About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

20 S. Afr. J. on Hum. Rts. [i] (2004)

handle is hein.journals/soafjhr20 and id is 1 raw text is: SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS VOLUME 20 PART 1 2004 CONTENTS Page Articles DEMOCRACY, RIGHTS DISAGREEMENTS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW Patrick Lenta Is judicial review of lecgislative enactments democratically legitimate? Does it matter? This essay interrogates the usually poorly understood relation between judicial review and democracy, focussing on the fact of reasonable disagreements about the way in which the judiciary should interpret rights. A number of views about the democratic legitimacy of'judicial review including those of Dworkin, Waldron and Michelman. are examined. 1 argue not onb that judicial review suffers friom a deficit of democratic ICeitiuacy, but also that this shortfall has important practical consequences fotr politics and judicial practice. Although this essay is primarily theoretical. it daws attention to the implications of the arguments it considers and advances for South African constitttionalisl. ' DO' OR WE WONT': LEGALISING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA Kerry Williams 32 The question whether to extend marriage to same-scx couples is likely to be decided by the courts in the near future. The international trends in this regard are inconsistent anti often unprincipled because of the interaction between beliefs about matriage on the one hand, and attitudes towards homosexuality on the other. This article atgues that. for reasons of principle. the constitutional vuarantee of equality and dignity requires the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. A narrow conception of imariage as being limited to heterosexuals deprives lesbians and gays of material and non-material benefits. It also prevents lesbians and gays from being accepted into mainstream society and thereby leading more enriched lives. Due to the recent developments in South African family law that etitphasise the importance of cultural diversity. encourage tolerauce, and begin to recognise notions of family which do not fit the 3udeo-Christian model, there is reason to believe that the common law definition of marriage can be developed to include same-sex partners. Although domestic partnership regimes are often seen as a sufficient alternative to marriage, they deny same-sex partners spiritual and religious equality and as a result do not meet the transfot'native goals of the Constitution. BENIGN SEGREGATION? A CASE STUDY OF THE PRACTICE OF GENDER SEPARATION IN BUSES IN THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX COMMUNITY IN ISRAEL Alon Harel 64 The purpose of this article is to examine, from the perspective of moral and political theoty, the practice of separate seating for men and women in buses operating in ultra- Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel. Its approach hoever differs ftrun much of the discourse concerning mtieltculturalism. Instead of asking whether preserving cultural practices is a value that overrides the concerns for gender equality, this article suggests that the vets characterisation of a practice of gender eparation as discriminatory is culture-sensitive and cannot be detached from the political and mitomal convictions of the community that sustains the practice. This discussion raises questions that are analogous to the ones facing the South African jurist who wishes to reconcile respect for African cultutal norms and practices with the provisions of equality and dignitx entrenched in the South African Constitution.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most