The means and the ends of justice the interaction between socio-economic rights and administrative justice in a South African democratic developmental state

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The central focus of this thesis is to examine the substantive interaction between socio-economic rights and the right to administrative justice in addressing poverty under South African law. The hypothesis behind the research is that the normative purposes and values of socio-economic and administrative justice rights are profoundly complementary and can thus be strengthened as tools for addressing poverty. This analysis will be accomplished within the recognised context of a transformative constitutional framework and a democratic developmental state that is eminently powerful in its potential to remedy South Africa's past, to strive towards the egalitarian transformation of our society and to attain the concrete alleviation of the realities of poverty and hardship. The argument is firstly built on the concepts of transformative constitutionalism and participatory democracy, which characterise the South African Constitution and the South African developmental state. Our Constitution enables the socio-economic transformation of South African society from one which is racially divided and unequal to one which supports prosperity for all. In addition to addressing material deprivations of those in need, notions of participation and agency of poor and marginalised communities are central to achieving this transformation. Furthermore, over the past few years, the concept of South Africa as a developmental state as opposed to a welfare state, has taken root. A developmental state excels in the basics of public administration and intervenes strategically in the economy to promote socioeconomic development. A fundamental feature of the discourse of the South African developmental state is that it must be people-oriented and capable of addressing the socioeconomic needs of its entire population, especially the poor, marginalised and historically disadvantaged. It is argued that by developing the interlinkages between administrative justice and socio-economic rights, the vision of a democratic developmental state and effective socioeconomic transformation can be supported. It is the current conception of the South African state that should frame the development of policy and law in the arena of poverty reduction, both in terms of substance and process.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University