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The 1993 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa - The Constitutional Court

Author

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  • Kierin O'Malley

Abstract

The South African interim constitution (Act 200 of 1993) provides inter alia for a supposedly independent Constitutional Court which is mandated to act as the guardian of the post-apartheid constitutional dispensation. This Court is granted extensive powers of judicial review by the interim constitution. In an attempt to make a distinct break from the previous political and constitutional dispensation, a centralized constitutional court model has been chosen. This has been done in spite of the country's common-law tradition and a general preference for a decentralized model which existed in the early periods of the 1990-93 transition period. The appointment process spelt out in the interim constitution appears unlikely to guarantee a politically independent court. This is borne out by the initial composition of the court which is strongly biased in favour of the majority party in the Government of National Unity, the African National Congress. A high degree of judicial activism and the politicization of the court and South African constitutional law appears likely.

Suggested Citation

  • Kierin O'Malley, 1996. "The 1993 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa - The Constitutional Court," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 8(2), pages 177-191, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:8:y:1996:i:2:p:177-191
    DOI: 10.1177/0951692896008002004
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    Cited by:

    1. Cecile Gerwel Proches & Shamim Bodhanya & Stan Hardman, 2012. "The Challenges of Service Provision and Economic Development in South Africa," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(Special N), pages 580-599, November.
    2. Ruth Hall, 2004. "A Political economy of land reform in South Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(100), pages 213-227, June.
    3. Timothy Hinks, 2012. "Fractionalization and well-being: Evidence from a new South African data set," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 253-271, December.
    4. K K Govender & N.Z Hlatshwayo, 2015. "Monitoring and Evaluation in the Public Sector: A Case Study of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform in South Africa," Asian Journal of Economics and Empirical Research, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 2(2), pages 91-99.
    5. Inman, Robert P. & Rubinfeld, Daniel, 2009. "Federalism and South Africa's Democratic Bargain: The Zuma Challenge," Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics, Working Paper Series qt6239g0gb, Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics.
    6. Cameron, Robert, 2012. "Vertical Decentralization and Urban Service Delivery in South Africa: Does Politics Matter?," WIDER Working Paper Series 087, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-87 is not listed on IDEAS

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