Constitutional Rights in To Worlds South Africa and the United States [Paperback]

This book examines the South African Constitutional Court to determine how it has functioned during the nation's transition.This book examines the South African Constitutional Courts first 15 years to determine how it managed to issue some of the worlds most innovative human rights decisions. It also compares the South African rulings with those from the U.S. Supreme Court. The book concludes that the Supreme Court could learn some valuable lessons from the Constitutional Courts transformative yet pragmatic approach to difficult human rights questions.This book examines the South African Constitutional Courts first 15 years to determine how it managed to issue some of the worlds most innovative human rights decisions. It also compares the South African rulings with those from the U.S. Supreme Court. The book concludes that the Supreme Court could learn some valuable lessons from the Constitutional Courts transformative yet pragmatic approach to difficult human rights questions.The South African Constitutional Court has issued internationally prominent decisions abolishing the death penalty, enforcing socio-economic rights, allowing gay marriage and promoting equality. These decisions are striking given the countrys Apartheid past and the absence of a grand human rights tradition. By contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court has generally ruled more conservatively on similar questions. This book examines the Constitutional Court in detail to determine how it has functioned during South Africas transition and compares its rulings to those of the U.S. Supreme Court on similar rights issues. The book also analyzes the scholarly debate about the Constitutional Court taking place in South Africa. It furthermore addresses the arguments of those international scholars who have suggested that constitutional courts do not generally bring about social change. In the end, the book highlights a transformative pragmatic method of constitutional interpretation  a method the U.S. Slãè