Kathleen Satchwell

Kathleen Satchwell, commonly known as Kathy Satchwell, is a judge of the Gauteng Division of the High Court (formerly the South Gauteng High Court) in South Africa.

The Honourable
Kathleen Satchwell
Satchwell (1985)
Gauteng Division of the High Court
Personal details
Alma materRhodes University

Biography

She was educated at Rhodes University in the 1960s.[1]

She was a prominent human rights attorney in the 1990s. Satchwell was also involved with court cases of the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC) and of people connected to the killing of Stompie Moeketsi, in the period 1990–1992.[2] She gave evidence before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the role of the legal system in contributing to the violations of human rights in South Africa under apartheid.[3] In 1999 she was appointed by President Nelson Mandela to be Chairperson of the Road Accident Fund Commission.[4]

In September 2001, in the case named Satchwell v President of the Republic of South Africa, Satchwell, an open lesbian,[5] won the right for her partner to enjoy the same benefits as those previously reserved for spouses of married heterosexual judges.[6] This right was confirmed by the Constitutional Court in 2002. This decision is seen as one of five key decisions that set the legal status of same-sex couples in South Africa before the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

References
  1. Satchwell, Kathleen (2005), "Students at Rhodes under Apartheid", African Sociological Review, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 167, archived from the original on 23 July 2020, retrieved 25 June 2015
  2. Fred Brigland: Katiza's journey. Beneath the surface of South Africa's shame. London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1997. ISBN 0333727371
  3. "K Satchwell", Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 26 July 1996, archived from the original on 27 September 2007, retrieved 30 August 2007
  4. "Proclamation: Appointment of Members to the Road Accident Fund Commission", Government Gazette, vol. 407, no. 65, 21 May 1999, archived from the original on 23 September 2006
  5. "Have You Heard", The Times, 4 February 2007, archived from the original on 28 September 2007, retrieved 30 August 2007
  6. "Sundaytimes.co.za :: Home of the Sunday Times :: South Africa's best selling newspaper ::". Archived from the original on 8 February 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2006.


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