College of Law

Unisa law graduate awarded the Johannes Voet Bar Medal

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Advocate Lyle Bunting was recently awarded the Johannes Voet Bar Medal by the Pretoria Bar at a cocktail function held in Brooklyn, Pretoria, on 26 March 2025. The award follows the nomination of Bunting as the best LLB student for the 2023 academic year. Bunting obtained his LLB degree at Unisa cum laude at the end of 2023, obtaining 39 distinctions during his studies.

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Adv Lyle Bunting, recipient of the Johannes Voet Bar Medal, and Prof Mpfariseni Budeli-Nemakonde, Executive Dean of the College of Law

About the medal

The Johannes Voet Bar Medal has since 1963 been presented to the top achiever from Unisa as nominated by the College of Law. Previous recipients of the medal are, among others, the late Judge SJ Mynhardt, Constitutional Court Judge E Cameron, and Judge MM Jansen.

Still work to be done

Asked about how he felt about the award, Bunting said: “This is an honour that I humbly accept. This has encouraged me to continue on my journey as an advocate at the KwaZulu-Natal Society of Advocates Bar, not only to follow in the footsteps of the great Johannes Voet and his contributions to jurisprudence, but to take on the baton from our leaders to serve South Africans with my knowledge of law. There is still work to be done if we ever have to overcome inequality; we need to continue promoting social justice through access to justice and the rule of law.”

Accepting the award

In accepting the award, he quoted the retired Constitutional Court Judge Justice Edwin Cameron: “Our generation have a purpose to fulfil, and that is to serve and protect our constitution, so we do not go back to the days of racial prejudice through unjust apartheid laws, and to do so, we must fight for social justice. Justice through our constitution cannot serve our people while we remain empty in our stomachs.”

“In holding dear to the above phrase, to archive a long-time passion, and to hold a meaningful life, it will have to be law, of which I hope to uphold its fundamental importance to our country by serving and protecting the constitution,” he said.

“With the importance that law brings forth to the world, it will be a weapon I shall hold. I’m willing to continually acquire the skills and develop a sound understanding of our laws through the powers of analysis, persuasion, problem-solving, and oral and written advocacy that will make a difference in our country,” he added.

The award function was attended by Professor Mpfariseni Budeli-Nemakonde, the Executive Dean of the College of Law at Unisa, judges of the Pretoria High Court, and members of the Pretoria Bar.

By Ngwako Mokgotho, Communications and Marketing Specialist, College of Law

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Publish date: 2025-04-15 00:00:00.0

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