Spatial Justice in South African Evictions Jurisprudence
Apartheid’s legacy has entrenched patterns of spatial injustice in South Africa. Poor, overwhelmingly black residents are geographically concentrated in poorly serviced townships or informal settlements on the periphery of towns...
Developing the Customary Law to Give Effect to the Constitutional Commitment to Substantive Equality: Mayelane v Ngwenyama
The South African Constitution expressly provides for the horizontal application of the Bill of Rights, stating that these rights apply to all law. Section 39(2) also states that when interpreting...
Remembering Former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Pius Langa
24 July 2013 was a sad day for South Africa as the news of the death of Former Chief Justice Pius Langa spread. Justice Langa played an important role in...
Justice Edwin Cameron on the United Nations Free and Equal Campaign
On Friday 26th July, in Cape Town, the United Nations launched a new international campaign to counter homophobia, dubbed the Free and Equal Campaign. I was privileged to share the...
The Anniversary of the Marikana Massacre in South Africa and Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Breaches
It is almost a year since more than 40 striking mineworkers were killed in a clash with local police at the Marikana mine on the South African platinum belt. Many...
The Rock-Hard Foundation: Mandela Day, 18 July 2013
“I pay tribute to the mothers and wives and sisters of our nation. You are the rock-hard foundation of our struggle.” – Nelson Mandela, February 1990 Nelson Mandela spoke these...
Affirmative Action in South African Universities: What Does Race Represent?
Editor’s note: Following the US Supreme Court’s decision last week in Fisher the OxHRH will be running a series of posts that offer international perspectives on affirmative action. In this...
Mobile Phone Evidence: Implications for Privacy in South African Law
Contemporary criminal investigations, particularly in cases of conspiracy and joint participation, routinely include search and seizure of mobile phones and access of their stored electronic data. This prompts two questions:...
The South African Constitutional Court: Is There a Threat From Popularism?
The overwhelming body of opinion seems to be that the South African Constitutional Court (CC) has done quite well in its first 17 years. From the first slew of ‘easy’...
Public Interest Law in South Africa
By Justice Dhaya Pillay I am troubled by the inequality in our society despite our grand Constitution. My concern is that the impact of apartheid plagues black and poor people...
Engendering the Judiciary – a South African Perspective
Recent statistics and debates in South Africa highlight that the country’s transformative vision has not stretched as far as the judiciary and legal sector. Since this is the very sector...
Engendering Social Welfare Rights
Recipients of social welfare must routinely face the fact that many in society regard them as “scroungers” who are undeserving of the support they receive. Welfare recipients are thus compelled...
