False Hope or a Realizable Right? The Implementation of the Right to Shelter Under the African National Congress' Proposed Bill of Rights for South Africa

This article addresses the domestic implementation of social and economic rights by means of constitutional articulation and entrenchment. "This Note argues that the new South African bill of rights is the appropriate forum for constitutional entrenchment of social rights, particularly the right to shelter." "At the outset, this Note will present South Africa's vital statistics on race, economic status, land distribution and housing. Second, this Note explores the ANC's conception of economic rights and the right to shelter. Third, it analyzes the justifications for and counter-arguments against recognizing the need for housing as a human right. Finally, this Note examines how the ANC envisions actually implementing the right to shelter." [This article does not focus specifically on women's rights. The right to shelter was litigated at the Constitutional Court of South Africa in the 1999 case of Grootboom v. Oostenberg Municipality, which is included in the Documents section of this site.]