Sir Sydney Woolf Kentridge (born 5 November 1922) is a South African-born lawyer, judge and member of the

Bar of England and Wales Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

. He practised law in South Africa and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from the 1940s until his retirement in 2013. In South Africa he played a leading role in a number of the most significant political trials in the apartheid-era, including the

Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not gu ...

of Nelson Mandela and the 1978 inquest into the death of Steve Biko. Kentridge's wife,

Felicia Kentridge Felicia, Lady Kentridge (née Geffen; 7 August 1930 – 7 June 2015) was a South African lawyer and anti-apartheid activist who co-founded the South African Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in 1979. The LRC represented black South Africans against ...

, was also a leading anti-apartheid lawyer.

Early life and education

Kentridge was born in 1922 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, the son of Lithuanian-born

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

lawyer and politician Morris Kentridge (né Kantrovitch; 1881–1964). Sydney Kentridge attended Johannesburg's King Edward VII School, before studying at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. He graduated in 1942, and served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as an

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

officer in the South African Army in East Africa and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. After the war, he attended

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, on an ex-serviceman's grant, and graduated with a first-class BA in

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

in 1948.

Legal career

In 1949, after working briefly as a judge's clerk, Kentridge was admitted as an advocate of the

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical ...

. He was appointed a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

in 1965. He became a leading defence lawyer in political trials in South Africa, with some of his major cases including the

(1958–61), in which he defended Nelson Mandela, and the Prisons Trial (1968–69). A staunch opponent of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Kentridge represented three

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

winners during his career – Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Albert Luthuli. In 1978, he represented the family of the anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko at the inquest following Biko's death in police custody on 12 September 1977."Sir Sydney Kentridge"
South African History Online. Retrieved 29 January 2015. "There is indisputable evidence," Kentridge said during the inquest, "that...Mr. Biko went into the interrogation room alive and well... uthe came out a physical and mental wreck. He died a miserable and lonely death on a cold prison floor."

Lord Alexander of Weedon Robert Scott Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon, KC, FRSA (5 September 1936— 6 November 2005) was a British barrister, banker and Conservative politician. Education He was educated at Brighton College (of which he was later President) and ...

wrote of his performance: "Through remorseless and deadly cross-examination, sometimes with brilliant irony, Kentridge established that the founder of the

Black Consciousness Movement The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Afri ...

had been killed by police brutality. The verdict of accidental death was seen as risible." In a 1984 British television dramatisation of the Biko inquest, Kentridge was portrayed by Albert Finney. Kentridge practised at the English Bar between 1977 and 2013, and was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1984. He became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of Lincoln's Inn in 1985. He was a member of Brick Court Chambers, a leading London

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

set, and was widely regarded as the "elder statesman" of the English Bar before his retirement in 2013. Among his most notable cases in the UK was his successful defence of P&O Ferries against a charge of manslaughter in the wake of the 1987 Zeebrugge ferry disaster. Kentridge furthermore served as a judge in a number of jurisdictions, sitting as a Judge of Appeal in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

(1981–89), as a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

and Guernsey (1988–92) and as an Acting Justice of the

South African Constitutional Court The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was fi ...

(1995–96). In the early 2000s, he was also the lawyer of Abdullah Öcalan in his application to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

(ECHR).

Honours

Kentridge is a Knight Commander of the British Order of St Michael and St George (1999) and a Supreme Counsellor of the South African

Order of the Baobab The Order of the Baobab is a South African civilian national honour, awarded to those for service in business and the economy; science, medicine, and for technological innovation; and community service. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and i ...

in Gold (2008). He has been awarded an Honorary LL.D. by the Universities of Leicester (1985),

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

(1987),

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(1989),

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(1995), Sussex (1997),

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

(2000) and Buckingham (2009). He was elected an Honorary Fellow of

– his '' alma mater'' – in 1986. He is also a Fellow of the

Institute of Advanced Legal Studies The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) is a member institute of the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Founded in 1947, it is a national academic centre of excellence, serving the legal community and universities across the ...

(1997), an Honorary Fellow of the

American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially trial ...

(1998) and an Honorary Member of the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

(2001). In March 2013, Kentridge was interviewed on the British radio show ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

''. In May 2013, he received a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural Halsbury Legal Awards. The South African General Bar Council awards an annual prize in Kentridge's name, the Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award, for excellence in

public interest law Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms ( ''pro bono publico''), often in the fields ...

. In November 2020, at the age of 98, Kentridge received the

Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in th ...

Lifetime Achievement Award at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, in recognition of his legal career in South Africa and the United Kingdom. A

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of Kentridge focusing on his major apartheid-era cases, authored by Thomas Grant QC, was published in July 2022.

Personal life

In 1952, Kentridge married Felicia Geffen, a lawyer and anti-apartheid activist who co-founded the South African

Legal Resources Centre The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is a human rights organisation based in South Africa with offices in Johannesburg (including a Constitutional Litigation Unit), Cape Town, Durban and Grahamstown. It was founded in 1979 by a group of prominent South ...

(LRC); Kentridge himself was a founding

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the LRC. He has lived in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

, since the 1990s, and has four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchilden. Kentridge's eldest son is the South African artist and filmmaker

William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films, especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by ...

. Sydney Kentridge is a keen fan of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, and is a cousin of the South African American musician and composer

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

. He turned 100 in November 2022.

References

External links

Kentridge's profile
at Brick Court Chambers
January 2013 ''Financial Times'' interview with KentridgeKentridge's appearance
on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

'' in March 2013
August 2013 Bar Council article about Kentridge
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentridge, Sydney 1922 births Living people People from Johannesburg Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford South African Army officers South African military personnel of World War II 20th-century South African judges South African Jews South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English barristers English King's Counsel Members of Lincoln's Inn 20th-century King's Counsel Opposition to apartheid in South Africa South African Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Lawyers awarded knighthoods Alumni of King Edward VII School (Johannesburg) University of the Witwatersrand alumni South African knights Judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Steve Biko affair South African Senior Counsel South African emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century English lawyers Order of the Baobab South African centenarians Men centenarians