Abstract:
For decades legal positivism has governed the interpretation and application of the
law in South Africa. This modernist utilisation of interpretative rules and the
application of the law as it is, rather than as it ought to be, led to many historical
injustices. Although numerous attempts have been made to alter the interpretative
system these attempts are in vain and appear to be variations on the same
modernist tune. In this thesis, as an alternative to the prevalent interpretative stance,
I merely suggest a transformation by exploring the possibility of postmodern legal
interpretation. Although the postmodern movement causes havoc in structuralist
'sciences' this does not mean that it is a laissez-faire approach where 'everything
goes' or where all systems of structure are abandoned. In order to overcome our
modernist insecurities I propose that we, as a first step, merely adopt a postmodern
consciousness. This stance can be acquired by utilising the assumptions of a
postmodern movement called social constructionism. The advances of this
perspective, which has its roots in the social psychology, shall serve as an
interpretative mind set when exploring the various narratives in County of My Skull by
Antjie Krog. Krog utilises the narratives of the TRC in an attempt to overcome the
inequalities of the past. This literary text can be regarded as a catalyst that initiates
the interpretation of legal texts from a social constructionist perspective. The
hybridisation of social constructionism and the literary text leads the way for the
possibility of postmodern legal interpretation.
