The adoption of the newest SADC Tribunal Protocol has sought to rebirth the Tribunal after a long gestation period where it underwent significant review. The latest manifestation indicates that the region’s efforts at taking the rule of law, and regional integration, seriously are nothing short of being stillborn
The ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the ‘Spy Tapes’ are to be released to the Democratic Alliance (DA), is an important decision for the rule of law. This brief tracks the case’s history and explains what the next steps will be.
To the lay mind, wealth and income often mean more or less the same thing. For economists, the terms are distinct. Wealth is the sum of all your assets less your liabilities and is a stock concept. Income is a flow and refers to what you receive in a given period, say a year. They are related, because income less consumption is an addition to wealth and wealth creates an entitlement to income in the form of interest, dividends, property rentals and the like, which form a component of income, alongside earnings and transfers (such as social grants).
On 26 August 2014 the HSF hosted a Roundtable event on Consultation and the Constitution. The event featured Mtende Mhango, Iraj Abedian and John Jeffery. This brief summarises some of the main themes of the evening.
The recent behaviour of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and the responses to it by the African National Congress (ANC), and the Democratic Alliance (DA), is worrying and troublesome. This brief explains why their conduct bodes ill for Parliament as an institution which is vital to democracy.
Historically, redistribution of assets has taken a number of forms. It may take place at the end of a war or as an outcome of a revolution. It may be the result of special action of greater or lesser legality under an authoritarian government. South Africa is developing an approach which differs from all the above. It has the following characteristics:
This brief details the HSF's ongoing litigation against the JSC.
On 15 July, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa signed agreements to establish the New Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement. The provisions of each have to be incorporated into the law of each country. Once this is done, probably by 2016, the institutions can start operation. How will they work?