Chapter 10 - Socio-economic rights

Question 1

Justiciability of socio-economic rights

Answer 1

Justiciability refers to the extent to which socio-economic rights can and should be enforced by a court.

Question 2

Government of the RSA v Grootbbom

Answer 2

According to the Constitutional Court, the key to the justiciability of socio-economic rights is the standard of reasonableness. Although a considerable margin of discretion is given to the state when deciding on how it is to go about fulfilling socio-economic rights, the reasonableness of the measure that it adopts can be evaluated by a court.

Question 3

Characteristics of a reasonable government programme

Answer 3

1. It must be capable of facilitating the realisation of a right
2. It must be comprehensive, coherent and coordinated
3. Appropriate financial and human resources must be available for the programme
4. It must be balanced and flexible
5. It must make appropriate provisions for short-medium and long-term needs.
6. It must be reasonably conceived and implemented
7. It must be transparent, and its contents must be known effectively to the public
8. It must make short-term provisions for those whose needs are most urgent and who live in intolerable conditions.

Question 4

Khosa v Minister of Social Development

Answer 4

emphasised the interconnectedness of the Bill of Rights and held that ta factor in ascertaining the reasonableness of a measure is its impact on other rights. It was not reasonable to confer social security benefits on citizens only, because it violated the equality of permanent residents who, but for lack of citizenship, would qualify for the n=benefits provided under the system.

Question 5

Mazibuko v City of Johannesburg

Answer 5

The Constitutional Court dealt with the right to access sufficient water.

Question 6

Progressive realisation

Answer 6

The state is required to realise or fulfil a right progressively (or over a period of time). It is accepted that the state cannot take all the necessary steps within its power immediately, but it should be able to give an account of the progress made with the realisation or fulfilment of the right.

Question 7

Within its available resources

Answer 7

If the state is unable to fulfil its obligation because of an absence or limitation of resources, it does not amount to a violation of the right. Therefore, fulfilment of these rights depends on the resources available for such purposes. Should the resources become available at a later stage, they must be used to fulfil this right. This places an obligation on the state to justify its use of public resources adequately.

Question 8

City of Johannesburg MetropolitanMunicipality v Blue Moonlight Properties

Answer 8

The court rejected the argument, stating that it is not good enough for the city to state that it had not budgeted for something if it should indeed have planned and budgeted for it in the fulfilment of its obligation