Rights and Constitutionalism

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 the constitutional 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 a democratic 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 part contains 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 on rights. 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.