Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law

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Browsing Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law by Author "Keevy, I."

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    The Constitutional Court and ubuntu's "inseparable trinity"
    (Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, 2009-06) Keevy, I.
    English: The purpose of this article is to deconstruct the Constitutional Court's definitions of ubuntu as humanness, group solidarity, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, personhood and a moral philosophy. It is submitted that the philosophy of ubuntu or ethnophilosophy represents a religious worldview as it is inseparable from African Religion and the African spirit world. It is argued that the advocating of ubuntu's shared beliefs and values by South African courts and the state is to the detriment of other religious philosophies as it violates section 15(1) of the Constitution and constitutes unfair discrimination.
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    Ubuntu versus the core values of the South African Constitution
    (Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, 2009-12) Keevy, I.
    English: At the dawn of South Africa's new era of constitutionalism the Constitutional Court introduced "African law and legal thinking" and ubuntu to South African jurisprudence as part of the Constitution's source of democratic values. Whereas the Constitutional Court averred on the one hand that African law sustains firmly entrenched gender inequality, it was contended on the other hand that ubuntu is "in consonance with the values of the Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular". This article deconstructs the concepts "African law and legal thinking" and ubuntu and contends that ubuntu, African law and African religion are not only inseparable but that ubuntu - the basis of African law - sustains the deep-seated patriarchal hierarchy and entrenched inequality in traditional African societies. This article concludes that ubuntu "is [not] in consonance with the values of the Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular".