Publisher's Synopsis
Co-publication with Witwatersrand University Press
During the early 1990s,South Africans kept a close eye on the media coverage of South Africa's negotiated transition to democracy. Likened to a soap opera by some, the negotiations featured violent interlopers, dramatic walkouts, alliances and, somehow, a fortunate conclusion in the form of the Interim Constitution and Bill of Rights. The importance of the negotiating process and the Interim Constitution itself should not be underestimated, however, in relation to their longer-term influence over the form of democracy currently enjoyed in South Africa. In this brave publication, Spitz and Chaskalson examine the politics behind the Kempton Park negotiations and the Interim Constitution, and the influence that these have had on the subsequent consolidation of a South African democracy. This book will be of importance to anyone interested in South African politics, constitutional law, democracy and human rights.
CONTENTS
Introduction; 1. Transitions to democracy; 2. The collapse of CODESA and the return to the negotiating table; 3. The Kempton Park negotiations of 1993; Section A: Core Constitutional Issues; 4. The Technical Committee on Constitutional Issues; 5. Negotiating the process; 6. Constitutional principles; 7. Powers of the provinces; 8. Executive government; 9. Parliament and the Constitutional Assembly; 10. Local government; 11. The Constitutional Court; Section B: The COSAG parties; 12. Negotiations with the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front; Section C: The Bill of Rights; 13. Background to the drafting of the Bill of Rights; 14. Operational provisions; 15. The equality clause; 16. Other basic rights; 17. The property clause and the question of redistribution of land; 18. Customary law and the issue of traditional leaders; Conclusion; 19. The longer-term influence of the negotiations on South Africa's democracy: The impact of the Interim Constitution on the final constitution.
Contents
Historical Background
Introduction
Codesa, Collapse, and Back to Kempton Park
The Kempton Park Negotiations
The Talks
The Process
Core Constitutional Issues
The Technical Committee
Negotiating the Transition
Executive Government
The Legislature
The Powers of the Provinces
Local Government
The Constitutional Court
The Concerned South Africans Group
The COSAG Parties: Strange Bedfellows or Natural Partners?
Drafting the Interim Bill of Rights
Fundamental Human Rights: The Committees
Operational Provisions
The Equality Clause
Property, Land and Housing
Controversial Rights and Freedoms
Uncontroversial Rights and Freedoms
Traditional Law
The Interim Bill of Rights Assessed
Kempton Park and Beyond
Conclusion
Postscript: The Final Constitution and the Legacy of the Interim Constitution
