Constitutional Justice Project: Assessment of the impact of decisions of the South African Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal on the transformation of society (CJP) 2013-15

Description: Seventy qualitative interviews, involving 114 persons, were conducted with litigants of landmark socio-economic rights cases and other key role-players, including members of NGOs and Public Interest Litigation (PIL) firms. The aim was to ascertain experiences with regard to the socio-economic rights cases, including the cost and time taken to finalise these cases. In the fieldwork phase of the project, researchers canvassed the perspectives of a broad spectrum of stakeholders and social actors relevant to this assessment. Abstract: In 2013 the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development commissioned the HSRC in partnership with the University of Fort Hare for a research project under the title: Assessment of the impact of decisions of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal on the transformation of society. The project was subsequently titled Constitutional Justice Project. In this project an in-depth legal analysis of the jurisprudence of the apex courts was complemented with a strong empirical component that sought to investigate the broader impact of these court decisions on South African society, as well as the extent to which South Africa’s highest courts are accessible. The research was structured in four themes: Theme 1 consisted of a comprehensive legal analysis of the developing socio-economic jurisprudence in landmark cases of the CC and SCA. Included in this theme were the collection, collation and analysis of data on the decisions of the CC and SCA from 2009 to 2013. Theme 2 consisted of an analysis and investigation into the implementation of court decisions, by tracing their impact on the work of government departments, across all spheres, including changes to policy, legislation, budgets and institutional practices. Theme 3 comprised desk-top studies (including an international and regional comparative study) on direct access to the Constitutional Court, especially by indigent persons. The research focused specifically on whether the rules and the practices ...