Legal ethics and the lawyer-client relationship in South Africa: a proposal for reform using local values
- Authors: Kruuse, Helen Julia
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192765 , vital:45262 , DOI 10.21504/10962/192765
- Description: This thesis develops an approach to ethical decision-making for legal practitioners in South Africa that, it is argued, meets the ends and values of its relatively new constitutional democracy. The thesis starts by identifying that neutral partisanship was, and continues to be, the prevailing conception of role for legal practitioners in South Africa. The study focuses on how this approach is problematic for a number of reasons, the most important of which are: (1) because neutral partisanship allows lawyers to become ethically disengaged, and (2) the approach does not fit with the values of South Africa’s Constitution. The study proceeds to consider alternatives to the neutral partisanship model, analysing their underlying premises and ‘fit’ with the South African context. The study argues that the work of William Simon, a US scholar, is the most suitable approach to adopt in South Africa. This is because of its emphasis on the need for legal practitioners to exercise discretion in ethical decision-making, to take responsibility for their actions, and ultimately to seek justice as understood within the legal system in which they operate. The study then shifts to a consideration of how Simon’s approach needs to be contextualised given that it has been developed from a western/Global North perspective. To do this, I consider the content of the indigenous value of Ubuntu and its incorporation into the South African legal system. I then consider how Ubuntu could assist in the development of legal practitioners’ understanding, purpose and execution of their duties within a transformative constitutional democracy. In doing this, I develop inward- and outward-looking factors based on traditional and constitutional values directing legal practitioners in their ethical decision-making. Finally, the study closes with a consideration of how the approach can be institutionalised. The study proposes certain ways in which code regulation and education can support the success of the approach. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Law, Law, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Life in the suburbs after "Grootboom": the role of local government in realising housing rights in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Kruuse, Helen Julia
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Right to housing , Human rights -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Housing -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Housing policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Low income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3678 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003193 , Right to housing , Human rights -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Housing -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Housing policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Low income housing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: When the Government of National Unity took office in 1994, it inherited a country with severe inequalities in resource distribution and land ownership. In particular, it inherited a housing crisis which was, to a large extent, caused by apartheid legislation and policies. This research focuses on the housing crisis post-1994 by considering the impact and effect of the constitutional right to have access to adequate housing, especially for those living in intolerable conditions. It does so by utilising a social-scientific approach to the law. This approach acknowledges that the housing right must exist alongside other social phenomena and as a part of everyday life in South Africa. Accordingly, the implementation of the housing right by three local municipalities in the Eastern Cape is examined. Following an initial overview of the history of housing and local government in South Africa, the study focuses on the current legislative framework for housing and theinterpretation of the housing right (and other socio-economic rights) in certain court decisions. These decisions are discussed, not only because of the impact they have had on communities living in intolerable situations, but, as importantly, because they have developed standards against which policy and planning should be measured. These standards are used in the study to evaluate housing provision in three municipalities. The evaluation (by means of interviews and assessment of planning documentation) demonstrates that the recognition of the housing right in the Constitution and by the courts does not necessarily translate into effective recognition and implementation by the state. The research shows that the failure to plan proactively, lack of co-operative governance and inadequate controls over financial and human resources thwart the realisation of the housing right by local government. It is recommended that, in order to make the housing right a reality, research into the housing right (and indeed other socio-economic rights) should scrutinise the management of financial and human resources of the state in the context of the policy, planning and implementation environment. Where research is able to show evidence of unspent budgets, insufficient planning and mismanagement of resources, courts would be able to focus on the implementation aspect of the housing right, and ensure that it may yet have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008