PER: 2012 Volume 15 No 1
Contents
29 March 2012
Oratio
- Culture, tradition, custom, law and gender equality / Maluleke, MJ
Articles
- The application of section 8(3) of the constitution in the development of customary law values in South Africa's new constitutional dispensation / Ntlama, N
- The right of child victims of armed conflict to reintegration and recovery / Robinson, JA
- Gesondheidsorg vir kinders: voldoen Suid-Afrikaanse wetgewing aan die land se verpligtinge ingevolge die konvensie oor die regte van die kind en die grondwet? / Büchner-Eveleigh, M & Nienaber, A
- A critical appraisal of the juvenile justice system under Cameroon's 2005 criminal procedure code: emerging challanges / Tabe, S
- "Child divorce": a break from parental responsibilities and rights due to the traditional socio-cultural practices and beliefs of the parents / Bekink, M
- Realising equality in access to HIV treatment for vulnerable and marginalised groups in Africa / Durojaye, E
- The impact of SADC social protection instruments on the setting up of a minimum social protection floor in Southern African countries / Nyenti, M & Mpedi, LG
- South Africa - safe haven for human traffickers? Employing the arsenal of existing law to combat human trafficking / Kruger, HB & Oosthuizen, H
- Disability discrimination and the right of disabled persons to access the labour market / Marumoagae, MC
- The use of a therapeutic jurisprudence approach to the teaching and learning of law to a new generation of law students in South Africa / Fourie, E & Coetzee, E
Note
- Procurement adjudication and the rights of children: Freedom Stationary (PTY) LTD v MEC for Education, Eastern Cape 2011 JOL 26927 (E) / Couzens, M
- UNISA v Reynhardt [2010] 12 BLLR 1272 (LAC): does affirmative action have a lifecycle? / Mushariwa, M
Editorial
This issue contains various contributions on the themes of traditional African culture, the law relating to children and juveniles, the state's social responsibilities, labour law and one on legal education.
In August 2011 Advocate Joyce Maluleke , Director in the Gender Directorate of the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development addressed the Annual General Conference of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges held in Potchefstroom on the dangers of harmful traditional practices such as early and forced marriages, virginity testing, widow's rituals, levirate and sororate unions, female genital mutilation, breast sweeping/ironing, the primogeniture rule, practices such as 'cleansing' after male circumcision, and witch-hunting. Although she considers respect for tradition, culture and customs to be part of the South African identity, she argues that cultural practices should be rooted in respect for human rights, democracy and equality. We publish her paper here as an oratio.
Articles
-
Nomthandazo Ntlama of UNISA discusses the implications for customary law of the constitutional imperative that the common law should be developed in the context of the South African Bill of Rights.Robbie
-
Robinson of the North-West University tenders an explanation of the law in terms of which children, especially former child soldiers should be considered to be victims of armed conflict against the background of Article 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
-
Mariana Büchner-Eveleigh of UNISA and Annelize Nienaber of the University of Pretoria assess South African legislation regarding child health against the background of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989. They find serious shortcomings and conclude that improvements are required.
-
Simon Tabe of the University of Dschang, Cameroon renders a critical appraisal of the repatriated Camaroonian juvenile justice system, finding that it represents a balance of the due process rights of young people, the protection of society and the special needs of young offenders although the system requires further improvement.
-
Mildred Bekink of UNISA discusses the difficulties of balancing the rights of a teenager against those of the parents in matters of socio-cultural practice and belief and she argues that the principle of the best interests of the child is key, taking into account that the principle is anchored in the family.
-
Ebenezer Durojaye of the University of the Western Cape examines the progress that has been made regarding the provision of HIV treatment in Africa with specific reference to equality. He argues for the improvement of access to HIV treatment for vulnerable and marginalised groups in Africa such as children and sex workers.
-
Mathias Nyenti and Letlhokwa George Mpedi of the University of Johannesburg analyse the SADC social protection-related instruments to determine their impact and whether they satisfy the need for establishing minimum "social floor functions" for the purposes of social protection in the countries of the region.
-
Hester Kruger and Hennie Oosthuizen of the University of the Free State reflect upon the possibility of prosecuting human traffickers for common law crimes in South Africa pending the coming into operation of legislation in terms of which statutory crimes should be created in accordance with international obligations.
-
Motseotsile Marumoagae, candidate attorney in Benoni highlights employment discrimination experienced by persons with disabilities in South Africa whereby the disabled are deprived of employment opportunities.
-
Elmarie Fourie and Enid Coetzee of the University of Johannesburg point out that first-generation South African law students need to be learning to be, rather than learning about. They propose that this may be achieved through "therapeutic jurisprudence" aimed at instilling skills that will be beneficial to the profession, future clients and the community as a whole.
Notes
-
Meda Couzens of the University of KwaZulu-Natal comments on a judgment dealing with the effects of the public procurement process and its effects on the rights of the child when it involves the provision of stationary to public schools.
-
Muriel Mushariwa of the University of the Witwatersrand enters into the debate on the question whether affirmative action has a life-span in South African employment law with reference to a judgment in which it was held that once an employer had reached specific employment equity targets further affirmative action is not required.
Recent Submissions
-
UNISA v Reynhardt [2010] 12 BLLR 1272 (LAC): does affirmative action have a lifecycle?
(2012)The Employment Equity Act (EEA) was enacted to achieve equity in the workplace by prohibiting unfair discrimination and by requiring the implementation of affirmative action measures to ensure the adequate representation ... -
Procurement adjudication and the rights of children: Freedom Stationary (PTY) LTD v MEC for Education, Eastern Cape 2011 JOL 26927 (E)
(2012)Children are heavily reliant on the services provided by the government and irregularities in public procurement processes are bound to affect the realisation of children's rights. In the Freedom Stationery (Pty) Ltd v ... -
The use of a therapeutic jurisprudence approach to the teaching and learning of law to a new generation of law students in South Africa
(2012)In rapidly changing social, economic and intellectual environments it is imperative that teaching and learning should be transformed from being primarily concerned with the transmission of knowledge (learning about) to ... -
Disability discrimination and the right of disabled persons to access the labour market
(2012)Inequality, discrimination and transformation remain the key challenges which most employers are faced with in the South African labour market. Key among such challenges has also been employers' ability to ensure that ... -
South Africa - safe haven for human traffickers? Employing the arsenal of existing law to combat human trafficking
(2012)Having ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, South Africa is obliged to adopt legislative measures that criminalise human trafficking and comply with ... -
The impact of SADC social protection instruments on the setting up of a minimum social protection floor in Southern African countries
(2012)The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was formed to promote the political, economic and social wellbeing of the region. Some of the social objectives of the SADC are the promotion of social development and ... -
Realising equality in access to HIV treatment for vulnerable and marginalised groups in Africa
(2012)This article examines the relevance of the concept of equality in improving access to HIV treatment for vulnerable and marginalised groups in Africa. The article argues that though modest achievements have been made in ... -
A critical appraisal of the juvenile justice system under Cameroon's 2005 criminal procedure code: emerging challanges
(2012)The objective of this article is to examine the changes introduced by the 2005 Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code on matters of juvenile justice, considering that before this Code, juvenile justice in Cameroon was ... -
Gesondheidsorg vir kinders: voldoen Suid-Afrikaanse wetgewing aan die land se verpligtinge ingevolge die konvensie oor die regte van die kind en die grondwet?
(2012)Included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (UN Children's Convention) is the right of children to the highest attainable standard of health. In terms of article 4 of the UN Children's Convention, in ... -
The right of child victims of armed conflict to reintegration and recovery
(2012)Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the right to recovery and reintegration of child victims of armed conflict. In this publication an explanation is tendered of when children are considered ... -
The application of section 8(3) of the constitution in the development of customary law values in South Africa's new constitutional dispensation
(2012)The constitutional recognition of customary law alongside common law in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is highly commendable. It also raises the question of whether or not the recognition was ... -
"Child divorce": a break from parental responsibilities and rights due to the traditional socio-cultural practices and beliefs of the parents
(2012)In a recent ground-breaking case the South African courts were for the first time requested to use their discretion to interfere in the parent-child relationship due to the traditional socio-cultural beliefs of the parents. ...