South Africa: Court quashes Black empowerment code for legal profession

A South African court has struck down a Black economic empowerment code covering the legal profession, concluding that the government did not properly exercise its authority when it signed off on measures aimed at addressing long-standing racial imbalances in the field.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the Gauteng High Court avoided taking a position on whether the code was constitutional or on its goals for racial transformation.

Instead, it found that Trade Minister Parks Tau had not carried out an independent evaluation or provided justification for the measures he approved, Reuters reported Thursday.

The code laid out targets specific to the sector for Black ownership, management and procurement. Among them was a requirement that large law firms achieve 50% Black ownership within five years, with Black women holding 25%.

Four prominent commercial law firms — Deneys Reitz (previously Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa), Bowmans, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans — brought the challenge, together with the trade union Solidarity.

Solidarity Chief Executive Dirk Hermann described the outcome as "a huge victory over the government's reckless racial policy".

A spokesperson for Tau did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the decision.

The ruling represents a setback for the government's push to speed up racial transformation in one of South Africa's most powerful professions, though it does not call into question the country's wider affirmative-action system.

Backers of the code have contended that such measures are necessary, pointing out that while junior lawyers have become more diverse, Black practitioners remain underrepresented in senior leadership, ownership and high-value work.

The decision lands as South African policies meant to correct the legacy of white-minority rule come under fresh political and legal pressure, including criticism from US President Donald Trump.

The court set aside Tau's approval of the code, which was promulgated in 2024, and sent the matter back to him for reconsideration. It stated that the minister was obliged to independently determine whether the code — and its deviations from general Black empowerment rules — were justified before deciding whether to approve it.