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Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 has changed more times than it has been amended. In this dissertation, I explore the phenomenon of informal constitutional change. In particular: I focus on how courts are able to change the content, scope and meaning of a constitution without i...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Department of Private Law
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613227414716416 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Mafora, Dan |
| author2 | Boonzaier, Leo |
| author_browse | Boonzaier, Leo Mafora, Dan |
| author_facet | Boonzaier, Leo Mafora, Dan |
| author_sort | Mafora, Dan |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 has changed more times than it has been amended. In this dissertation, I explore the phenomenon of informal constitutional change. In particular: I focus on how courts are able to change the content, scope and meaning of a constitution without its text ever changing. Drawing on work in constitutional theory, I explore whether such change can be legitimate outside of the scope of formal constitutional amendment and develop a framework for its identification. I also explore the constitutional difficulties engendered by this mode of constitutional change insofar as it implies an illegitimate use of judicial authority. I offer a South African case study of this phenomenon and conclude that the Constitution has been changed unconstitutionally at least once. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42389 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:47.627Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of Private Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Private Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42389 Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change Mafora, Dan Boonzaier, Leo Constitution South Africa The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 has changed more times than it has been amended. In this dissertation, I explore the phenomenon of informal constitutional change. In particular: I focus on how courts are able to change the content, scope and meaning of a constitution without its text ever changing. Drawing on work in constitutional theory, I explore whether such change can be legitimate outside of the scope of formal constitutional amendment and develop a framework for its identification. I also explore the constitutional difficulties engendered by this mode of constitutional change insofar as it implies an illegitimate use of judicial authority. I offer a South African case study of this phenomenon and conclude that the Constitution has been changed unconstitutionally at least once. 2025-12-03T12:25:02Z 2025-12-03T12:25:02Z 2025 2025-12-03T12:00:24Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42389 en eng application/pdf Department of Private Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Constitution South Africa Mafora, Dan Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| title_full | Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| title_fullStr | Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| title_short | Informal constitutional change: towards a South African theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| title_sort | informal constitutional change towards a south african theory of unconstitutional constitutional change |
| topic | Constitution South Africa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42389 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maforadan informalconstitutionalchangetowardsasouthafricantheoryofunconstitutionalconstitutionalchange |