Africana Periodical Literature 
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| Title: | In search of a workable and lasting constitutional change in South Africa |
| Authors: | Ramose, M.B. Maphala, T.G.T. Makhabane, T.E. |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Periodical: | Quest: An International African Journal of Philosophy |
| Volume: | 5 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Period: | December |
| Pages: | 5-31 |
| Language: | English |
| Notes: | biblio. refs. |
| Geographic terms: | South Africa Southern Africa |
| Subjects: | constitutions human rights law constitutional reform |
| Abstract: | The Bill of Rights envisaged by the conquerors of South Africa for inclusion in the negotiated constitutional dispensation is to include social and economic rights, 'provided it is agreed beforehand that such rights shall be unenforceable by law'. This is tantamount to a denial of the human right to food, an indispensable component of the inalienable human right to subsistence. The authors contend that the indigenous conquered people of South Africa would have reasonable political, moral and juridical grounds upon which to reject the proposed Bill of Rights, which purports to uphold and guarantee the human right to life while at the same time refusing to uphold and guarantee the human right to food. In the context of human rights philosophy, the purpose and function of law is not only to recognize human rights, but also to protect and defend them. This means that it is necessary to adopt and recognize the 'Sozialstaat' principle as a constitutional guarantee for the respect and protection of the fundamental right to subsistence. Without such recognition and adoption, the new constitution, purportedly based on the 'Rechtsstaat' principle, is unlikely to command widespread acceptance. The two principles are both compatible and complementary. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in French (p. 4). |