Student free expression and human dignity : lessons from South Africa

Abstract

The important rights of persons in South Africa, as for persons in the United States, are found in the respective written constitutions of each country. A major difference between the two countries is that, while the United States’ Constitution has over two hundred years of interpretative history, the South Africa’s Constitution which was not finalized until 1996 has no such lengthy interpretative record. However, the South African Constitution is far more comprehensive regarding its identification of protected rights. The enumeration of these rights and their interpretation by South African courts affords some useful insights into the approach by the United States to due process. The purpose of this article is to examine a fairly recent high court decision and to assess its lessons for American law.