Piercing incomprehensible power

by | Nov 20, 2022 | ACTA, ACTA 2022

Piercing incomprehensible power

Author Reingard Nethersole

ISSN: 1996-2088
Affiliations: Professor emerita of Comparative Literature, University of the Witwatersrand; Visiting scholar, University of Richmond, Virginia, USA
Source: Acta Juridica, 2022, p. 220 – 245
https://doi.org/10.47348/ACTA/2022/a10

Abstract

Demonstrating the inherent indiscernibility of political power, particularly in our post-tellurian, celestial epoch (Schmitt) of ‘postdemocracy’ (Ranciere), a focus on spaces and sites of power – in its dual characteristic of dominating, controlling as well as enabling force – illuminates historic changes that produced today’s technologically and pecuniary propelled ‘governance’ (Morozov). Dispensed by idola of the ‘marketplace and the theatre’ (Bacon) coursing through cyberspace, the muted demos is coaxed into accepting Silicon Valley’s promise of utopia unless forensic rhetoric pierces the broken connection between having power and exercising it deliberatively. That depends on the extent to which concealed places of power can be made comprehensible for the demos to withstand celestial seduction and regain her politically informed voice.

For Philippe: Sharing questions of unintelligibility, security and diversity — from Babel to Pentecost

by | Nov 20, 2022 | ACTA, ACTA 2022

For Philippe: Sharing questions of unintelligibility, security and diversity — from Babel to Pentecost

Author Dominique De Courcelles

ISSN: 1996-2088
Affiliations: Professor, Director of Research at the Paris Sciences Lettres University
Source: Acta Juridica, 2022, p. 246 – 256
https://doi.org/10.47348/ACTA/2022/a11

Abstract

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language that they may not understand one another’s language. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11, 1–9).

A South African Historico-Legal Perspective on Plagues and Pandemics

by | Nov 20, 2022 | FUND, FUND V28I1

A South African Historico-Legal Perspective on Plagues and Pandemics

Author Marita Carnelley

ISSN: 2411-7870
Affiliations: BA LLB (Stell) LLM (UNISA) PhD (Amsterdam). Professor, Faculty of Law, North-West University
Source: Fundamina, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 1-65
https://doi.org/10.47348/FUND/v28/i1a1

Abstract

Global health experts have warned for decades of potential global influenza outbreaks. Although some strides have been made to mitigate the risks and consequences of a pandemic, concerns have been raised about the level of preparedness – both nationally and internationally. This contribution considers a number of plagues and pandemics that directly or indirectly played a role in the development of the South-African legal system, specifically the Justinian Plague, the Black Death, the Great Plague, the Third Bubonic Plague, the Spanish Flu and the Influenza Outbreaks of the past century. Each pandemic created legal and political challenges at the time that were dealt with in the context of the existing conceptions of social justice; this inevitably shaped the development of public health and disaster management jurisprudence and, in some instances, also contributed to the change in the underlying world order. This contribution aims to set out the legal development associated with pandemics that influenced the South African common-law legal system from Roman times until the end of 2019, just prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. There are two main parts to this contribution: The first deals with local or national activities at the time of the pandemic, while the second deals with later international law developments to address possible negative global consequences of such pandemics. The aim is thus, on the one hand, to detect themes from local or national responses to the social, cultural and economic costs of a pandemic, even though it is understood that the impact and consequences of plagues and pandemics are not identical. On the other hand, international law developments are discussed as these too had an impact on the South African legal framework and commitments. Although various aspects related to addressing the consequences of pandemics have improved – such as global surveillance, prevention and eventual control to decrease the incidence and severity of outbreaks – a historical assessment of these experiences is useful for evaluating the progress made towards preparedness at national and international levels. The contribution concludes with a short description of the South African legal framework in 2019 as it pertained to a potential pandemic outbreak.

Pathways To African Unification: The Four Riders of The Storm

by | Nov 20, 2022 | FUND, FUND V28I1

Pathways To African Unification: The Four Riders of The Storm

Author Kofi Oteng Kufuor

ISSN: 2411-7870
Affiliations: BA Hons (University of Science & Technology, Ghana) LLM (London School of Economics) PhD (Warwick). Professor of Law, University of East London
Source: Fundamina, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 66-103
https://doi.org/10.47348/FUND/v28/i1a2

Abstract

Research on African unification has not yet explained the reason for the belief in the possibility of post-colonial African states swiftly unifying as a federal or strong, functioning, supranational entity. This contribution attempts to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the various paths towards African unification. Some states pressing for unification misconstrued the history of the successful models that they insisted Africa could follow. This led to the assumption that a near frictionless and workable legal edifice for African unification could be easily created. This contribution has a twofold purpose: First, it draws attention to the importance of the intersection between history and law in construing and explaining the law as it relates to African unification. This is an intersection that has largely been ignored by scholars. Secondly, this contribution adds to the literature that asserts that African unification enthusiasts should reconsider mimicking other models in the expectation that this will help propel their goal of a united Africa. This study examines the routes to African unification, namely the role of socio-cultural interactions of Africans as propounded by Edward Blyden; the romantic speedy path as espoused by more radical forces by which the elite should muster the political will to bring a united Africa into existence; the role of force in creating a supranational Africa out of its independent states; and the role of market integration as an essential ingredient for any deeper and stronger relations among African states.

A Retrospective Evaluation of Affirmative Action – Taking Stock After Twenty Years

by | Nov 20, 2022 | FUND, FUND V28I1

A Retrospective Evaluation of Affirmative Action – Taking Stock After Twenty Years

Author ME Tenza

ISSN: 2411-7870
Affiliations: LLB LLM LLD (UNISA). Senior lecturer, School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg
Source: Fundamina, Volume 28 Issue 1, p. 104-139
https://doi.org/10.47348/FUND/v28/i1a3

Abstract

Affirmative action measures were included in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 as a vehicle to drive the process of transformation in employment. South Africa has had affirmative action measures for more than twenty years, with the expectation that their implementation would bring equality in employment. The question that arises is whether designated and other employers are making progress in achieving the goals of the Employment Equity Act through the implementation of affirmative action measures in their workplaces. The Employment Equity Report of 2020–2021 states that there is an improvement in the employment of people from designated groups, despite some barriers. This shows that the country is slowly making progress towards achieving the goal of equality in employment. Despite the reports by the Commission for Employment Equity, this contribution argues that the implementation of affirmative action is very slow. Like other programmes designed to change the status quo, the implementation of affirmative action measures has not been without challenges. Factors, such as the unwillingness on the part of designated employers to implement affirmative action measures; lack of appropriate implementation plans in many workplaces; and fear or resistance to change by people occupying senior positions in employment, all contribute to the slow progress in implementing affirmative action measures. In addition, the contribution argues that the limited definition of designated groups is not in line with the Constitution and with international law obligations implied by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The contribution recommends that the Employment Equity Act be amended to comply with the Constitution and ICERD to accelerate the process of change in employment. As a step in the right direction, the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 empowers the minister to set numerical targets for certain sectors.