During that time, he was reputed as a liberal judge on the basis of his judgements in the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial and other cases involving anti-apartheid protest.
[1] Upon returning to South Africa, Milne read in chambers with Charles Warner QC,[1] and he was admitted as an advocate of the Natal Provincial Division, on 12 June 1953.
[2] Milne presided at the height of apartheid in South Africa, marked by the widespread application of the Internal Security Act of 1982 and by several states of emergency imposed in the mid-1980s.
For one example, in August 1985, during the civil unrest that surrounded the Vaal uprising, Milne urged in a speech in Durban that politicians should prioritise the development of a bill of rights, so that judges could play an active role in establishing fairness and equity.
[7] The following month, he issued an order instructing the South African Police to desist assaulting and imposing pressure on a political detainee, Billy Nair of the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front; Milne said that assaults in police custody constituted "a state of affairs which no civilised nation, particularly one which professes to follow Christian principles, could tolerate for one moment".
[10] In general, by March 1987, academic John Dugard observed that the Natal Division had "acquired a new reputation for judicial independence in matters affecting race and security" since Milne's appointment as Judge President.
By applying a technical rule of law on evidence, he directly raised the standard of proof prosecutors must produce before the burden shifts to the accused to defend themselves; indirectly, he gave effect to the right to freedom of expression in politics.
[9]A month after the judgement, in July 1986, Dugard told the New York Times that Milne's conduct in the Pietermaritzburg trial and other such cases was among several factors that was inspiring increasing judicial confidence and a willingness to challenge executive actions.
[1] However, David Dyzenhaus later suggested that the Chief Justice "carefully kept him (and other untrustworthy judges) off panels that decided public law issues to do with resistance to apartheid", so that his promotion "both weakened the Natal Bench and had no impact on the Appellate Division".