On Tuesday, Solidarity threatened the Legal Practice Council in the Western Cape and nationally with legal action if it did do not withdraw an application for appointments in which only “black, coloured and Indian women” were invited to apply.

According to the trade union, the actions of the Council “amount to blatant discrimination, and it is abhorrent that a body representing the legal profession would demonstrate such a disregard for the Constitution as well as the right to equality.” Riaan Visser, head of the Solidarity Law Network, observed: “On the face of it, it looks as if the Council wants to create first- and second-class law practitioners in the Western Cape. The applications are for appointments as arbitrators, mediators, independent experts and liquidators who will appear in the Council’s database. While appointments are made on the basis of race, one can only speculate whether the database will then also be structured on that basis.” Solidarity demanded that the Council, inter alia, should provide an urgent explanation regarding the decision to base the applications on race. “If we do not receive feedback from the Council by 2 May 2023, and particularly if the answers to our questions are not considered satisfactory, we will continue with corrective action,” Visser indicated.

• Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News

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