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An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration

Since time immemorial, equality is a concept which has been the subject of philosophical debate and political contest. Today, democratic society proclaims itself to be committed to the values of openness, democracy, freedom and equality. In South Africa and in Belgium, equality is a fundamental valu...

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Main Author: Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
Other Authors: Murray, Christina
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Public Law 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
author2 Murray, Christina
author_browse Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
Murray, Christina
author_facet Murray, Christina
Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
author_sort Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
collection Thesis
description Since time immemorial, equality is a concept which has been the subject of philosophical debate and political contest. Today, democratic society proclaims itself to be committed to the values of openness, democracy, freedom and equality. In South Africa and in Belgium, equality is a fundamental value which lies at the heart of both Constitutions. For different reasons, this right is central regarding the two Constitutional Courts. In South Africa, the importance of the decisions made by the Constitutional Court in the equality and non-discrimination field is clear given its particular history of apartheid during which deep inequalities among the population were enforced. In Belgium, equality is the key of the Court of Arbitration's competence to exercise a constitutional control regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. In both jurisdictions, it is clear that equality is not simply a matter of likeness but equally a matter of difference. Because Justice and Equality do not have the same significance and must not be confused, it is important to attempt to understand and to delineate what equitable equality means in a constitutional context. This dissertation undertakes to analyse the equality jurispruden of the South African Constitutional Court by reference to its five first decisions in order to determine its current approach to section 9 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 (previously section 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 200 of 1993 (the interim Constitution)). After an introduction to the Belgian Court of Arbitration and review of its treatment of the right to equality and non-discrimination, its approach will be evaluated in comparative perspective.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38561 An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne Murray, Christina Advanced Legal Studies Since time immemorial, equality is a concept which has been the subject of philosophical debate and political contest. Today, democratic society proclaims itself to be committed to the values of openness, democracy, freedom and equality. In South Africa and in Belgium, equality is a fundamental value which lies at the heart of both Constitutions. For different reasons, this right is central regarding the two Constitutional Courts. In South Africa, the importance of the decisions made by the Constitutional Court in the equality and non-discrimination field is clear given its particular history of apartheid during which deep inequalities among the population were enforced. In Belgium, equality is the key of the Court of Arbitration's competence to exercise a constitutional control regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. In both jurisdictions, it is clear that equality is not simply a matter of likeness but equally a matter of difference. Because Justice and Equality do not have the same significance and must not be confused, it is important to attempt to understand and to delineate what equitable equality means in a constitutional context. This dissertation undertakes to analyse the equality jurispruden of the South African Constitutional Court by reference to its five first decisions in order to determine its current approach to section 9 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 (previously section 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 200 of 1993 (the interim Constitution)). After an introduction to the Belgian Court of Arbitration and review of its treatment of the right to equality and non-discrimination, its approach will be evaluated in comparative perspective. 2023-09-12T11:41:11Z 2023-09-12T11:41:11Z 1998 2023-09-12T11:40:43Z Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38561 eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law
spellingShingle Advanced Legal Studies
Boelaerts, Violaine Marie Anne
An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
thesis_degree_str Master's
title An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
title_full An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
title_fullStr An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
title_full_unstemmed An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
title_short An analysis of the approach adopted by the South African Constitutional Court to the right to equality and non-discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim Constitution compared to the approach adopted by the Belgian Court of Arbitration
title_sort analysis of the approach adopted by the south african constitutional court to the right to equality and non discrimination in the five decisions concerning section 8 of the interim constitution compared to the approach adopted by the belgian court of arbitration
topic Advanced Legal Studies
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38561
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AT boelaertsviolainemarieanne analysisoftheapproachadoptedbythesouthafricanconstitutionalcourttotherighttoequalityandnondiscriminationinthefivedecisionsconcerningsection8oftheinterimconstitutioncomparedtotheapproachadoptedbythebelgiancourtofarbitration