The potential of meaningful engagement in realising socio-economic rights: Addressing quality concerns

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The advent of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ('theConstitution) was a major milestone for South Africa in terms of redressing theatrocities of apartheid. While this has resulted in major developments, remnants ofapartheid are still present and can be seen in the continuation of vast socio-economicinequalities. Access to housing and education still remains elusive to many SouthAfricans, as indicated by the recent service delivery and higher education protests.Developing effective mechanisms for realising these rights is thus a high priority,including in the context of socio-economic rights litigation and adjudication. Thedoctrine of meaningful engagement developed by the Constitutional Court in housingand education rights cases offers a potentially innovative method for government,communities and other stakeholders to pursue the realisation of socio-economicrights. However, the potential of this participatory approach to socio-economic rightsrealisation remains contested, and its efficacy in practice has not yet been determined.A key challenge to its efficacy in realising the normative commitments of socioeconomic rights concerns the quality of the engagement that occurs between organsof state and various stakeholders.In light of the above, this thesis investigates the role that the quality of meaningfulengagement plays in enhancing its efficacy as a mechanism to realise socio-economicrights. The thesis examines the justifications posited for using meaningful engagementas well as the importance of quality in achieving these justifications. Evaluative criteriafor assessing the quality of engagement are developed. In addition to evaluating thequality of meaningful engagement in South Africa's housing and education rightsjurisprudence, the thesis examines meaningful engagement in an extra-judicialcontext, focusing on the #FeesMustFall Movement. The thesis concludes by makingrecommendations on how the quality of meaningful engagement could be improved,drawing on diverse theoretical literature pertaining to participatory democracy andcritical theory.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University