MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    Constitutional Mimicry and Common Law Reform in a Rights-Based Post-Colonial Setting: The Case of South Africa and Malawi


    Banda, Sibo (2009) Constitutional Mimicry and Common Law Reform in a Rights-Based Post-Colonial Setting: The Case of South Africa and Malawi. Journal of African Law, 53 (1). pp. 142-170.

    [img] Download (184kB)


    Share your research

    Twitter Facebook LinkedIn GooglePlus Email more...



    Add this article to your Mendeley library


    Abstract

    Competent courts in Malawi must, as courts have done in South Africa, undertake a radical path in order to enhance the common law position of distinct categories of persons. This article discusses judicial appreciation of the common law-changing function of a bill of rights and its associated values, and judicial understanding as to when such a function may be brought into play. The article examines approaches taken by courts in South Africa in determining the circumstances in which the South African Bill of Rights applies to private relationships, when private parties owe each other duties arising out of the Bill of Rights and the scope of a court’s authority to amend the common law in that regard. The article projects the debate, analysis and critique of these approaches onto the Malawian legal landscape through a discussion of the tenant worker contracted on the Malawi private estate.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Constitutional Mimicry; Common Law Reform; South Africa; Malawi;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
    Item ID: 1892
    Identification Number: 8866D6BDBC3142538EF8F35BE3992C07
    Depositing User: Dr. Sibo Banda
    Date Deposited: 22 Mar 2010 15:43
    Journal or Publication Title: Journal of African Law
    Publisher: School of Oriental and African Studies
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
      Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

      Repository Staff Only(login required)

      View Item Item control page

      Downloads

      Downloads per month over past year

      Origin of downloads