Research Projects
SAIFAC runs five projects within its core areas of constitutional, public, human rights and international law. These projects are in areas in which SAIFAC has special research expertise. SAIFAC’s work in these areas will be implemented through the strategic programmes outlined above. These areas are not exhaustive and other areas may be added later.
Business and human rights;
Counter-terrorism and human rights;
Judicial review in new democracies ;
Social and economic rights;
Crime prevention and human rights
Although the terms corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the triple-bottom-line are now common parlance in post-1994 South Africa, little research has been done on the interaction between business and human rights. The strides made by business in developing an ethic of corporate social responsibility have not been matched by an equivalent level of attention from the human rights community, with most NGOs and CBOs concentrating their efforts on the public sector. Without this level of attention, the danger exists that corporations’ commitment to human rights will become a complacent ‘add on’, rather than an integral part of doing business in South Africa.
The main aim of this project will thus be to raise awareness in the business and NGO community in South Africa of the potentially positive relationship between business and human rights, and to begin to develop a set of good practice guidelines that will indicate how corporations might go about meeting their human rights obligations.
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Counter-terrorism and human rights
The research project will focus on African and other regional efforts to develop counterterrorism measures. It will deal with the question whether there is, or should be, a coordinated African response to terrorism. It will consider the efforts of SADC and the AU as well as the domestic legislation of (Southern) African states and look at how this legislation interacts with these states’ constitutional and international legal obligations.
The project will also consider South Africa’s implementation of and reaction to the post 9/11 Security Council norms and resolutions on terrorism (specifically Security Council Resolution 1373). The question of extradition and mutual assistance in the context of terrorism will be addressed, including South Africa’s international obligations in this respect. The research project will result in a publication or series of publications (in the form of articles, reports or occasional papers).
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Judicial review in new democracies
From the early to mid-1990s a wave of democratisation has swept across much of Africa, with the continent witnessing a general trend away from authoritarian rule towards multi-party democracy. This trend has invariably involved a process of constitution-making in which the judiciary has been given extensive powers to control the conduct of the other branches. Fifteen years after these developments began, there is a dearth of research on the performance of the new constitutions, and particularly on the role of courts in consolidating constitutional democracy. Such a scholarly assessment is urgently required, both as a guide to ongoing constitutional reform processes, and also to assist the courts in understanding their role. The African Network of Constitutional Lawyers will form an important forum for dissemination of the research findings emanating from this project.
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SAIFAC recognises that there are other actors, such as the Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape, and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, engaged in the area. However, it is SAIFAC’s view that there is a need for more specialised and deeper research in certain areas in order to complement the work already being done by other actors. In particular, SAIFAC intends to focus on the following two areas:
• Poverty Reduction and Human Rights
• Economic and Social Rights of Refugees
The special relevance of research into poverty reduction and human rights in Africa is self-evident. Research into the area of refugee rights is also highly relevant considering that Africa has, over the past three to four decades, been the continent that has borne the biggest refugee burden. South Africa in particular has by reason of its economic strength been a magnet for refugees fleeing from various parts of Africa.
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Crime prevention and human rights
One of the most vexing problems that have befallen Africa, and particularly South Africa, in the aftermath of the transition to democracy has been a rise in the level of violent crime. In a number of countries, this phenomenon has been attributed to the adoption of constitutionally entrenched Bills of Rights. It has been argued, among other things, that human rights protect criminals at the expense of the victims of crime, thus giving rise to disillusionment and diminishing levels of trust in the new democratic order. In countries like South Africa, where the death penalty has been abolished, debate continues to rage as to whether this punishment should be restored in order to stem the high tide of crime. In this context, there is a need for research on the relationship between violent crime and human rights.
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