The Court’s justices were nationally and internationally recognised as experts in civil and human rights law and litigation, and judging from their work in this field, it is quite clear that they took their responsibilities extremely seriously, which is to be expected given the glittering political career that some of them had, which stemmed directly from their long tradition of involvement and experience in the anti-apartheid struggle. The Court was established under section 98 of the Interim Constitution, and when it began its work in 1994, the Court consisted of 11 justices: a President and a Deputy President, and 9 justices, 4 of whom were appointed by the president of the country ( Dickson, 1997: 532). The establishment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in April 1994 marked a turning point, and it could not have made constitutional rights proponents in the country more optimistic about the chances of making major strides towards constitutional democracy. During the same period of democratic change, enormous changes on the constitutional front were witnessed, which took more wind out of the sails of the apartheid machinery. Mandela embodied the dream that many people had, and he inspired a large, loyal and devoted following around the world. In 1993 South Africa adopted a new (interim) constitution, based on freedom and equality, it held landmark elections in April 1994, and later, in May, it inaugurated Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected president of the country. In the early 1990s, just a few years after the independence of Namibia in 1990 and the fall of the Berlin Wall a year before, a process of democratising social change swept throughout South African society, marking the first and most crucial step towards a negotiated political settlement in an increasingly violent and intense political culture. Using the examples of the Court’s decision in Makwanyane on the death penalty, and the Court’s decision on the findings of the Public Protector’s report on Nkandla, the article finds that the Court’s new jurisprudence takes quite a different view of legal developments in South Africa, insofar as the jurisprudence entrusts broad discretion to the Court and emphasises the need for sustained leadership of the Court to advance the battle for fundamental human rights, the rule of law, and democratic accountability. The main goal of the article is to understand how the Court’s new jurisprudence works in particular contexts, how its work is related to crime and punishment, and what it means for the rights of marginalised groups in society. This article is a brief reflection on the role of the Court in establishing the meaning of this democracy and giving it effect. The Constitutional Court was one of the most important of the new democratic institutions in the shaping of the country’s position as a constitutional democracy, upholding the values for which millions of people, black and white, had fought. All subjects Allied Health Cardiology & Cardiovascular Medicine Dentistry Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Endocrinology & Metabolism Environmental Science General Medicine Geriatrics Infectious Diseases Medico-legal Neurology Nursing Nutrition Obstetrics & Gynecology Oncology Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Otolaryngology Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care Pediatrics Pharmacology & Toxicology Psychiatry & Psychology Public Health Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine Radiology Research Methods & Evaluation Rheumatology Surgery Tropical Medicine Veterinary Medicine Cell Biology Clinical Biochemistry Environmental Science Life Sciences Neuroscience Pharmacology & Toxicology Biomedical Engineering Engineering & Computing Environmental Engineering Materials Science Anthropology & Archaeology Communication & Media Studies Criminology & Criminal Justice Cultural Studies Economics & Development Education Environmental Studies Ethnic Studies Family Studies Gender Studies Geography Gerontology & Aging Group Studies History Information Science Interpersonal Violence Language & Linguistics Law Management & Organization Studies Marketing & Hospitality Music Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution Philosophy Politics & International Relations Psychoanalysis Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Regional Studies Religion Research Methods & Evaluation Science & Society Studies Social Work & Social Policy Sociology Special Education Urban Studies & Planning BROWSE JOURNALSĪfter almost 25 years of what could justifiably be called transformative change in South Africa, a truism is that the country’s new legal order, established by the Constitution in 19, provides the critical foundation of peace and security upon which its freedom has been built.
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