Litigating human rights in South Africa : the experience of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies

Abstract

This article aims to show, through an overview of the experience of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies ('CALS'), that international law forms an integral part of human rights litigation in South Africa. It is apparent from the experience of CALS that international law, including international human rights law, in its various forms, such as, case law, international conventions and treaties, as well as guiding principles, has a key role to play in aiding domestic courts to interpret constitutionally recognised rights. The experience of CALS further illustrates that these international laws and principles have an important role to play in assisting litigators and individuals in arguing for the basic recognition of rights that may not be recognised in domestic jurisdictions.