Synopses & Reviews
Review
In four chapters, a conclusion, and afterword, the author, a distinguished professor of law (now deceased) `born into the White Tribe of Africa--the Afrikaners,' restates the liberal tradition in opposition to the restrictions on free speech, trial publicity, and the fair administration of justice so tragically exemplified by South Africa today.... A monumental work with superb notes. Excellent translations of otherwise unavailable materials, especially court decisions, from a dozen languages. Essential.Choice
Review
Niekerk has given us an important work in comparative law.American Political Science Review
Review
This is an extraordinary and moving book. It is (in my experience) unprecedented for a work of legal scholarship to be so shaped by the author's personal experience of the particular area of law. . . . This book, remarkable for the breadth of its scholarship and its roots in the author's career, is written with vigor and passion, but not a passion that ever blinds the author to the complexities of the rich subject on which he was writing.The American Journal of Comparative Law
Review
Van Niekerk admirably succeeds in showing that in Western countries law, custom, and taboo combine to ensure that there is seldom any open, let alone `robust' debate of judicial behavior and action.... There is no doubt that it will prove to be highly provocative, as it challenges much accepted wisdom and many sacred cows.John Dugard, Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa and Professor of Law, University of Witwatersrand
Table of Contents
Foreword by John Dugard
Eulogy for Professor Barend Van Niekerk by Dr. Alan Paton
Preface
Introduction
The Concept of Freedom of Speech in the Legal Domain and its Premises
The Formal Restrictions on Legal Free Speech: The Protection of the Prestige and Standing of Legal Officers and of the Administration of Justice
Trial Publicity Restrictions
Informal Restrictions and Indirect Sanctions on Free Speech in the Legal Domain
Conclusion: The Unending Struggle
Notes
Afterword: Freedom of Speech and the Administration of Justice--Recent Developments by Gilbert Marcus
Index