Speeches

Address by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, The Hon Andries Nel, MP, at the Closing Plenary of the Dullah Omar School for Paralegalism, Southern Sun Hotel, Sandton, Thursday, 14 August 2025

Programme Director, Deputy Chief Justice, the leadership and members of the Community Advice Offices of South Africa (CAOSA), participants in the Dullah Omar School, officials, guests and friends and, may I say, comrades in the struggle for justice and human rights.

It is fitting to begin by recognising our nation’s Constitution and the extraordinary process that led to its adoption.

The National Convention starting tomorrow, and the National Dialogue that will follow it, are important reminders of our joint responsibility to keep building a cohesive, inclusive society.

We hope that one of matters that our National Dialogue will discuss is the practice of reciting the Preamble to the Constitution — a reminder never to take our democracy or our hard-won freedoms for granted.

Therefore, I kindly request you to join me in reciting the Preamble:

“We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to:

• Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
  
• Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
  
• Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
  
• Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.”

Community Advice Offices – Champions of Participatory Democracy

Community advice offices (CAOs) have been the heartbeat of grassroots justice in South Africa for nearly a century.

Emerging in the 1930s from the activism of civic movements, churches, and labour unions, they were never simply offices - they were lifelines, sanctuaries, and centres of hope for those deprived of rights and resources.

During apartheid’s darkest days, advice offices stood firm - challenging pass laws, resisting evictions, and confronting a system designed to dehumanise.

In rural villages and informal settlements, they provided trusted legal advice, advocacy, and moral support to the most vulnerable.

Jackie Dugard and Katherine Drage observe in their 2013 paper “To whom do the people take their issues?” The Contribution of Community-Based Paralegals to Access to Justice in South Africa”, that advice offices often worked with progressive legal organisations like the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Legal Resources Centre, and Lawyers for Human Rights - enduring harassment and operating in an environment of state hostility, yet persisting in advancing justice.

They point out that:
“Collectively, they attempted to rally covertly with other civil society organizations at time when such community activities were viewed with hostility by the state, and in response, CAO staff were frequently subjected to harassment and generally operated in a toxic environment.”

We also pay tribute to organisations such as the National Institute for Public Interest Law and Research (NIPILAR), the Centre for Community Justice, the Black Sash, and others that advanced legal empowerment and community development.

From the Struggle to Democracy

With the advent of democracy in 1994, advice offices evolved - becoming engines of empowerment, promoting constitutional literacy, mediation, legal education, and strategic partnerships.

They brought the Constitution to life in places where the law had long been absent.

No one understood this potential more than the late Dullah Omar — struggle activist, human rights lawyer, and our first Minister of Justice in a democratic South Africa.

As he said: “Law must serve justice. Law must serve the community, [it] must give effect to human rights and democracy."

In 1997, Minister Omar championed funding for the paralegal movement with the assistance of the International Committee of Jurists, the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa and the Swedish International Development Agency.

In 2005, the Foundation for Human Rights initiated a round-table discussion with donors involved in access to justice and the community advice office sector.

These developments inspired the formation of the Community Advice Offices of South Africa (CAOSA) — today the national umbrella body advocating for the recognition of advice offices as essential parts of our justice system.

We would like to commend the consistent work done by the Dullah Omar Institute in continuing the legacy of the great South African after whom it is named.

This work includes very insightful research papers such as Gwenaelie Dereymaeker’s “Formalising the role of paralegals in Africa: A review of legislative and policy developments (2021)”.

We also commend the work of organisations such as the Black Sash which recently launched a very useful Paralegal Manual.

Democracy Begins in the Community

Democracy is not confined to Parliament, the courts, or government offices.

It begins when:

• A woman in a rural village secures a protection order against abuse;
• A young person obtains an ID to vote or apply for study;
• An elderly person challenges an unlawful eviction.

This is human dignity. This is justice. And this is the daily work of advice offices and paralegals - providing free, accessible assistance on social grants, housing, labour rights, gender-based violence, and more.

They are the bridge between the rights in our Constitution and the lived reality of our people - between policy and people.

Land, People, and Justice

This year’s theme — “Land and People: an advice office sector that protects and cares for both” — is deeply relevant.

Land remains one of the most pressing issues in our democracy.

Legal Aid SA’s Land Rights Management Unit, operational since 2022, assists those who cannot afford representation in land disputes.

Recently, the Land Court confirmed the right of a family in Barrydale to remain in their home after rejecting an eviction attempt — a case that echoes the struggles many rural families face.

Many advice offices work in rural or semi-rural areas where land dispossession, eviction, and environmental vulnerability are real threats.

There is growing recognition that the advice office sector can play a role not only in defending legal rights but also in protecting ecosystems and the living conditions that make a dignified life possible.

We commend the Dullah Omar School for offering four interconnected training streams — Mediation, Land Justice, Climate Justice, and Introduction to Paralegalism.

We also commend initiatives like the Land Court Programme with Legal Aid SA and JP Carelse and DJP Cowen to address stalled land claims.

Strengthening the Sector – Policy, Funding, and Sustainability

Government recognises the central role of paralegals and advice offices in participatory democracy.

The Legal Practice Act, 2014 mandates the Legal Practice Council to explore recognising paralegals and make recommendations to the Minister.

Working with the Foundation for Human Rights, we developed the 2019 Discussion Document and 2020 Draft Policy Paper on the future of the community advice office sector.

A key challenge remains sustainable public funding.

Our Programme for Legal Empowerment and Access to Justice (PLEAJ) — a 36-month pilot funded by National Treasury — is implemented in partnership with CAOSA.

With a budget of R55 million, it supports:

1. Human Resources Development – recruiting, retaining, and training paralegals and staff;
2. Service Delivery and Improvement – upgrading office operations, governance, and community reach;
3. Sector Development – planning, monitoring, and linking CAOs to other funding and government networks;
4. Knowledge Development – creating a funding model and mapping the sector.

Currently funding 81 advice offices, PLEAJ will expand to 110 — aiming for at least one supported advice office in every district.
This contributes directly to eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, and improving access to justice.
Constitutional rights are hollow if people do not know what their rights are, how to enforce them or where to go for assistance.

Conclusion

Colleagues and friends, democracy must live not only in our institutions but also in our communities.
Advice offices and paralegals make this possible — giving people the tools, confidence, and support to claim their rights.
Let us work together to secure the stability and sustainability of this sector.
Let us continue investing where democracy is lived daily — on the ground, through the tireless work of those who turn rights into realities.
By empowering individuals and communities, advice offices breathe life into our Constitution and keep the promise of democracy alive.

We honour their past. We support their present. We secure their future.

I thank you.