Law and Contemporary South African Society is a collection of essays arising from research and presentations by academics, legal practitioners and public officials on topical issues which formed the sub-themes of the FIRST UNIN LAW WEEK held in May 2002. As an edifice of the impact of law in modern society, each essay systematically analyses the overhaul of the former oppressive laws by a proactive legislature, the consequent interpretation of those laws by an active judicial branch aided by the values entrenched in the Constitution.
The sub-themes dictate a wide-ranging coverage of areas of present-day legal developments. Accordingly, the book commences with a discussion of the enforcement of socio-economic rights in the Bill of Rights. It focuses on the controversies surrounding the provision by government of the drug, Nevirapine, to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. The book then examines legal responses to the problems faced by children in light of the fact that the Constitution has elevated the rights of the child to fundamental rights. One area of controversy and persistent wrangling that will not go away in a hurry is the 'land question' which fittingly elicits discussion in this book. Other fundamental rights issues discussed in this book include the recent protection of the environment through law, the reform of the outdated social security system and the right to a fair administrative action. Changes brought about the Constitution are not solely confined to the areas of public law. They similarly affect other branches of the law through the horizontal application of the Bill of Rights, hence the discussions in this book of vital topics in mercantile, company and labour laws.
Chapter I: The child, the law and society
Chapter II: The new constitutional order in South Africa
Chapter III: Access to health care services as a human right: an appraisal of Treatment Action Campaign and Others v. Minister of Health and Others and Minister of Health and Others v. Treatment Action Campaign and Others
Chapter IV: The politics of Nevirapine and the enforcement of socioeconomic rights under the South African Constitution
Chapter V: Does the denial of the right of admission to the legal profession due to the applicant’s use of prohibited drugs constitute unfair discrimination?
Chapter VI: The child, the law and society: The South African Law Commission’s investigation into the review of the Child Care Act (Project 110)
Chapter VII: Protection of child HIV/AIDS victims in Swaziland
Chapter VIII: South Africa’s children in labour pains: is it not time to prescribe corporate social responsibility?
Chapter IX: The child’s right to be heard as an integral part of the concept of ‘best interest’
Chapter X: An overview of the South African government’s policies and legislation on land reforms
Chapter XI: The impact of globalisation on the protection and promotion of human rights: an appraisal
Chapter XII: Reaching Utopia in proctection of the environment
Chapter XIII: Social security in South Africa: a legal perspective
Chapter XIV: A critical evaluation of the new South African Unemployment Insurance Act
Chapter XV: Incorporating informal social security into mainstream social protection
Chapter XVI: Social protection and poverty alleviation in the SADC region: prospects for developing a co-ordinated social security paradigm
Chapter XVII: Administrative action, the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act: where do commissions of inquiry and other investigatory bodies fit in?
Chapter XVIII: The future of popular justice
Chapter XIX: Caveat subscriptor: a happy ending?
Chapter XX: Justifying insider trading regulation on the basis of sound legal orthodoxy: the fiduciary obligations theory
Chapter XXI: The Sea Transport Documents Act, 2000: A commentary
Chapter XXII: An overview of the casino industry in South Africa
Chapter XXIII: Computer usage at the workplace
Chapter XXIV: Unprotected strikers: their constitutional right to be heard before dismissal
