The judiciary and government

This lecture series will be of interest to law students, legal practitioners and others in fields related to human rights, freedom of information and the reform and redistribution of land. Lecture series coordinated by Judge Dennis Davis, Judge of the High Court of South Africa & Michelle le Roux, Advocate of the High Court and Senior Visiting Fellow, Mandela Institute, Wits Law School. Tension between the elected government and the judiciary is common in constitutional democracies which feature the separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature. However, in South Africa, concerns about excessive judicial intervention in politics and the unsuitability of our constitution to the social and economic developmental needs of the country have increasingly become more vocal. This lecture series will consider the role of the judiciary in our developing country as it strives to embed constitutional democracy. It will look at the dangers of judicial over- or under-reach and the possible threats to and opportunities for our constitutional model. Two panel discussions will focus on recent challenges related to land reform and information freedom respectively. LECTURE TITLES: *1. The good, bad and ugly: models of constitutional adjudication - Michelle le Roux; *2. How have we done? An examination of court success and failure through key cases - Judge Dennis Davis; *3. Panel on slow land reform and redistribution: the challenge to align the constitution - Mazibuko Jara (Law, Race & Gender Research Unit, UCT); *4. Panel on media and information freedoms under threat - Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti; *5. How concerned should we be about our constitutional health? - Judge Dennis Davis & Michelle le Roux