The war against law: judicial activism and the Appellate Division

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Periodical article

Title:	The war against law: judicial activism and the Appellate Division
Authors:	Haysom, Nicholas Plasket, Clive
Year:	1988
Periodical:	South African Journal on Human Rights
Volume:	4
Issue:	3
Pages:	303-333
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	United Democratic Front supreme courts
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02587203.1988.11827750
Abstract:	In this article it is argued that the earlier optimism expressed by legal academics in South Africa in the potential of the Appellate Division to clarify and consolidate legal principles which protect civil liberties was misplaced. To prove this the authors analyse the majority judgments in the 'Staatspresident v United Democratic Front' (UDF) case (1988). After a short description of the place of the courts and the pressures placed upon them during the state of emergency, and a short review of the Appellate Division's treatment of cases dealing with security legislation over the past two years, the authors turn to the legal aspects of the Appellate Division's treatment of the arguments in the UDF case. They restrict themselves to the challenges based on the delegation of power to the Commissioner and the vagueness of the terms 'unrest' and 'security action', as the judgments of the Appellate Division on these issues appear to have the most far-reaching effects. Notes, ref.