Browsing by Subject "constitution"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    After Glenister: The case for a new dedicated agency
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2012) Reeves, Christopher
    Last year, the Constitutional Court held that the state has an obligation to establish and maintain an independent anti-corruption entity and that the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), which is located within the South African Police Service (SAPS), does not have an adequate degree of independence. A Bill has recently been introduced in the National Assembly to address the issues raised in the judgment. In accordance with the proposed amendments, the DPCI would remain part of the SAPS. This article argues that this is a mistake and that a wholly separate anti-corruption entity should be established. It also examines the legal and institutional framework required to establish an effective, specialised anti-corruption entity through a comparative analysis of other anti-corruption agencies.
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    Beyond the Traditional Courts Bill: regulating customary courts in line with living customary law and the Constitution
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011) Weeks, Sindiso Mnisi
    This article discusses flaws in the Traditional Courts Bill in light of research that shows customary courts to operate in accordance with a model that is very different from that adopted by the Bill. Customary courts are not professional institutions but community-based discussion forums, thus participation in them is inclusive of the broad community membership, and their accountability is partly dependent on people's ability to choose to use them, or other forums, when their own courts are unjust. The article therefore develops a framework for regulating customary courts that gives recognition to their essential elements as understood through prior study of diverse courts. The framework advanced is also one that gives greater expression to rights (to democracy, gender equality and freedom of association, or choice) articulated in the Constitution.
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    The judiciary and government
    (2014-09-23) Davis, Dennis; Le Roux, Michelle
    This lecture series will be of interest to law students, legal practitioners and others in fields related to human rights, freedom of information and the reform and redistribution of land. Lecture series coordinated by Judge Dennis Davis, Judge of the High Court of South Africa & Michelle le Roux, Advocate of the High Court and Senior Visiting Fellow, Mandela Institute, Wits Law School. Tension between the elected government and the judiciary is common in constitutional democracies which feature the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature. However, in South Africa, concerns about excessive judicial intervention in politics and the unsuitability of our constitution to the social and economic developmental needs of the country have increasingly become more vocal. This lecture series will consider the role of the judiciary in our developing country as it strives to embed constitutional democracy. It will look at the dangers of judicial over- or under-reach and the possible threats to and opportunities for our constitutional model. Two panel discussions will focus on recent challenges related to land reform and information freedom respectively. LECTURE TITLES: *1. The good, bad and ugly: models of constitutional adjudication - Michelle le Roux; *2. How have we done? An examination of court success and failure through key cases - Judge Dennis Davis; *3. Panel on slow land reform and redistribution: the challenge to align the constitution - Mazibuko Jara (Law, Race & Gender Research Unit, UCT); *4. Panel on media and information freedoms under threat - Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti; *5. How concerned should we be about our constitutional health? - Judge Dennis Davis & Michelle le Roux.
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    Looking back: Insider views on the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) McGrath, Chloë; Van der Spuy, Elrena
    The establishment of a constitutional democracy in South Africa necessitated widespread institutional reforms across state sectors. A key feature of such reforms was the emphasis on oversight and accountability as illustrated in reform endeavours pursued in the South African Police Service, courts and prisons. One such oversight mechanism – the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) – is the subject of this article. Drawing on qualitative interviews with people closely involved with the JICS since 1998, this article presents 'insider views' regarding the JICS. We conclude with incumbents' views on the effectiveness of the JICS.
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    Protecting dignity under common law and the Constitution: the significance of crimen iniuria in South African criminal law
    (Juta Law, 2014) Burchell, Jonathan
    Implicitly or explicitly, the core of the protection of fundamental human rights can be found in the value of individual dignity - in the sense of the self-worth, uniqueness, identity, autonomy, privacy and freedom of all human beings. This concept of dignity lies at the heart of equal respect for human worth (equality) that underpins all human rights ideologies.A significant facet of the South African Constitution of 1996 is that the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2) explicitly, not just impliedly, respects and protects such human dignity. Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that the South African concept of dignity, in its constitutional, civil and criminal setting, is not completely comparable with that in the German Basic Law. Under South African law, dignity is of fundamental worth, but it is not inviolable - it can be limited and, as will be seen, for convincing reasons.
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    Resurgence of tribal levies: double taxation for the rural poor
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011) Claassens, Aninka
    People in the former homelands waged a successful battle against the imposition of 'tribal levies' during the anti-apartheid struggle. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of traditional authorities demanding annual levies. Those who refuse to pay cannot access government grants and identity books. This article argues that recent laws bolstering the powers of traditional leaders have contributed to this resurgence. It argues that the laws undermine the citizenship rights of the poorest South Africans as well as their ability to hold traditional leaders to account. It suggests that the laws have been ambiguously worded in an attempt to disguise the fact that they are inconsistent with the Constitution. It rebuts the argument that annual tribal levies are consistent with and justified by customary law, by describing their colonial and apartheid genesis.