into a truly comprehensive and outstanding one. It will be a major national asset which will facilitate legal research, particularly in the field of human rights and constitutional law. The library will not only be of benefit to the Justices of the Constitutional Court, but when suitable facilities have been established for that purpose, will be made available for legal research generally.
Legal research will be further advanced by the creation of a major computer database which will increase the accessibility of material, including court decisions, from other institutions and jurisdictions. The Court currently employs 22 researchers who will be exposed to the skills and equipment which will be made possible by the donation. Since they are all retained on the basis of a year's contract, a pool of more skilled researchers and lawyers, who will be an asset to our legal development, is created.
Contact person: Fatima Maal (011) 403 8032
Issued by The Constitutional Court Johannesburg
14 February 1996