Report from South Africa, January and September 1966. The South West Africa Case

Between 1964 and 1967, Report from South Africa, a publication of the South African Embassy in London, was edited by the present owner of Fontein Books. Three of the more interesting issues from this period are featured in this lot and Lot 27.

The first of these two issues on the South West Africa case covers the oral hearings and the second the judgment, for which the editor travelled to the Netherlands.

The case was brought by Ethiopia and Liberia as the only two independent African countries (apart from South Africa) at the time the action against South Africa was originally brought in 1950.

"In its judgment delivered on July 18 1966 the court, by the President's [Australia's Sir Percy Spender's] casting vote, found that the applicant states could not be considered to have established any legal right or interest in the subject matter of their claims and accordingly decided to reject them."

Although it was by no means clear at the time, this was to be far from the end of the story and the statement - "Thus, 16 years after the first advisory opinion on the subject, South Africa's right to carry out the 'sacred trust of civilisation' in South West Africa without reference to or supervision from other states or bodies has finally been vindicated" - was soon to prove incorrect. 

Nevertheless, both these copies of this monthly remain interesting for their summary of the legal position at the time in relation to the original League of Nations Mandate over South West Africa.

Two x 24 pp self-covered reports, text illustrated in b/w with the same illustrations on the front cover of each, one with a red background and the other with a blue background. The first of the reports also includes a reproduction of a striking colour map of the territory by Peter Furse (see image).

CONDITION. The fore-edges of both copies are rubbed. The contents are complete, unmarked and undiscoloured.