Title
The politics of principle [electronic resource] : the first South African Constitutional Court, 1995-2005 / Theunis Roux.
ISBN
9781107013643
9781107619067
Publication Details
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Language
English
Description
xvi, 433 p. : ill.
Call Number
KTL2620 .R68 2013
Dewey Decimal Classification
347.68/035
Summary
"Under its first chief justice, Arthur Chaskalson, the South African Constitutional Court built an unrivalled reputation in the comparative constitutional law community for technically accomplished and morally enlightened decision-making. At the same time, the Court proved remarkably effective in asserting its institutional role in post-apartheid politics. While each of these accomplishments is noteworthy in its own right, the Court's simultaneous success in legal and political terms demands separate investigation. Drawing on and synthesising various insights from judicial politics and legal theory, this study offers an interdisciplinary explanation for the Chaskalson Court's achievement. Rather than a purely political strategy of the kind modelled by rational choice theorists, the study argues that the Court's achievement is attributable to a series of adjudicative strategies in different areas of law. In combination, these strategies allowed the Court to satisfy institutional norms of public reason-giving while at the same time avoiding political attack"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Series
Cambridge studies in constitutional law ; 6.
Machine generated contents note: Introduction; 1. The Chaskalson Court's achievement; 2. A conceptual framework for assessing the performance of constitutional courts in interdisciplinary terms; 3. Operationalising the conceptual framework to explain the Court's achievement; 4. The political context for judicial review, 1995-2005; 5. Constraints and opportunities: the law/politics distinction in South African legal-professional culture; 6. Death, desire and discrimination: the Chaskalson Court between constitutional and positive morality; 7. Social rights; 8. Property rights; 9. Political rights; 10. Cross-cutting strategies; 11. Conclusion.
