The need to consider victim’s voices in the sentencing of offenders: Director of Public Prosecutions v Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius
On 24 November 2017, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down a unanimous decision increasing the sentence of convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius from six, to fifteen years...
The Case For Recognition Of Muslim Marriages In South Africa
The South African Constitution guarantees all of its citizens the right to equality, dignity, freedom of religion and belief as well as the right to protection against arbitrary deprivation of...
Secret Ballot: Vote of No Confidence in South African President Narrowly Defeated
In an earlier blog post, I discussed the decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the process to be followed by the South African Parliament in the vote of no confidence...
Trillion-Rand South African Nuclear Procurement Halted By South African High Court
The South African government’s nuclear procurement programme, already mired in controversy in the media amidst allegations of corruption, suffered a major set-back on 26 April 2017 when the High Court...
Balancing the Scales in Eviction Cases in South Africa: A Note on Occupiers of erven 87 & 88 Berea v Christiaan Frederick De Wet
In a landmark judgement by the South African Constitutional Court, Occupiers of erven 87 & 88 Berea v Christiaan Frederick De Wet, the Court found that eviction orders that will...
South African Constitutional Court Allows Secret Ballot for Motion of No Confidence in the President
The South African Constitutional Court yesterday upheld an application by opposition political parties setting aside the refusal of the Speaker of Parliament to direct that a vote of no confidence...
Human Dignity, Land Dispossession, And The Right To Security Of Tenure: A Note On The South African Constitutional Court’s Judgement In Daniels v Scribante
In a recent judgement by the South African Constitutional Court, Daniels v Scribante and Another, the court made a link between land dispossession, the right to security of tenure and...
A Gap opens for South Africa to do Right on the ICC
The South African government deposited on 7 March 2017 with the UN Secretary General a document that is as embarrassing as it is telling. The document is headed: “South Africa:...
Improving Legal Literacy in the Struggle for the Right to Education
On 15 February 2017, a partnership of civil society organisations that have been involved in rights-based struggles for access to a quality basic education launched a Basic Education Rights Handbook....
What’s in a Name? Identity of Children in Criminal Proceedings Heads to Court
The North Gauteng High Court has recently considered the protection of identity for child victims, witnesses and offenders, in a case brought by Zephany Nurse and several NGOs. They are...
Confronting Ongoing Racial Discrimination in Schools Admissions Policies in South Africa
I am now in my final month of working for the Legal Resources Centre and Rhodes University as the Oxford Human Rights Hub Travelling Fellow for 2016. This fellowship has...
Advancing the Right to Education in South Africa
James Rooney is one of the Oxford Human Rights Hub/Rhodes University Travelling Fellows. The Fellowship is a partnership between the Oxford Human Rights Hub, Rhodes University in South Africa, and...
