Post-Apartheid Legal Landscape

A collection of flashcards covering key legal concepts and principles discussed in the lecture on the Post-Apartheid Legal Landscape.

Law

Regulates human conduct, maintains social order, and balances individual rights with collective responsibilities.

Emmanuel Makwaiba

A legal scholar with over 10 years of teaching experience and has an LLM and LLB.

Transformative Constitutionalism

A concept that emphasizes healing past divisions and ensuring socio-economic rights are enforceable in South Africa's Constitution.

Social Contract

An implicit agreement among members of a community to form a society organized for mutual benefit.

Constitutional Supremacy

The principle that the constitution is the supreme law and any conflicting law is invalid.

Parliamentary Sovereignty

The principle that Parliament has the ultimate power to create or amend any law without being bound by a constitution.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

Established to investigate human rights violations during apartheid and promote national unity and reconciliation.

Decoloniality

A critique of the lasting impacts of colonialism that continue to influence social relations and structures post-independence.

Legal Positivism

A legal theory that maintains law is created by human beings and is valid as long as it is enacted by authority.

Natural Law

A philosophy asserting that laws should be based on inherent moral principles, transcending human-made statutes.

Normative Systems

Systems that define how individuals ought to behave and are based on societal norms and ethics.

Amnesty

A legal forgiveness granted to individuals or groups for past offenses, typically used to promote peace during transitions.

Coloniality of the Constitution

Refers to the ongoing structural injustices and inequalities perpetuated by the South African Constitution despite independence.

Legal Frameworks

The structure formed by laws that codify and regulate the expectations and norms within a society.

Rights Protection

The safeguarding of individual liberties and collective interests through legal systems.

Dynamic Framework

The concept that laws are not static but evolve to reflect changes in social norms or technological advancements.