African Law Matters is an initiative of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC), a research centre of the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg.
Our Vision
African Law Matters seeks to foster inclusive and accessible conversations that give global voice to current legal developments in the fields of constitutional law, public law, fundamental rights and international law — particularly relating to issues of importance to the African continent. By connecting academics, legal practitioners, civil society actors and policymakers through our blog, we aim to contribute to the advancement of human rights, constitutionalism, the rule of law and democracy in Africa and beyond.
Our Work
African Law Matters provides an online platform for high-quality analysis and commentary on current developments in the areas of constitutional, human rights, public and international law. In striving to make a distinctive contribution as a blog focused on Africa with global reach, our work prioritises legal matters of significance to the African continent in the fields of constitutional, public, fundamental rights and international law.
About SAIFAC
The South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) is a research centre of the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg. SAIFAC produces advanced research in its focus areas of constitutional, human rights, public and international law and aims to foster collaboration and engagement between academics and members of the legal community across South Africa and internationally, and to advance constitutionalism, human rights and the rule of law in Southern Africa.
Our Editorial Team
PROFESSOR DAVID BILCHITZ
Founder and Chief Organiser
David Bilchitz is a Professor of Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg and the Director of SAIFAC. He is also a Professor of Law at the University of Reading (UK). Prof Bilchitz was elected as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2020. He was the Secretary-General of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL) from 2013-2020 and is now a Vice-President of the Association. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin, the National University of Singapore and the Minerva Centre for Human Rights, Tel Aviv University. He has been awarded a fellowship by the Von Humboldt Foundation. Prof Bilchitz has written extensively on a range of topics in the field of constitutional law and fundamental rights with a monograph that has just been published Fundamental Rights and the Legal Obligations of Business, Cambridge University Press, and a previous monograph titled Poverty and Fundamental Rights, Oxford University Press. In addition to these books, Professor Bilchitz has published four co-edited books, one textbook (on Jurisprudence), 25 book chapters and 40 journal articles. He is deeply committed to advancing constitutionalism and fundamental rights globally with a particular focus on the African continent.
ROPAFADZO MAPHOSA
Editor
Ropafadzo Maphosa is an LLD Candidate in Public International Law at the University of Johannesburg where she completed her LLB and LLM in Human Rights Law (With Distinction) Degrees. Ropafadzo currently works as a researcher at SAIFAC. Her work, which has been published in a number of prestigious law journals, primarily focuses on constitutional and human rights law.
Lauren Loxton
Editor
Lauren Loxton is a researcher at SAIFAC. She holds a B.Com (specialising in Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and LLB from the University of Cape Town. After her undergraduate studies, she completed her articles of clerkship at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc. in Johannesburg and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2021. She was a law clerk to Justice Sisi Khampepe at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and worked as the attorney and evidence leader of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Racism at Stellenbosch University. Lauren’s research is primarily focused on constitutional law and the rule of law in particular.
Tracey Kanhanga
Editor
Dr. Tracey Kanhanga holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Zimbabwe. She also holds an LLM from the University of Johannesburg where she subsequently received her LLD in 2022. Her research interests lie in public international law, mainly in the field of climate change, environmental and human rights law. She has worked as a student research assistant at the South African Research Chair in International Law.
REBECCA RATTNER
Former Editor
Rebecca Rattner is a research fellow at SAIFAC and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. She holds a BA from Brown University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a JD from Harvard Law School. Rebecca worked as a law clerk to Justice Johan Froneman of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Judge Theodor Meron, then President, of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. Rebecca’s research focuses on international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in particular, on rights protection and peace processes in armed conflict involving non-state actors.
HELEN TAYLOR
Former Editor
Helen Taylor is a researcher at SAIFAC. She completed her BA (Hons) and LLB degrees from the University of Stellenbosch before reading for the BCL and DPhil in Law at the University of Oxford. During her doctoral studies, she worked as the Open Society Foundations Research Fellow and a Research Director at the Oxford Human Rights Hub. Helen clerked for Justice Johan Froneman at the South African Constitutional Court and worked as a legal researcher at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (the Zondo Commission) before joining SAIFAC.
ALM aims to create an open forum for debate of wide-ranging issues. At times, our posts will cover controversial terrain and challenge received ideas or particular institutions – this is part of our commitment to free speech and academic freedom. We retain the freedom not to publish pieces on a wide range of grounds that they exceed the limits of legitimate speech (understood in terms of the tests developed in South African constitutional law) or do not meet the quality or focus of the blog.
Our decision to publish should in no way be seen as an endorsement of any piece that is published - nothing that is published should be understood to reflect the opinions or perspectives of the editors, or our institutional partners - SAIFAC, UJ, KAS or CCR or any of their employees.
Our Partners
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
The Rule of Law Program for Sub-Saharan Africa of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung was founded in 2006 to contribute to the development and strengthening of effective legal and judicial systems in the region. It does so by providing a platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences, successes and challenges on, among other areas, independence of the judiciary, constitutionalism, human rights, democracy and regional integration which are essential for political stability, economic development and social cohesion. The program implements its activities; including research and publication, conferences, seminars, and information visits; with partners in the continent.
Dr Stefanie Rothenberger
DIRECTOR, KAS RULE OF LAW PROGRAM FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Dr Stefanie Rothenberger is the Director of the Rule of Law Program for Sub-Saharan Africa/Anglophone countries of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Dr Rothenberger studied law at the Universities of Munich, Lausanne, and Heidelberg and absolved her legal training to attain the qualification to work as a judge at the High Court of Hamburg. She has done a PhD in International Environmental Law at the Max-Planck-Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg as well as at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Before her appointment at KAS Dr Rothenberger served as a Ministerial Counsellor for the German Parliament in Berlin. During her assignment at German Parliament, she was mainly responsible for the official international relations of the President of the German Parliament and his deputies with a focus on the Arab world and Africa which brought her to Sub-Saharan Africa on several official missions. She speaks English, French, Arabic, and Italian.
Ben Nyabira
PROGRAMMES MANAGER, KAS RULE OF LAW PROGRAM FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Ben Nyabira is a Programmes Manager for the Rule of Law Program for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. He previously was the Programmes Manager at Katiba Institute, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a human rights and good governance advocate, experienced in leading and supporting the conceptualization and execution of innovative and diverse context-specific research and advocacy initiatives, that have contributed to a more just and equal society. Ben holds an MPhil in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a B.A. in Economics and History from Egerton University. He has worked and written on issues ranging from, minority rights, access to information, public participation, political inclusion, pluralism, separation of power, accountability in public finance management, constitutional design for managing ethnic diversity claims, to respect for constitutional term limits.
Constitutional Court Review
The Constitutional Court Review (CCR) is the only international peer-reviewed journal of record that is devoted solely to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Its purpose is to provide a platform for high-level academic engagement with the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence through long essays, replies, articles and case comments. The CCR solicits work and invites contributions from outstanding scholars but also considers unsolicited submissions that warrant inclusion.
Stu Woolman
CREATOR AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Stu Woolman currently holds the positions of Professor of Law and, more recently, the Elizabeth Bradley Chair of Ethics, Governance and Sustainable Development at the University of the Witwatersrand. He also enjoys the title of Academic Director at SAIFAC. Stu is the creator, editor-in-chief and primary author of the seminal 5 volume treatise, Constitutional Law of South Africa and creator and editor-in-chief of the Constitutional Court Review.
He has penned three highly praised monographs: Wrecking Ball: Why Permanent Technological Unemployment, a Predictable Pandemic and Other Wicked Problems Will End South Africa’s Experiment in Inclusive Democracy (2021), The Selfless Constitution: Experimentalism and Flourishing as Foundations of South Africa’s Basic Law (2013) and The Constitution in the Classroom: Law and Education in South Africa, 1994 – 2008 (2009). He has published five collections as co-author and co-editor: The Business of Sustainable Development in Africa (2009)(Winner of the 2010 Hindiggh-Currie Award for Best Book); The Dignity Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2013); Is This Seat Taken?: Conversations at the Bar, Bench and Academy about the South African Constitution (2012) and Constitutional Conversations (2008).