In South Africa, the Constitution represents the turning point away from the abyss of bloody conflict. It recognises the need to fundamentally remake society and the crucial role that law plays in this enterprise. Although this work is a legal text, its subject matter – South Africa’s constitutional law – is more than just legal doctrine. Behind every case, policy, and legislative development, are the people and communities with the most at stake, contested political ideas and values, varied visions of the good life and human ‘being’, and our most profound hopes for the future.

Approximately 30 years after the Constitution, we believe that it is vital to have a new commentary on South African constitutional law that is contextualised, current, comprehensive and able to contribute to resolving contestation over constitutional questions, mindful of how our founding moment conditions our present and extends into the future. The Constitution belongs to all who live in the country and its interpretation is the product of social interactions. The text of this commentary will be authored by a wide range of contributors. They are leaders in their fields drawn from academia, legal practice, civil society, and government, and they will be broadly representative of South African society. Importantly, our approach to constitutional discourse is intergenerational. 

This work is self-consciously situated in contemporary South Africa, the African regional system, the Global South and the broader international community of constitutional scholarship. It is committed to comparativism and internationalism, with a particular awareness of South Africa’s rootedness in Africa.

Original Service:

• Chapter 8: Customary Law and the Constitution
• Chapter 23: Privacy
• Chapter 42: Education
• Chapter 47: The Rights of Incarcerated and Detained Persons

Once complete, the full binder will include the following parts, encompassing 69 chapters:

• Part I Constitutional History
• Part II General Principles
• Part III Bill Of Rights
• Part IV Government
• Part V State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy
• Part VI Security Services
• Part VII Public Finance

• Legal Practitioners
• Constitutional Law practitioners
• Constitutional Law academics
• Judges
• Magistrates
• Government departments and officials
• Law firms
• NGOs