@ClsUct

Centre for Law and Society at the University of Cape Town.

 Cape Town, South Africa
cls.uct.ac.za
Joined February 2016
  • Tweets2.7K
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  • Followers3.2K
566Media
Congratulations to CLS former student assistant, Kyla Damonse, on her recent publication on the right to basic education. The article is based on Kyla’s LLB research report supervised by CLS Director, Nurina Ally. @UctLaw
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Our second #AmicusLab project kicked off this week with @UctLaw students being briefed on projects for the South African Bail Fund. Students will provide research and monitoring support for the fund, incl visits to detention centres.
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The Centre for Law & Society runs the new Amicus Lab project, where @UctLaw students get involved in cutting edge litigation. Recently, James Lowman and Kaila Jaffee, final year LLBs, assisted @EqCollectiveSA as amicus in a landmark case on early childhood development.
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Latest publication by CLS Research Associate @dansmywholename. Full article available open access at: academic.oup.com/slr/article…

Taming the Hydra state: against implied powers and reasoning by implication in South African law

Abstract. This article is a reappraisal of the doctrine of implied powers in South African law in the specific context of constitutional law as it relates

academic.oup.com
son of Baldwin 🌹
@dansmywholenameApr 7
🚨 Publication Alert! Our implied powers jurisprudence is out of control. Amabhungane gave courts license to legislate and they are remaking a number of institutions through the doctrine of implied powers. I explain why that’s a problem. Open access: academic.oup.com/slr/article…
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Registration for the 2026 Kate O'Regan Intervarsity Moot Competition, co-hosted by CLS, @UctLaw & @MootSocietyUCT is now open. See below for fact set, rules and timeline: law.uct.ac.za/cls/articles/2…

Kate O'Regan Intervarsity Moot Competition 2026

The University of Cape Town Law Faculty is pleased to announce that registration for the annual Kate O’Regan Intervarsity Moot competition is now open.

law.uct.ac.za
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Yesterday CLS was privileged to host the launch of Prof @jameelah_omar’s recently published book - The Structural Exclusion of Rape Complainants in South Africa’s Criminal Justice System.The book is now available through @routledgebooks in the Frontiers of Criminal Justice series
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Prof Jaco Barnard-Naude introduces A/Prof Jameelah Omar and Prof Dee Smythe at this evening’s launch of Prof Omar’s new book titled “The Structural Exclusion of Rape Complainants in South Africa’s Criminal Justice System”. #UCTLaw
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Thank you @ClsUct for hosting my book launch, and @dee_smythe and colleagues and students for the robust and engaging discussion 🩷
UCT Law School
@UctLawMar 23
Prof Jaco Barnard-Naude introduces A/Prof Jameelah Omar and Prof Dee Smythe at this evening’s launch of Prof Omar’s new book titled “The Structural Exclusion of Rape Complainants in South Africa’s Criminal Justice System”. #UCTLaw
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Attending the launch of Associate Professor @jameelah_omar book 'The Structural Exclusion of Rape Complaints', hosted by @ClsUct at the UCT Law Faculty
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My colleagues at @LarcUCT (Thiyane Duda and Bonani Loliwe) wrote the first isiXhosa article in @SAJHR_ZA, critiquing how writing laws in English erases some of the logics of the peoples whom the laws are supposed to govern. In this context, they write about land laws and rights.
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6/6 Civil society is calling for urgent action: ✔ Appoint judges now ✔ Explain the delay ✔ Commit to a transparent, timely process The situation is untenable. The rule of law depends on it. Read our Media Statement: judgesmatter.co.za/opinions/… #JudgesMatter #ConstitutionalCourt #SouthAfrica

Joint statement by civil society organisations on delays in Constitutional Court appointments -...

Civil society warns that delays in Constitutional Court appointments undermine judicial independence, court capacity, and the rule of law in South Africa.

judgesmatter.co.za
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1/6 It has now been over 5 months since candidates were recommended for appointment to South Africa’s Constitutional Court - and still no decision. This is the longest delay of its kind in democratic South Africa. judgesmatter.co.za/opinions/… @ClsUct @_FreeExpression @CASACZA @LRCSouthAfrica
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It is now nearly five full months since the Judicial Service Commission interviewed and recommended five judges for President Cyril Ramaphosa to select two for appointment to the Constitutional Court. The president has not yet made these appointments. This leaves the highest court in the land to hobble along without a full complement of 11 permanent judges for the tenth year in a row. Research from the University of Cape Town shows that this is one of the causes of the court’s declining performance over the last decade. So why has the president not acted? Read our article: judgesmatter.co.za/opinions/… #JudgesMatter #ConstitutionalCourt #SouthAfrica

Ramaphosa's inaction is crippling the Constitutional Court - Judges Matter

Ramaphosa’s delay in appointing Constitutional Court judges is worsening backlogs, straining judicial capacity, and undermining court performance.

judgesmatter.co.za
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For those concerned about the delay in the Phala Phala judgment (I am also), for context you should read this excellent article by Nurina Ally and Leo Boonzaier journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.29… And then, also read their 2025 update here: africanlawmatters.com/blog/t…

The Constitutional Court’s Efficiency: An Update from 2022 to 2024 | Constitutional Court Review

This article updates a previous statistical study, published in 2022, in which we analysed the Constitutional Court of South Africa’s lengthening judgment processing times. Our initial period of...

journals.co.za
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Latest from CLS Research Associate, @dansmywholename (@UctLaw) on courts as sites of political contestation; full chapter here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
son of Baldwin 🌹
@dansmywholenameFeb 10
We made the legal theory blog! Cc ⁦@sfiso_benard⁩ 😌 legaltheoryblog.com/2026/02/…
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Latest @ConCourtSA statistics from CLS Director, Nurina Ally (@UctLaw) & Dr Leo Boonzaier. Headline: Judgment processing times are at an all-time high. Read the full article here: journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.2…
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We're kicking off the year with an informative post by Leo Boonzaier & Nurina Ally. Drawing from their forthcoming article in the Constitutional Court Review Vol 15, the authors give an update of their 2022 study on the efficiency problems of @ConCourtSA. africanlawmatters.com/blog/t…

The Constitutional Court's Efficiency: An Update from 2022 to 2024 — African Law Matters

In this week’s post, Leo Boonzaier and Nurina Ally provide an update to their 2022 study, which found that the Constitutional Court of South Africa suffered from serious efficiency problems. The full...

africanlawmatters.com
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Now available: Read CLS research associate @dansmywholename’s LLM thesis on informal constitutional change. 👇@UctLaw
son of Baldwin 🌹
@dansmywholename3 Dec 2025
My Master’s dissertation “Informal Constitutional Change: Towards a South African theory of Unconstitutional Constitutional Change” – a study on how courts change constitutions without the text ever changing – now available! 😁 keen for comments/critique! open.uct.ac.za/items/5aaac49…
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UCT is hosting next year’s Public Law Conference on “Public Law and the Future of Constitutional Democracy”. It’s a great opportunity to present your work and get feedback from international experts on public law. Submit an abstract by 14 November here: app.oxfordabstracts.com/auth…
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Congratulations to the @UctLaw team for placing third in the annual @UPChildLaw child law moot. Shout out to Lizwi Majola, CLS student assistant, who was awarded best speaker of the competition. 🙌👏
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