Johannesburg Bar Opposes the Suppression of Communism Bill
On 8 June 1950, the Johannesburg Bar declared that if the Suppression of Communism Bill was passed, the freedom of people in South Africa would be in jeopardy. The Bill was established by the Johannesburg Bar to contain an overly broad, unreviewable definition of communism that allowed the government to criminalise almost any form of political opposition. The Bar made this point with reference to a speech in parliament by apartheid Justice Minister C.R. Swart, wherein he stated that the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) would be outlawed should the Bill be passed. Under the Bill, not only was the CPSA to be outlawed, but it was to become a crime, punishable by ten years’ imprisonment, to propagate or further the aims of communism.
The Johannesburg Bar, which was officially known as the “Johannesburg Society of Advocates”, was composed of referral advocates (barristers) practicing within the jurisdiction of the Johannesburg High Court. Unlike attorneys, who deal directly with the public, members of the Bar were referral practitioners, meaning that they had to be briefed by an attorney to argue cases in court. The Society was (and still is) a voluntary professional association governed by an elected executive body known as the Bar Council which enforced ethical rules, oversaw the rigorous training of new advocates (pupillage), and managed the Bar’s affairs.
During the era when the Bar took its stan
