In a unanimous judgment of the Constitutional Court handed down 25 April 2018, Lauren’s research on rationality review was cited with approval. In her article, (Lauren Kohn ‘The burgeoning constitutional requirement of rationality & the separation of powers: Has rationality review gone too far?’ (2013) 130 South African Law Journal 810), she argues that the… Read More »
The original post can be read here: The Bashir Judgment raises the red flag for the Rule of Law and the Judiciary Since the finalisation of this note, two significant developments have ensued. First, President Zuma took the Chief Justice up on his invitation to meet and, in an unprecedented move, on 27 August 2015 a… Read More »
This day, Human Rights Day, I struggle to find my own words in the wake of all that has transpired recently in our country. So, I turn to our Constitution and the powerful words in its Preamble: “We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice… Read More »
These are heavy days. They really are. I am typically an eternal optimist, but in the wake of recent events, and being a new mom to a baby girl, I would be dishonest if I denied feeling some trepidation about raising her in this country. I do however still feel hope. And I think we… Read More »
So I figured it was only a matter of time. Social media, you judgmental machine, you! There has been a visible outpouring of grief and empathy in the wake of the tragic Tokai teen murder. People from all walks of life – albeit predominantly white people, if we are honest here – and age groups… Read More »
So today is International Women’s Day and I have been doing a bit of thinking on this score. Firstly let me say that I understand feminism to mean, as Merriam Webster defines it, “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities” – rather than an extreme bra-burning notion that some people… Read More »
Update re yesterday’s Constitutional Court judgment: ” The constitutional imperatives in section 26(3), given effect to by ESTA, must be borne in mind. That sub-provision demonstrates special constitutional regard for a person’s place of abode. As this Court said in PE Municipality, the sub-provision— ‘acknowledges that a home is more than just a shelter from… Read More »
Statement on the Constitution and lawful protest | Faculty of Law law.uct.ac.za “We further acknowledge that many of the concerns highlighted by the student movements over the last year are of national significance, particularly the issues relating to designated groups having access to opportunities to study and work at institutions of higher learning and to… Read More »
I’m busy preparing for my lecture on transformative constitutionalism and these poignant words of our late great former Chief Justice, Pius Langa, seemed apt given the current socio-political climate: “Social transformation is indispensable to our society. In South Africa – it is synonymous with reconciliation. If there is no reconciliation between the people and groups… Read More »
I don’t quite know where to begin. But somehow I have to get the words out because they are bubbling up inside me and, I suspect, inside many others. I feel that, somewhat ironically, in this cyber-era there is perhaps more self-censoring (than there was pre-Facebook and Twitter etc) because there is so often a… Read More »