Keyword: Constitutional Court

Time to Gatecrash the (ANC) Party: It's the 'Politics' Stupid

Picture: Wikimedia Commons Leonard Gentle - There is a very cynical, old apartheid era joke about English-speaking whites in South Africa to the effect that, ”Most supported the Progs (Helen Suzman’s old Progressive Party); voted UP (the old United Party of De Villiers Graaf) … and thanked God for the Nats”. Meaning that it was okay to be disgusted by the racism and repression, but hell those Afrikaners knew how to run the economy -- and they kept everything functioning nicely. With the exception of the...

The Future of Civic Litigation in the Public Interest

Picture: srqpix Saliem Fakir - On June 3, 2009 Constitutional Court Judge, Albie Sachs, ruled in favour of a public interest NGO, Biowatch, in a case that tested how costs are awarded. The ramifications of the ruling will be far reaching for civic organizations and the defence of public interest causes. The details of the judgement have been glanced at superficially and fleetingly in the mainstream media. They deserve a deeper appraisal. If anything, the intent of the judgement is to cover ground wider than the nature of...