Usually most courts have formal Roman lettering that looks intimidating. The judges and the architects specifically did not want this. Chief Justice Chaskalson said to the architects that there are 11 judges and 11 official languages, so it should not only be his writing that appears on the concrete of the Court and it should not just be English that is represented.

It was decided that the words ‘human dignity’, ‘equality’ and ‘freedom’ – which are the pillars of the Constitution – would appear in concrete in the official languages. Every judge chose a language and wrote those words in their own handwriting in concrete, thus achieving the personal touch the architects wanted.