2 + 2 = 5? Exploring the domestication of the CRC in South African jurisprudence (2002-2006)

South Africa commenced transition to a constitutional democracy with the adoption of an interim constitution in 1994, followed by national elections based, for the first time, on universal adult suffrage. A justiciable Bill of Rights, containing some rights accorded to children, was at the core of our new society based on values of dignity, equality and respect for the freedom and security of the person, in sharp contrast to the violence and legalised discrimination that had characterised the apartheid regime. The two years that followed the adoption of the Interim Constitution were a period of intense negotiations by a multi-party constitutional assembly to finalise the text of a final constitution, in accordance with the principles set out in the Interim Constitution. As has previously been pointed out (Sloth-Nielsen, 1996, p.326), there was a high degree of consensus amongst political parties about the children’s rights to be included, to the extent that four of the six party submissions supported the extension of the children’s rights clause, and indeed a number of additional rights were fashioned and ultimately adopted.