South Africa

South African Constitutional Court Allows Secret Ballot for Motion of No Confidence in the President

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...
Socio-Economic Rights Advocacy in South Africa’s Eastern Cape

Socio-Economic Rights Advocacy in South Africa’s Eastern Cape

I am one of the two Oxford Human Rights Hub/Rhodes University Travelling Fellows for this year. This is the first year of the fellowship, and the second fellow will be...
The Silicosis Ruling and Its Far Reaching Implication on Access to justice and the Mining Sector

The Silicosis Ruling and Its Far Reaching Implication on Access to justice and the Mining Sector

In a landmark ruling handed down on 13 May 2016, the full bench of the South Gauteng High Court in South Africa granted approval for a class action brought by...
State-sponsored virginity: South Africa’s Maidens’ Bursary Scheme

State-sponsored virginity: South Africa’s Maidens’ Bursary Scheme

It’s clearly not yet 2016 in the UThukela District in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, where the municipality recently decided (for a second year) to institute the “Maidens’ Bursary Awards”. These...
Textbook Provision for Learners in South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal Judgment in the BEFA Case

Textbook Provision for Learners in South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal Judgment in the BEFA Case

In December 2015, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) in the case of Minister of Basic Education and Others v Basic Education for All and Others (the “BEFA”...
Bob Hepple’s Legacy in Southern Africa

Bob Hepple’s Legacy in Southern Africa

I would like to devote my tribute specifically to Bob’s legacy in Southern Africa. Simon Deakin in his tribute stated that Bob had two legal lives in which he distinguished...

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