Editorial
| DOI | 10.1177/135822910100500301 |
| Date | 01 September 2001 |
| Published date | 01 September 2001 |
International Journal
of
Discrimination and the Law, 2001, Vol. 5, pp. 99-102
1358-2291/2001 $10
© 2001 A B Academic Publishers. Printed in Great Britain
EDITORIAL
This issue is concerned with the developing equality jurisprudence in
South Africa.
It
is trite that South Africa is emerging from a recent
history
of
manifest, systematic discrimination and disregard for
human
rights.
The
transition to democracy
and
concomitant emer-
gence
of
a
new
constitutional dispensation has
been
characterised by
a new respect
and
active promotion
of
human
rights. Within this new
order, the right to equality has
been
heralded as
the
key-stone
in
the
sense
of
being pivotal to
the
success
of
the transformation and
restructuring programmes currently underway, and without
which
the
other rights
in
the
Bill
of
Rights will remain hollow
and
devoid
of
meaning. In
the
South African context, equality is closely related
to
other rights such as dignity, life and the socio-economic rights.
How-
ever,
the
achievement
of
equality in
the
highly divided South African
society has thus far been a slow, painstaking process. Discrimination
and manifest inequality remains rife, and, although
the
constitutional
and other legislative provisions have created a broad framework
within which
the
progressive achievement
of
equality
may
yet
be
accomplished, measures are needed to give substance and life thereto.
The
success
or
failure
of
the South African transformation will stand
as an example to the region and the rest
of
the
world, given
the
immensity
of
the division and the logistics involved
in
the project.
Dialogue and the sharing
of
opinions is an essential
part
of
the
pro-
cess
of
this realisation. Without an open
and
candid
exchange
of
information, South Africa cannot achieve its goals
of
halting discrim-
ination and creating an environment in which equality
can
be
fos-
tered. This issue constitutes a contribution to this process
of
ongoing
communication.
It
brings together leading South African academics
and practitioners,
both
established and emerging,
and
adds vital
information
and
opinions to the ever-growing pool
of
knowledge con-
cerning
the
achievement
of
equality in South Africa.
There
is
an
apparent conceptual paradox
in
the
notion that prima
facie unfair discrimination may, under certain circumstances, actually
amount to
part
of
the realisation
of
workers' rights
to
equality.
Du
Toit examines the extent and nature
of
this challenging aspect
of
labour law
by
asking:
'When
does affirmative action
in
favour
qf
cer-
tain employees
become
unfair discrimination against o!hers?' In the
process,
Du
Toit provides valuable insight into
the
way in which,
the
relevant provisions
of
the Final Constitution
and
the Employment
Equity
Act
are being interpreted
by
the courts.
The
manner
in
which
jurisprudence is developed in this area remains a critical aspect
of
the
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