Law, Democracy
& Development
Law, Democracy
& Development
JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF LAW | UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE | ISSN: 2077-4907JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF LAW, UWC | ISSN: 2077-4907
Author/s: The Editors
Author/s: Tapscott, Chris
Chris Tapscott discusses the successes and failures of the prison system in South Africa by investigating the governance of a number of prisons around the country. The article starts by looking at the challenges faced by prisons across the world, such as overcrowding, understaffing, the character of the penal system and human rights. Chris Tapscott discusses the successes and failures of the prison system in South Africa by investigating the governance of a number of prisons around the country. The article starts by looking at the challenges faced by prisons across the world, such as overcrowding, understaffing, the character of the penal system and human rights. The findings show that, although [here are instances of good governance, government needs to give urgent attention to human resources management and overcrowding. Insofar as privately-run prisons are concerned, South Africa's brief experience with this controversial model has been relatively positive, specifically with reference to human resources management, security of staff, prisoner-staff ratios and programmes for the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Author/s: Bolton, Phoebe
Phoebe Bolton critically analyses South African legislation dealing with the exclusion of contractors from government contract awards because of non-payment of taxes, unsatisfactory contractual performance under a previous contract or fraud or corruption. The author finds that the legislation in general succeeds in giving effect to the principles of fairness, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness which are prescribed for government procurement in section 217 of the Constitution. The legislation does, however, leave some room for an interpretation which may be unduly harsh towards contractors. With reference to experience in other countries the author argues for an interpretation which would ensure that action taken in terms thereof complies with section 217 and with the principles of administrative justice.
Author/s: Le Roux, Rochelle
The article analyses two recent judgments dealing with the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. In these cases (heard in the Cape High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal) a woman successfully sued her employer for not taking adequate action to prevent sexual harassment from taking place. The author welcomes the judgments but points out that they have left many issues in relation to sexual harassment unresolved. These include: does a victim of sexual harassment only qualify for legal protection once a condition as severe as Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) manifests? If PTSS is the result of an incident arising out of and in the course of the victim's employment, would sections 35 and 65 of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act apply? What reasonable steps should an employer take to meet its common law duty to provide a safe working environment free from sexual harassment? Can the employer still be vicariously liable even though it has met this common law duty? What is the appropriate test to determine the employer's vicarious liability for sexual harassment? The author sets out to suggest answers to these and other questions.
Author/s: Sarkin, Jeremy et al.
Jeremy Sarkin and Giulia Dal Co seek to develop, mainly through historical and international analysis, a model of reconciliation and peace and security between states. This analysis adds to the international discourse on transitional justice that has gained momentum in recent years through the creation of institutions (international and domestic) aimed at establishing individual criminal liability for human rights violations and reconciliation through truth commissions. The authors remind us that there is also an interstate dimension to reconciliation, rooted in history and with present-day consequences relevant for international law and politics and, ultimately, for human rights and stability. This article is being published in two parts, the second part of which will appear in the next issue of this journal.
Author/s: Killander, Magnus
This article gives an overview of the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights with regard to individual communications from its first decision in 1988 until the end of 2002. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights was established in 1987 after the entry into force of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in 1986.The Commission received its first individual complaint in 1987 but did not take a decision on it until October 1988. By the end of 2002 the Commission had taken around 100 decisions on communications submitted to it under the individual communications procedure
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