In Defense of the Constitutional Court: Litigating Socio-Economic Rights and the Myth of the Minimum Core

Abstract

8 SAJHR 451, 459-60 (1992); see also Etienne Mureinik, Beyond a Charter of Luxuries: Economic Rights in the Constitution, 8 SAJHR 464, 472 (1992).approximately forty percent of South Africans remain unemployed, 2 approximately thirty percent do not have either adequate housing or access to piped water in their dwelling or on their site, and close to forty percent lack access to hygienic toilet facilities.3 About fifty percent survive, somehow, on an income of less than R500 per month.4 Life, for the majority of South Africans, remains appallingly hard, despite the socio-economic promises of the Constitution.5 It is not surprising that scholars, activists, and the poor themselves are disappointed, and feel that the Constitution has not realized its promise of transforming the lives of South Africa's poor.In their disappointment, scholars and activists seek to apportion blame between all three branches of government.The legislative and executive branches are criticized for failing to formulate and implement policies and programs that prioritize the needs of the poorest of the poor.6 The judiciary, more particularly the Constitutional Court, is criticized for its failure to hold the other branches sufficiently accountable for their failures.Frustrated by the slow pace of transformation, scholars have described the 2. The General Household Survey of 2003 put the unemployment rate at 30.2%, under the official definition and at 43% under the expanded definition.STATISTICS SOUTH AFRICA, GENERAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY at x-xi, Statistical Release P0318

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