The Rule of Law is a founding value of South Africa’s constitutional order. Yet, in case after case in our superior courts, this institutional protection for liberty is, at best, given lip-service and, at worst, ignored. The courts often receive uncritical praise in South Africa without the implications of and thought that went into their judgments receiving much attention.
What does the Constitution mean when it says South Africa is founded upon “the supremacy of the Constitution and the Rule of Law” in section 1(c)? What is the Rule of Law all about? How have the courts got it so wrong for so long?
Martin will attempt to answer these questions in the context of the courts’ -
- destruction of property rights (in minerals, and, potentially in land);
- penchant for giving officials dictatorial power over the affairs of ordinary South Africans; and
- endorsement of racial discrimination.
This is the official Cape Town launch of Martin’s book The Constitution and the Rule of Law: An Introduction. Copies will be available at R150 each.
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Entry free – Media welcome
Come and enjoy snacks and wine, challenging intellectual debate, and scintillating company!
(If you have already responded or cannot join us, no need to RSVP)
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Biography
Martin van Staden is the Head of Legal Policy and -Research at the Free Market Foundation. He obtained his LL.B. in 2016 and is presently pursuing an LL.M. at the University of Pretoria. His work has been featured on Al Jazeera, eNCA, CNBC Africa, kykNET, 702, Huffington Post, and the attorneys journal De Rebus, among others. Martin is a co-author of Fallism (2017), The Real Digital Divide (2017), and Igniting Liberty (2019). He recently wrote a book about the Rule of Law’s significance to the Constitution of South Africa, The Constitution and the Rule of Law: An Introduction (2019).
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ENQUIRIES
Media enquiries
For more information and to arrange for photographs and interviews, contact:
Jayne Boccaleone
082 904 3616
jboccaleone@gmail.com
Other enquiries
Joan Evans
011 884 0270
joanevans@fmfsa.org