CURRICULUM VITAE
Meneer C.Lourens is onlangs genommineer vir die Suid-Afrikaanse regspraktykraad.
1. Cornelus J.A Lourens is a practicing attorney in South Africa with twenty-eight years’ experience as trial lawyer with a right of appearance in the lower and higher courts.
2. He was a Complainant at the PAN South African Language Board in 2000 when the then Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development announced that he intended to declare English as the only language of record in the courts which would inter alia pave the way that legislation would not be required in any other official language. The Pan South African Language Board held a hearing during May 2002 at which complainant testified and PanSalb then published its advisory decision number 99 of 2002 in the Government Gazette on 29 November 2002 in which it inter alia found that the English monolingual policy of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development was unconstitutional and proposed a meeting between the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Arts and Culture to be facilitated by PanSalb.
3. A founder member of the Association of Lawyers for Afrikaans (Vereeniging van Regslui vir Afrikaans)
4. A Language rights activist who successfully:
4.1 Forced the South African National Government to enact language legislation in the case Lourens v The President of the Republic of South Africa & others [2010] JOL 25222 (GNP). (http://www.saflii.co.za)
4.2 Forced the Minister of Justice and Constitutional development to comply with section 31(2)(b) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair, Discrimination Act, Act 4 of 2000 to publish the said Act, regulations and forms in all eleven official languages in the case CJA Lourens v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, case number: 33653/2011.
4.3 An unsuccessful attempt through all the courts was fought in order to order the parliament and /or Minister of Arts and Culture to see that all national legislation be translated in all 11 official languages and published within a reasonable time.
4.3.1 Lourens v Speaker of the National Assembly and others [2014] JOL 32641 (EqC).
4.3.2 Lourens v Speaker of the National Assembly of Parliament and Others (20827/2014) [2016] ZASCA 11; [2016] 2 All SA 340 (SCA).
4.3.3 Lourens v Speaker of the National Assembly of Parliament and Others CCT 73/16; 7 JULY 2016 RECEIVED ON 14 JULY 2016.
4.3.4 See the discussion of R Venter. Are some official languages more equal than others? Reflections on Constitutional duties toward official languages, the Use of Official Languages Act and respecting diversity, TSAR, 4, 872–886, 2015 and Chapter 15 of African Language and Language Practice Research in the 21st Century: Interdisciplinary themes and perspectives. March 2017. Cape Town: Center for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS). Eds: Ralarala; Barris; Ivala and Siyepu: The fissure between language and law in a multilingual constitutional democracy: the case of Lourens v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others.
4.4 The problem in regard to the unavailability of secondary legislation came afore in the unreported case: Van Graan and Another v Financial Services Board Case no: 21229/2011 where the compulsory qualifying examination for brokers was initially only offered in English. The reason given by the Financial Services Board agents was that the regulations on which the examination was based, is only available in English. Mister CJA Lourens handled the case on behalf of the Applicants which was successful, that a Afrikaans examination must be made available.
5. Various other cases against the provinces to enact provincial language legislation.
5.1 The Northern Cape Use of Official Languages Act, Act 5 of 2013: after a court order dated 16 August 2013 in the Northern Cape High Court held at Kimberley under case number 557/13 in terms of which the Premier of the Northern Cape had until the 28th of February 2014 to finalise the said language legislation was granted in favour of Mr CJA Lourens.
5.2 The Mpumalanga Provincial Language Act, Act 3 of 2014: after only letters of demand, the Premier of Mpumalanga reacted positively without the need of a court application.
5.3 The North West Provincial Languages Act, Act 1 of 2015: after a court application of mister CJA Lourens the Premier of the North-West province was ordered on the 12th of December 2013 to finalise the North-West language legislation and other measures and after a request for an extension, it was promulgated on the 17th of April 2015.
5.4 Gauteng Provincial Language Act, Act 3 of 2016: An application was made by mister CJA Lourens during June 2015 after which a default order against the Premier of Gauteng was granted on the 30th of July 2015. The Premier of Gauteng made an application to rescind the said order which is opposed and which will be argued on 16 March 2017. In the meantime, the Premier has assented to this Act on the 3rd of November 2016 but the date of commencement thereof is still outstanding.
5.5 Free State Language Bill: An application by mister CJA Lourens was successful on 7 November 2013 in terms of which the Premier of the Free State had to finalise the language bill before or on the 31st of March 2014. As the Premier, had failed to execute his obligation in terms of the court order in the opinion of mister CJA Lourens, a contempt of court application was brought unsuccessfully on the 17th of September 2015 with a cost order against mister CJA Lourens. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal is currently pending against the said order of the 17th of September 2015.
5.6 Eastern Cape Provincial Language Act: After many demands the Eastern Cape Legislature approved the Eastern Cape Language Act on the 30th of November 2016 and confirmation that it was assented to by the Premier and when it will come into operation are awaited.
5.7 KwaZulu-Natal Province: The draft Language Legislation is still under consideration and it is continuously monitored by mister CJA Lourens.
6.1 He assisted PanSalb with its presentation/input to the proposed Use of Official Languages Bill in 2011; and also prepared the Law Society of South Africa’s comments on the Use of Official Languages Bill.
6.2 Furthermore, he prepared various memoranda for members of parliament in regard to the Use of Official Languages Bill and made a presentation on 18 January 2012 before the portfolio committee of Arts and Culture when the said bill was considered during which he proposed inter alia the inclusion of a Language General (Taal-Generaal) similar to the language commissioner in Canada.
6.3 In collaboration with Doctor Karel Prinsloo he drafted the brief and gave input in regard to the South African Language Laws to Doctor Fernand de Varennes to prepare on behalf of the Afrikaanse Taalraad the: Discussion report: International and comparative perspectives in the use of official languages models and approaches for South Africa. (http://www.academia.edu/2361055/International_and_Comparative_Perspectives_in_the_Use_of_Official_Languages_Models_and_Approaches_for_South_Africa )
7.1 He lodged various complaints personally and on behalf of clients to PanSalb in the past decade.
7.2 The Rules Board, which is tasked to publish the rules of courts and which falls under the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, published the Magistrate’s Court Rules on 15 October 2010 only in English. Mister CJA Lourens wrote various letters to the Rules Board which refused to translate the rules also in Afrikaans notwithstanding the fact that Afrikaans is a recognised language of record in courts. He filed a complaint in terms of section 11 (1) of the PAN South African Language Board Act, Act 59 of 1995, in 2011 but nothing happened. A complaint in terms of the Use of Official Languages Act, Act 12 of 2012 was filed by the complainant at the Rules Board and at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on the 8th of July 2016, but without any positive outcome.
8. Presenter of papers at various conferences in regard to language rights of which the following are relevant which were delivered at the International academy of linguistic law’s conferences:
8.1 Language rights in the Constitution: The unborn language legislation of subsection 6(4) and the consequences of the delayed birth, delivered in Bloemfontein South Africa, 2010.
8.2 Denial of language rights by the Government of South Africa: Constitutional breakdown or break-up of the Republic, delivered in Chiang Mai Thailand, 2012.
8.3 Ideology versus multilingualism in South Africa: should National
Legislation be published in all official languages? Delivered at the Teramo, Italy, 2015.
8.4 Burning the library of diversity: The repeat / continuation of Alexandria’s Disaster delivered at University of Zadar, Croatia at the conference: Perspectives on language sustainability: Discourses, policies, practices“ held on 16 and 17 September 2016
9. International publications:
9.1 “Language Rights in the Constitution: the unborn language legislation of subsection 6(4) and the consequences of the delayed birth” In Law, Language and the Multilingual State.
9.2 Ideology versus multilingualism in South Africa: Should legislation be published in all official languages?
9.3 Various newspaper articles and magazines since 1999.
10. He advises many organisations and individuals on language rights and assists students who study linguistics and/or language rights.
11. Married to Sarita Lourens with one son, Christiaan Lourens.
12. See website: www.lourensprokureurs.com for full particulars.
