8th Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture
Prof. Jaap de Visser: Project Co-ordinator
LLB (Utrecht University) LLM (UWC) LLD (Utrecht University)
Email: jdevisser@uwc.ac.za
Telephone: 021 9593604
Prof. Jaap de Visser is the project coordinator of the local government project. He was a researcher with the project from 1999 until 2002. He rejoined the project in March 2006 as a senior researcher. From 2002 until 2006 he lectured public law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
He obtained his LLB degree from Utrecht University (with distinction) and his LLM degree from the University of the Western Cape (cum laude). In 2005 he obtained an LLD degree from Utrecht University on the basis of a doctoral thesis entitled: Developmental local government - a case study of South Africa. The thesis is a comprehensive analysis of the South African legal framework for local government against the backdrop of principles towards a developmental mode of local governance.
He has been involved with the Community Law Centre’s Local Government Bulletin as editor, production editor and contributing editor since the journal’s inception in 1999 and has contributed numerous articles.
He has also published widely on matters pertaining to decentralisation, local government and human rights in South Africa and Africa. Some of the most important publications include:
Telephone: 021 9593604
Prof. Jaap de Visser is the project coordinator of the local government project. He was a researcher with the project from 1999 until 2002. He rejoined the project in March 2006 as a senior researcher. From 2002 until 2006 he lectured public law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
He obtained his LLB degree from Utrecht University (with distinction) and his LLM degree from the University of the Western Cape (cum laude). In 2005 he obtained an LLD degree from Utrecht University on the basis of a doctoral thesis entitled: Developmental local government - a case study of South Africa. The thesis is a comprehensive analysis of the South African legal framework for local government against the backdrop of principles towards a developmental mode of local governance.
He has been involved with the Community Law Centre’s Local Government Bulletin as editor, production editor and contributing editor since the journal’s inception in 1999 and has contributed numerous articles.
He has also published widely on matters pertaining to decentralisation, local government and human rights in South Africa and Africa. Some of the most important publications include:
- Water Delivery: Public or Private? (co-edited with Christopher Mbazira) Utrecht: Institute of Constitutional and Administrative Law 2006
- Developmental Local Government: a Case Study of South Africa Antwerp: Intersentia 2005 (doctoral thesis)
- A perspective on local government’s role in realising the right to housing and the answer of the Grootboom judgment in: 8 Law Democracy & Development 2 2004 pp. 201-215
- Demarcating provincial and local powers governing regarding liquor retail in: 19 SA Public Law 2 2004 pp. 335-377
- Realising the right of access to water: pipe-dream of watershed? in: 7 Law, Democracy and Development 1 2003 pp. 27-53 (co-author with Johann Mettler and Edward Cottle)
- A perspective on local government’s role in realising the right to housing and the answer of the Grootboom judgement in: 8 Law, Democracy and Development 2 2004 201-215
- Powers of local government in: 17 SA Public Law 2 2002 pp. 223-243
- Punishment is negotiable, the truth is not - Part I: From dictatorship to democracy in: 51 Ars Aequi 11 2002 pp. 806-812 and 51 Ars Aequi 12 2002 pp. 874-881
He was the co-author of the following Community Law Centre publications:
- Provincial supervision: manual for the application of section 139 of the Constitution Department of Provincial and Local Government 2000 (with Nico Steytler and Johann Mettler)
- Electing Councillors: A guide to municipal elections Cape Town: Community Law Centre 2000 (with Nico Steytler and Johann Mettler)
- Making law: a guide to municipal councils Cape Town: Community Law Centre 2000 (with Nico Steytler and Johann Mettler)
Dr. De Visser has worked as a consultant for organisations such as the United Nations Population Fund, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, Municipal Demarcation Board, National Council of Provinces, National Department of Provincial and Local Government, Western Cape Local Government Association and City of Cape Town.
He was the co-author of the following research reports:
- Intervening in Provinces and Municipalities: Guidelines for the Application of Section’s 100 and 139 of the Constitution Pretoria: Department of Provincial and Local Government Pretoria: 2006 (with Nico Steytler)
- The intergovernmental relations audit - towards a culture of co-operative government Pretoria: Department of Provincial and Local Government Pretoria: 2000 (with Nico Steytler, Norman Levy, Chris Tapscott, Johann Mettler et al)
- Strengthening intergovernmental relations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal Discussion document prepared for the Office of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal August 2002 (with Prof. Nico Steytler, Prof. Nic Olivier and Geraldine Smith)
Some of the papers presented at local and international conferences include:
- Career patterns of politicians in South Africa Paper presented at Annual Conference of International Association of Centre for Federal Studies Tuebingen (Germany) July 2006
- Role of local government in Africa Good Governance Learning Network submission to EU-NGO Platform on EU-Africa Strategy Vienna June 2006
- The right of access to water: pipe-dream or watershed? Realising Socio-Economic Rights in South Africa: Progress and Challenges Community Law Centre Strand 2002
- Institutional arrangements for a developmental local government - a case study of South Africa Education and training at various administration levels: assessing needs, ensuring quality International Association of Schools and Institutes of Public Administration, Como, Italy July 2005
He has tought various courses and workshops, including:
- Fundamentals of Public Law (Bachelor, Utrecht University)
- Constitutional and Administrative Law (Bachelor, Utrecht University)
- Civil, Social and Political Rights (LLM, Utrecht University)
- Law of Intergovernmental Relations (LLM, University of the Western Cape)