Constitutional Comparativism in South Africa: A Response to Sir Basil Markesinis and Jörg Fedtke

Article by Laurie W.H. Ackermann

Ulpian's search for a philosophy underpinning law is not surprising. Around A.D. 200 intellectuals were becoming dissatisfied with the view that whatever is traditional or customary in a society is automatically right. They were looking in both politics and religion for something more universal, rational, and philosophical . . . . [But p]hilosophically minded lawyers are not members of this or that school of philosophy. It is a mistake to attribute to a lawyer a system of philosophy rather than a set of values.

— Tony Honoré

The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.

— Albert Einstein


About the Author

Laurie W.H. Ackermann. Honorary Fellow, Worcester College (Oxford); Emeritus Justice of the South African Constitutional Court. B.A., LL.B., LL.D. (hc) Stellenbosch University, M.A. (Oxon).

Citation

80 Tul. L. Rev. 169 (2005)