Cape Town – Former political prisoner and academic Professor Raymond Suttner had to wait nearly half a century to graduate with a Master of Laws degree.
His thesis was declined 49 years ago. But next month, his wait will finally come to an end when he graduates with a Master of Laws degree on December 14.
He is currently a visiting professor and strategic adviser at the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Humanities.
He resubmitted his thesis for examination through the intervention and encouragement of UCT Professor of Public Law Dee Smythe.
Suttner initially submitted his LLM thesis in Legal Pluralism in South Africa in 1969.
Because he extensively quoted the late Jack Simons, who at the time was banned as a listed communist by the apartheid government, his supervisor instructed him to remove the quotes before examination as Simons could not be quoted.
Suttner had refused and instead withdrew the dissertation.
In the preface of his resubmitted thesis, he wrote: “While I do believe that it is correct to remedy what was done under the law applicable in 1969, I want to make it clear that I see it as having implications beyond my early academic career.
“When Donald Molteno QC refused to examine a thesis that contained quotations from a banned and listed individual, Jack Simons, he acted in conformity with what he believed, in good faith, was required of him as a representative of the university.
“I do not bear any ill feelings or grudge for what he did because I know that his actions then, as in other moments of his life, as when he was a leading liberal and a counsel in the famous Coloured Voters Case, reveal a deeply principled person.”
Smythe said she learnt about Suttner’s story in his book, Inside Apartheid’s Prison.
“In the book are a few lines referring to his registration at some point for an LLM in the UCT Law Faculty. I started digging and found a CV that listed a 1969 thesis on Legal Pluralism in South Africa, with a note that it had not been submitted for examination.
“Talking to Professor Suttner about this, I learnt the details of why his LLM dissertation had not been submitted.
‘‘It seemed to me, for a whole range of reasons, that this was an injustice that we - as a faculty and university - should recognise and remedy,” said Smythe.
She said the faculty fully supported her in that they, too, had seen the grave injustice done to Suttner.
“We were all very clear that the dissertation must stand on its own merits, meeting the criteria for the degree.
“Prof Hugh Corder (acting Dean of Law) and I read it and were both very impressed with the breadth and rigour of the work.
“We felt that it would certainly stand up to the scrutiny of examination. In fact, it has remarkable contemporary resonance,” said Smythe.