Whether it is practical or theoretically possible to recognize socio-economic rights as a means to guarantee access to these essential social resources remains a contested issue in constitutional and international law. The inclusion of justiciable socio-economic rights in South Africa's post-apartheid constitutions of 1994 and 1996 provides a rare opportunity to study the introduction, formulation and implementation of such rights. The working hypothesis of this project is that the future of these rights, in their interpretation, implementation and effectiveness, is not merely a matter of formal legal doctrine but will depend on a host of factors -- institutional, political, social and legal -- shaped by the histories and contexts in which these rights are being institutionalized. Studying the trajectories of particular social and economic rights within a single national context, where the background conditions remain constant for all the rights, provides a nested comparison within which to test the project's hypothesis. The research design of this study involves tracing the trajectories of three specific socio-economic rights -- to land, water and health -- introduced in South Africa's democratic transition and implemented in the past decade. Through a comparative historical analysis of three separate processes of legalization -- each encapsulating the origins, emergence and implementation of a right to a significant social resource -- the project will identify the key factors implicated in the relative success or failure to implement each of these rights. Using archival research, interviews and court records, as well as access to contemporary debates, government policy-making, and reports of monitoring bodies, this study will trace the role of different factors in the legal and social history of each of these rights. Weighing the relative significance of the different factors in shaping each of these rights in their relevant social and political contexts will allow a better understanding of the role such factors may play in the relative success or failure to achieve the effective implementation of these rights during the first decade of constitutional democracy in South Africa. Apart from the value of understanding the South African case, this study will offer important insights into the role socio-economic rights may come to play in addressing inequality and poverty on a broader scale. It's greatest academic value will be in providing an empirically-based case study to inform and advance the largely theoretical and philosophical debates over the very possibility of legally guaranteeing effective socio-economic rights. The information, knowledge and networks generated by this study will be used to further specific debates, practices and teaching opportunities. In addition, the project will develop institutional linkages between the University of Wisconsin and a range of institutions in South Africa, including universities, government research institutions and non-government organizations.
