Paul Hoffman
Paul Hoffman SC, a native of Johannesburg and a Wits graduate, practised law at the side bar from 1975 to 1980 and at the Cape Bar from 1980 to 2006. He took silk in 1995 and acted on the Cape Bench at the invitation of three successive judges president. After retiring from the Bar, he was founding director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights and co-founder, in 2009, of Accountability Now, both NGOs that promote constitutionalism. He is best known for his work on the irregularities in the arms deals, on the unconstitutionality of the Hawks and on the bread cartel case in which a general class action was developed by the courts. Yoga and long dog-walks on the beaches and mountains around his home in Noordhoek help keep him inspired to seek that elusive better life for all. He is the author of many articles and two books, Confronting the Corrupt, and Countering the Corrupt.
Articles By This Author
What’s needed in confronting serious corruption
The following is an edited version of my submission to the Constitutional Review Committee of the National Assembly, focusing on four key recommendations relating to
Suggested memo from POTUS to PROSA
The brambles of fact-checking, the recriminations from the commentariat, the revealed misconceptions in Washington and the need for a reset of relations between South Africa
NACAC caught between rock of constitutionalism and hard place of SA politics
The rock of constitutionalism is the foundation of the new or post-liberation order in SA. The Constitution and the rule of law are regarded as
Growing SA’s economy must be preceded by shrinking the corruption
The economy of South Africa has been in the doldrums roughly since Thabo Mbeki left office in 2008. If South Africa had maintained the solid
Justice is like air and clean water
The full quote from which the headline above is taken reads: “Justice is not a luxury, it is something we need like air and clean
Are we living in a BANI country?
Janet Jobson is a “merchant of hope”. She has to be because she heads up the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. She has brought
Renew, Replace and Reform, the three Rs for reviving the ANC’s support
The ANC, still the largest party in Parliament but no longer in the majority, has stated publicly that it needs to renew, or it will
Do SA politicians take countering corruption seriously?
In the carefully chosen words of the Constitutional Court, “(t)here can be no gainsaying that corruption threatens to fell at the knees virtually everything we
The truth about Busisiwe Mkhwebane
In October, former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane resigned her position as an EFF member of parliament to take some “rest”, as she put it. Within
Let your words be matched by your actions to counter corruption, Mr President
On 24 September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly was told by President Cyril Ramaphosa, in no uncertain terms, that: “Through dialogue, through respect for