A future of justice inclusion: examining access to justice in South Africa through the 'ethic of care' and 'complexity'

Abstract

In South Africa, a number of obstructions exist to realising the right to access to justice as enshrined by section 34 of the South African constitution. Globally, many countries grapple with access to justice due to a number of multi-layered and complex causes. This article explores traces, connections, definitions and perceptions related to access to justice so as to allow for a deeper understanding of persisting justice problems. It employs a multi-disciplinary approach that examines worldviews on access to justice in South Africa through the lens of what Sohail Inayatullah terms ‘other ways of knowing’. These worldviews are also considered through the framework of the ‘ethic of care’ as formulated by Carol Gilligan and connected to the notion of ‘complexity’ as understood by Yvonne Malan and Paul Cilliers. The worldviews explored represent ‘different voices’ that discloses a possibility for a future of justice inclusion. The article calls for a people-centred approach to access of justice, underpinned by notions of humility, complexity, concreteness, and particularity.