Evaluating Transformative Constitutionalism in South Africa: A View from the Mineral Rights Adjudication Looking Glass
Against the backdrop of sustained critique of the South African Constitution, this article undertakes an empirical examination of post-apartheid transformative constitutionalism using the example of mineral rights adjudication. Focusing on a series of emblematic mineral rights cases tackling a range of transformation fault lines and interests, the article explores how the judiciary, as arbiter of transformative constitutionalism, has interpreted the transformation mandate in response to contestation by marginalised groups and interests. In doing so, the article highlights the receptiveness of the constitutional framework to increasingly disruptive transformative claims, including those that have begun to pit community struggles against more conservative government notions of transformation.
