result of an article of his that was published in a national newspaper. The individual in question had, by his own admission, never read the article and thus applied a sensationalised misinformed interpretation of van Niekerk's argument. The attacker was found guilty of assault and the sentencing provoked widespread national and international media interest. In 1995, van Niekerk was awarded the Stals Prize for Philosophy by the South African Academy for Science and Art. From 1989 to 2000, he was editor of the internationally accredited South African Journal of Philosophy. From 2003 to 2007, he was Senate Representative on the Council of Stellenbosch University. During that time, he was also chairperson of the Language Committee - a position which brought about the necessity of him playing a prominent role in the Stellenbosch language debate which has raged since about 2004. From 2007 to 2012, he was a director of the International Association of Bioethics. He was one of the founding members of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA), initially on its board from 2000 and its chairman since 2003. From 2001 to 2013, van Niekerk was a member of the Ethics Committee of the South African Medical Research Council and has been the chairperson of the Stellenbosch University's Senate's Ethics Committee since 2009. In 2013, he was appointed by the South African Minister of Health as a member of the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC), the highest policy making body for research ethics in South Africa. He has a B2 rating ("undisputed international recognition") as a researcher with the National Research Foundation of South Africa and, in 2011 and 2012, was convener of the NRF panel research ratings in philosophy and political science. Selected works 1987 Moderne Politieke Ideologieë (editor with Willie Esterhuyse en Pierre du Toit). Johannesburg, Southern Books. [Modern Political Ideologies] 1987 Staatsgesag en Burgerlike Ongehoorsaamheid (co-author with Danie du Toit e.a.) Cape Town: Lux Verbi. [State Authority and Civil Disobedience] 1988 Wat kom na apartheid? (co-editor and –author with PR Nel en JP Landman). Johannesburg: Southern Books. [What comes after apartheid?] 1991 The Status of Prenatal Life (editor and co-author). Cape Town: Lux Verbi. 1991 Aids in Context: a South African Perspective (editor and co-author) Cape Town: Lux Verbi. 1992 Rasionaliteit en Relativisme Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council. [Rationality and Relativism] 1993 Health Care as Human Right (editor and co-author). Stellenbosch: Unit for Bioethics. 1993