Women in African prisons endure abuse, violence, endemic overcrowding, inadequate food, and poor hygiene and sanitation. Sohela Surajpal examines this problem and argues that a feminist movement committed to protecting and empowering the most marginalised among us must look to alternative visions of safety and justice that a divestment from carceral politics might offer us.

South Africa’s 1998 Refugees Act fails to reflect the country’s constitutional commitment to equality in as far as it entrenches the unequal treatment of women. Shortcomings in refugee protection lead to the treatment of refugee women as minors and smother their autonomous voice in the refugee application process.

Survenant par la force des armes ou à travers une subtile modification de la constitution, ne conservant qu’une apparence de légalité, ce phénomène est récurrent sur le continent noir et génère de lourdes menaces pour la démocratie et l'état de droit. La fréquence des changements inconstitutionnels ces dernières années nous amène à nous demander s’ils ne se sont pas érigés en une nouvelle mode d’ascension au pouvoir.

The right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, yet judicial officers have found themselves in predicaments where their religious beliefs led to their judicial propriety being questioned.

The unchanging centrality of the state rests on defense and security. These matters should escape the weaknesses of constitutional elasticity. One of the essential functions of the Constitution is to produce stability and durability in the legal framework within which political actors operate.

La centralité immuable de l’État repose sur la défense et la sécurité. Ces questions devraient échapper aux faiblesses de la plasticité constitutionnelle. L’une des fonctions essentielles de la Constitution est de produire la stabilité et la durabilité du cadre juridique dans lequel les acteurs politiques évoluent.

Covid-19’s potentially devastating impact motivated unrivalled global efforts to develop vaccines, which the World Health Organization (WHO) identified as the most effective protection against the disease. Although largely viewed positively, there has been notable mistrust and hesitancy due to concerns about health-related risks associated with Covid-19 vaccines. This has raised questions in the employment context as some employers have quickly moved towards making vaccines mandatory.

The recent appointment of Raymond Zondo as the new Chief Justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court generated much debate centred on his qualifications, experience and suitability. Against this background, it is opportune to review the selection procedure of superior court judges, particularly in the African context.

When it comes to assessing the legacy of the Zondo Commission in South Africa, what might success look like?

Commissions of inquiry have featured strongly in democratic South Africa, and many have been tasked with a truth-seeking mandate in relation to issues with profound political significance.

In “Fundamental Rights and the Legal Obligations of Business”, David Bilchitz considers how to improve the global framework surrounding corporate obligations to ensure greater guidance on the content of these obligations as well as better decision-making both within corporations and national institutions. ALM caught up with Prof Bilchitz to ask him more about his new book.

A snapshot of women’s political participation in The Gambia shows that there is an urgent need to adopt special measures to increase women’s access to political participation.

In “Re-Invigorating Ubuntu Through Water”, Ndjodi Ndeunyema argues for the existence of a court enforceable human right to water that is implied from the right to life in Article 6 of the Namibian Constitution.

Ndjodi Ndeunyema’s book “Re-Invigorating Ubuntu Through Water” is the lawyer’s version of the aphorism that “water is life”.