- Justice Catherine O’Regan has been named the fifth recipient of the George Bizos Human Rights Award.
- She is recognised for her lifelong contribution to constitutionalism, equality, and human rights both in South Africa and around the world.
- The award honours those whose work reflects the legacy and values of the late Advocate George Bizos.
The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has announced former Constitutional Court Justice Catherine O’Regan as the fifth recipient of the George Bizos Human Rights Award, recognising her outstanding contributions to constitutionalism, equality, and the protection of human rights in South Africa and beyond.
The award is given to those whose careers embody the values championed by the late Advocate George Bizos SC, one of South Africa’s leading human rights lawyers.
Announcing the honour, the LRC said Justice O’Regan has devoted her remarkable career to strengthening constitutionalism, advancing equality, and protecting human rights.
A career built on defending rights
Before her appointment to South Africa’s first Constitutional Court, Justice O’Regan represented emerging trade unions and communities threatened with eviction under apartheid land laws, advocating for those whose rights were routinely denied.
She then served on the founding bench of the Constitutional Court from 1994 until 2009, helping to shape many of the constitutional principles and institutions that continue to protect equality, accountable government, and the rule of law.
Her contribution has also reached far beyond South Africa. Justice O’Regan served as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia and later became the founding Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, helping to establish it as an internationally recognised centre for human rights research, teaching, and public engagement.
The LRC stated that Justice O’Regan has consistently brought “rigour, courage, and humanity to the law” throughout her career, adding that her work reflects “the enduring values embodied by Advocate George Bizos and the purpose of this award.”
Describing the recognition, the organisation noted it was “a privilege to recognise an extraordinary woman whose life’s work has helped build and protect our constitutional democracy.”
Justice O’Regan is the fifth recipient of the George Bizos Human Rights Award. Previous recipients include Advocate George Bizos SC, who received the inaugural award in 2017, former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke in 2019, former Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro in 2022, and Advocate Geoff Budlender in 2024. Each has been recognised for a lifetime of advancing human rights, constitutionalism, and access to justice.
Honouring George Bizos’ legacy
The award celebrates the enduring legacy of the late Bizos, whose legal career spanned more than seven decades and was dedicated to defending human rights, constitutional democracy, and the rule of law.
Bizos officially joined the Legal Resources Centre in 1991 at the invitation of his long-time friend and colleague Justice Arthur Chaskalson, but he had worked with the organisation since the early 1980s as independent counsel in landmark matters, including the Delmas Treason Trial and the second inquest into the Cradock Four.
Bizos often recalled that Justice Chaskalson persuaded him to join the LRC for what was supposed to be a seven-month trial. Those seven months turned into more than 25 years of service.
As a senior member of the Constitutional Litigation Unit, he mentored generations of attorneys and candidate attorneys while continuing to appear in major public interest matters. These included the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the Marikana massacre and the reopened Ahmed Timol inquest, where he appeared as a witness rather than as a legal representative.
Even in private practice, Bizos said he accepted only cases that reflected the spirit and values of the LRC. These included representing the late Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on treason charges and appearing in the Chinese Association of South Africa matter, which concerned whether Chinese South Africans qualified as previously disadvantaged groups under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act.
Reflecting on his years at the organisation at the time, Bizos said the Legal Resources Centre embodied a spirit of comradeship that enabled him to keep dedicating his life to advancing social justice, human rights, and the rule of law, while working alongside a new generation of lawyers committed to those same values.
Bizos died at the age of 92.
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