On 29 May 2025, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (the Centre) collaborated with the Bridgitte Mabandla Justice College to host a training workshop on Access to justice for persons with disabilities in South Africa. This collaborative effort between the Centre and the Bridgitte Mabandla Justice College is pursuant to a memorandum of understanding that was entered into by the two organisations on 22 August 2024 in which they agreed to work together to strengthen the capacity of court clerks on various human rights issues including the rights of persons with disabilities.
For persons with disabilities, the right to access justice is a fundamental pre-requisite for the enjoyment and vindication of various other human rights and fundamental freedoms. Yet, they experience numerous barriers to accessing justice on an equal basis with others. Both the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa, to which South Africa is party, require the training of personnel working in the justice system as part of the obligation to ensure equal access to justice for persons with disabilities. Accordingly, the training sought to strengthen the capacity of court clerks, who are often the first point of contact for people who make use of the courts, on how they can ensure that persons with disabilities access justice on an equal basis with other South Africans. The training was held in hybrid format with the bulk of the participants attending in person at Bridgitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria and others participating online. The participants were drawn from various courts across South Africa’s nine provinces .
The training addressed various topics including the concept of disability, the different types of disabilities, disability etiquette and the various accommodations that may be provided to overcome the barriers to persons with disabilities accessing justice on an equal basis with others. The training was delivered by personnel from the Centre’s Disability Rights Unit and the National Albinism Taskforce. In light of the importance of the right to access justice for the equal enjoyment of all other rights, it is anticipated that this training is the first of many trainings for court clerks in South Africa on this topic.
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