Rule of Law Through the ‘Urban Turn’ in South African Constitutionalism

Abstract

The 1996 South African Constitution transformed municipalities from creatures of statute into an interdependent sphere of government, thereby enabling South African cities to carve out a space for autonomous urban governance, which is closely associated with the progressive realisation of socio-economic rights. This article considers how South African courts have deployed, reconfigured and channelled the rule of law in intergovernmental relations disputes, disputes concerning the developmental obligations of local government and socio-economic rights disputes, in order to fortify urban autonomy, to substantively guide its exercise and to ensure dynamic accountability for urban local governments’ role in ensuring the progressive realisation of socio-economic rights.