Community Law Centre - Other Publications
Up one levelA collection of our other publications.
Engaging meaningfully with government on socio-economic rights: A focus on the right to housing
Download the isiXhosa version of the booklet.
Engaging meaningfully with government on socio-economic rights: A focus on the right to housing
Download the English version of this booklet.
The quality of local democracies: A study into the functionality of municipal governance arrangements
This study examines the legal framework for municipal governance and analyses whether, in practice, the relationships follow the pattern as intended in the law. More than thirty interviews were conducted with office-bearers, councillors and officials in five municipalities which differed according to size, location and success levels.
Child poverty and children’s rights of access to food and basic nutrition in South Africa: A contextual, jurisprudential and policy analysis
Research Report number 7. This research report is written by Prof Danwood Mzikenge Chirwa. Millions of children in South Africa bear the yoke of extreme forms of poverty and its associated evils, such as malnourishment, stunted growth, nutritional-deficiency diseases and illiteracy. The depreciation of the South African rand towards the end of 2008 and the current global financial crisis have only served to entrench child poverty by pushing poor households into deeper levels of deprivation and relegating those who were previously financially stable to the status of the poor.
From the global to the local: The role of international law in the enforcement of socio-economic rights in South Africa
Socio-Economic Rights Project Research Series 6, 2009. This research paper by Redson Edward Kapindu explores the vital role of international human rights law and jurisprudence, including the UN and African human rights systems and policy frameworks, in advancing socio-economic rights at the domestic level in South Africa. The paper starts by providing a general overview of the international (including African regional) human rights system and their relevance. The paper proceeds to explore the question of the applicability of international human rights law under the South African Constitution. In this regard, the paper provides an incisive discussion of the domestic application of international socio-economic rights obligations in South Africa, paying special regard to the significance of General Comment 9 of the CESCR and the issue of minimum core obligations. The paper concludes with an exposition of some of the challenges in the application of international law in advancing socio-economic rights in South Africa and provides some recommendations.
Are ward committees working? Insights from six case studies (Booklet)
Since 1994, there has been a widely observed commitment in South Africa to participatory governance within both government and civil society, which has been given legal standing and encouragement through the country’s Constitution and other pieces of progressive legislation. While in many instances implementation has lagged behind the ideals of legislation and policy, it has to be said that never in the country’s history have law and policy-making and development practice been as democratic and participatory as under the present dispensation.
Getting to Know the Child Justice Act
This publication is intended to provide the reader with a simple overview of the contents of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (the Act). It attempts to reduce the ‘legalise’ of the Act; remove constant cross-references to other sections; and bring themes together in a logical and user-friendly manner.