Rights and Constitutionalism The New South African Legal Order

by van Wyk, David; Dugard, John; Villiers, Bertus de; Davis, Dennis

• ISBN13: 9780198262251
• ISBN10: 0198262256
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-12-19
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

This major work written by prominent South African academics is an introduction to the new constitutional order in South Africa. It places fundamental rights as affirmed in Chapter 3 of the South African Constitution in a comparative and international context. The authors draw heavily on theconstitutional experience of countries such as Canada, India, Germany, and the United States, which greatly influenced the drafting of Chapter 3 of the Constitution. The study is shaped by principles that form the foundation of the new order: the supremacy of the Constitution, the notion of ademocratic constitutional state, and the judicial protection of fundamental rights.The book is divided into four parts. The first deals with constitutionalism, democracy, and constitutional interpretation. The second part provides an examination of the historical background of the 1993 Constitution and a description of the principal features of the Constitution. The third partcontains an analysis of the key fundamental rights which constitutes the main purpose of the study. Detailed treatment is given to civil and political rights, social and economic rights, the concepts of equality and administrative justice, and the circumstances in which limitations may be imposed onrights. A separate chapter is devoted to the international protection of human rights as directed by Section 35(1) of the Constitution. The final part comprises a bibliography of the works cited in the text following the sequence of the chapters.This is a book which will be of interest to all constitutional law specialists and to many political scientists, particularly those with an interest in constitutionalism and constitutional litigation.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Contributors
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes
Democracy and Constitutionalism: The Role of Constitutional Interpretation	p. 1
Introduction to the South African Constitution	p. 131
International Human Rights	p. 171
Equality and Equal Protection	p. 196
Personal Rights: Life, Freedom, and Security of the Person, Privacy, and Freedom of Movement	p. 212
Freedom of Expression	p. 264
Freedom of Assembly: Voting with Your Feet	p. 292
Freedom of Association: The Right to be We	p. 338
Administrative Justice	p. 387
Procedural Rights	p. 401
Constitutionalization of Labour Rights	p. 439
Property Rights, Land Rights, and Environmental Rights	p. 455
Family Rights	p. 502
Culture, Education, and Religion	p. 573
Social and Economic Rights	p. 599
Limitation and Suspension	p. 629
Bibliography	p. 655
Chapter 3: Fundamental Rights	p. 695
Index	p. 701
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.