In memoriam: Professor JRL Milton (1939-2017)

• Published date: 16 August 2019
• Date: 16 August 2019

In memoriam:

Professor JRL Milton (1939-2017)

As this issue concludes the 2017 volume of the South African Journal of

Criminal Justice, it is appropriate to remember it s founding editor-in-

chief: John Rober t Landrey Milton, who passed away on 27 June 2017.

John was a giant of South Afr ican criminal l aw, and indeed was one

of the most prominent, respected, and well-loved legal intellectu als of

his era. His life has been celebrated i n a festschrift, edited by Professor

PJ Schwikkard and myself, entitled The exe mplary scholar: Essays in

honour of John Milton, published by Juta in 2007. I undertook the

challenging but extremely rewarding task of det ailing the ambit and

signicance of the corpu s of John’s academic output (‘The public ations’,

at 11-23 in The exemplary scholar). This was indeed a humbling

pursuit, as I realized that I could ha rdly do justice to the full extent

of his contribution to South Afr ican law, let alone the impact of his

writings upon the generations of practitioners a nd students who have

beneted from his labour, and drawn from his wis dom.

What can however be reasonably concluded is that John Milton’s

academic legacy remains, some 15 years after his retir ement, and

it will no doubt continue to enrich futu re generations, through the

enduring quality of hi s publications. In the present context, it should

be noted that this journa l owes an enormous debt of gratitude to

John Milton. After ser ving for a few years on the editorial board of

this journal’s predecessor, the South African Journal of Criminal L aw

and Criminolog y, John took the reins as editor-in-chief of the S outh

African Journal of Criminal Justice from its  rst issue in 1988, until he

nally handed over to Professor Jonathan Burchell in 20 01. He then

served as an editor of the journa l until the end of 2002. There ca n be

no doubt that the journal would not occupy its position of prominence

in South Africa n criminal law scholarship i f not for his untiring efforts,

and the considerable practical wisdom that he brought to the task of

steering the journal, unti l his retirement.

We fondly remember John Milton, the exemplary scholar, and the

academic father of this journal.

Shannon Hoc tor

Editor-in-ch ief, South African Journal of Criminal Justice

University of KwaZulu-Nat al

297

(2017) 30 SACJ 297

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd