The Politics of Transition

Co-publication with Witwatersrand University Press During the early 1990s,South Africans kept a close eye on the media coverage of South Africa's negotiated transition to democracy. Likened to a soap opera by some, the negotiations featured violent interlopers, dramatic walkouts, alliances and, somehow, a fortunate conclusion in the form of the Interim Constitution and Bill of Rights. The importance of the negotiating process and the Interim Constitution itself should not be underestimated, however, in relation to their longer-term influence over the form of democracy currently enjoyed in South Africa. In this brave publication, Spitz and Chaskalson examine the politics behind the Kempton Park negotiations and the Interim Constitution, and the influence that these have had on the subsequent consolidation of a South African democracy. This book will be of importance to anyone interested in South African politics, constitutional law, democracy and human rights. CONTENTS Introduction; 1. Transitions to democracy; 2. The collapse of CODESA and the return to the negotiating table; 3. The Kempton Park negotiations of 1993; Section A: Core Constitutional Issues; 4. The Technical Committee on Constitutional Issues; 5. Negotiating the process; 6. Constitutional principles; 7. Powers of the provinces; 8. Executive government; 9. Parliament and the Constitutional Assembly; 10. Local government; 11. The Constitutional Court; Section B: The COSAG parties; 12. Negotiations with the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front; Section C: The Bill of Rights; 13. Background to the drafting of the Bill of Rights; 14. Operational provisions; 15. The equality clause; 16. Other basic rights; 17. The property clause and the question of redistribution of land; 18. Customary law and the issue of traditional leaders; Conclusion; 19. The longer-term influence of the negotiations on South Africa's democracy: The impact of the Interim Constitution on the final constitution. Contents Historical Background Introduction Codesa, Collapse, and Back to Kempton Park The Kempton Park Negotiations The Talks The Process Core Constitutional Issues The Technical Committee Negotiating the Transition Executive Government The Legislature The Powers of the Provinces Local Government The Constitutional Court The Concerned South Africans Group The COSAG Parties: Strange Bedfellows or Natural Partners? Drafting the Interim Bill of Rights Fundamental Human Rights: The Committees Operational Provisions The Equality Clause Property, Land and Housing Controversial Rights and Freedoms Uncontroversial Rights and Freedoms Traditional Law The Interim Bill of Rights Assessed Kempton Park and Beyond Conclusion Postscript: The Final Constitution and the Legacy of the Interim Constitution