Constitutionalism of the global South: the activist tribunals of India, South Africa, and Colombia

Contents......Page 9
Contributors......Page 11
Introduction......Page 13
1 Three Courts from the Global South......Page 33
2 The Structure of the Book......Page 42
Acknowledgments......Page 48
Part I Socioeconomic Rights......Page 51
1 Constitutionalism, the Global South, and Economic Justice......Page 53
1  The Ideal: Constitutionalism and Economic Justice......Page 56
1.1 Particularities and Constitutional Traditions......Page 57
1.2 Absences, Elisions, and Correctives: The Universal in the Global South......Page 63
2.1 Specifying the Ideal: Some Reflections......Page 68
2.2.1 India......Page 72
2.2.2 Colombia......Page 76
2.2.3 South Africa......Page 80
2.3 Content and the Realization of Socioeconomic Rights......Page 87
3.1 Structures and Ideals......Page 90
3.2.1 India......Page 93
3.2.2 Colombia......Page 96
3.2.3 South Africa......Page 99
3.3 Structures and Ideals in the Enforcement of Socioeconomic Rights......Page 103
4 Conclusion......Page 104
2 The Embedded Negotiators......Page 107
1 The Supreme Court and Socioeconomic Rights......Page 118
2 Pattern of Litigation on Health and Education......Page 120
2.1 Right to Education Cases in the Supreme Court......Page 121
2.2 Right to Education Cases in the High Court......Page 125
2.3 Health Cases......Page 128
3 Mechanisms Adopted by the Judiciary......Page 131
4  Understanding Judicial Behavior......Page 134
5 Conclusion......Page 138
Acknowledgments......Page 140
3 The Economic and Social Rights of Prisoners and Constitutional Court Intervention in the Penitentiary System in Colombia......Page 141
1 The Development of the Debate on the Legal Enforceability of Economic and Social Rights......Page 147
2 The Unconstitutional State of Affairs......Page 153
3 Structural Reform and Judicial Intervention: Case T-153 of 1998......Page 157
4 The Impact of Ruling T-153 of 1998 and the Effects of Structural Reform in Prisons......Page 159
4.1 The Construction of the Case......Page 161
4.2 The Effects of the Ruling......Page 164
5 Conclusion......Page 168
Acknowledgments......Page 171
Part II Cultural Diversity......Page 173
4 Cultural Diversity, “Living Law,” and Womens Rights in South Africa......Page 175
1.1 The Constitutional Text and a Transformative Constitution......Page 178
2 Between Text and Context - Contested Values and the Possibility of “Indigenous” South African Interpretations......Page 182
3 Cultural Diversity in the Context of Multiple Inequalities in South Africa......Page 185
3.1 History, Cultural Inequality, and Constitutional Supremacy......Page 186
3.2 Customary Law, Crosscutting Social and Economic Inequalities, and “Living Law”......Page 189
4.1 Customary Claims......Page 194
4.1.1 Alexkor Ltd. v. Richtersveld Community: Recognizing Customary Law as “Living Law” and Opening the Way to Challenge Official Law......Page 195
4.1.2 Mabena v. Letsoale and Shilubana v. Nwamitwa: Recognizing and Developing Womens Rights within the “Living Law”......Page 198
4.1.3 The Living Law in Practice: A Vehicle for Change?......Page 204
4.2 Equality and Other Rights-Based Claims Challenging Inequality within (Codified) Customary Law......Page 205
4.2.1 Equality Jurisprudence as a Forum for Harmonizing Customary Law and the Constitution......Page 207
4.2.2 Bhe v. Magistrate Khayalitsha: The Living Law Contained?......Page 209
4.2.3 Gumede v. President of the RSA......Page 215
4.1.3 Tongoane v. National Minister for Land and Agricultural Affairs: Challenging Legislation Based on the “Living Law”......Page 217
5 Courts, Communities, and “Living Law”......Page 220
5 Keeping the Faith......Page 223
1 The Peculiarity of the Indian Case......Page 227
2 State Regulation and the Majority Community......Page 234
3 Representation of Hinduism and the Ensuing Process of Homogenization......Page 240
4 Minorities and the Supreme Court......Page 244
5 The Balancing Act......Page 251
6 Self-Government and Cultural Identity......Page 255
1 The Legal and Practical Context......Page 262
2 The Colombian Constitutional Court and the Right to Prior Consultation......Page 265
2.1 The Fundamental Right to Prior Consultation and the Rules for Its Development......Page 268
2.2 Prior Consultation for Legislative and Administrative Measures......Page 276
2.3 The Right to Veto and Prior Consultation......Page 282
3 Liberalism and the Right to Prior Consultation......Page 292
4 Final Considerations......Page 301
Acknowledgments......Page 302
Part III Access to Justice......Page 303
7 Courts and Structural Poverty in South Africa......Page 305
1 Dimensions and Consequences of Structural Poverty......Page 310
2 Access to Justice......Page 316
Failure to Delineate a Comprehensive Right to Legal Representation at State Expense in Civil Matters......Page 317
Failure to Advance Direct Access to the Constitutional Court in the Public Interest......Page 324
Being Heard......Page 328
Conclusion......Page 335
Acknowledgments......Page 339
8 Access to Justice in India......Page 341
1 The Supreme Court of India and Its Self-Perception......Page 343
1.1 Self-Perception of the Court......Page 346
2.1 Social, Economic, and Political Justice: A Constitutional Promise......Page 348
2.2 Access to Justice......Page 350
3 Public Interest Litigation and Expanded Standing......Page 354
4 Epistolary Jurisdiction of the Court......Page 360
4.1 Public Interest Litigation Cell at the Supreme Court......Page 364
5 Enabling Access for the Ordinary......Page 367
6 Conclusion......Page 369
Acknowledgments......Page 371
9 Access to Constitutional Justice in Colombia......Page 373
The Constitutional Jurisdiction and the Transformation of the Colombian Legal Field......Page 374
1.1 The Main Problems of Access to Justice in Colombia......Page 384
1.2 The Constitutional Jurisdiction Performance......Page 386
1.3 The Performance of the Constitutional Court Regarding the Tutela......Page 389
1.4 The Performance of the Constitutional Court regarding the Constitutional Review of Legal Norms......Page 394
2 The Constitutional Courts Activism and the Struggle between New Constitutionalism and Legal Formalism......Page 401
3 The Social Impact of the Constitutional Court Rulings: From Expansive to Principled Judicial Activism......Page 410
4 The Constitution as a Tool of Social Change: Challenges Ahead......Page 413
Acknowledgments......Page 414
Index......Page 415