The Limpopo textbook litigation : a case study into the possibilities of a transformative constitutionalism

Abstract

In December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeal (‘SCA’) in its judgment in the case of Minister of Basic Education v Basic Education for All held that every learner is entitled to a textbook in every subject at the commencement of the academic year. This article discusses and analyses the judgment. In particular, it examines the contribution of the judgment to the doctrine of transformative constitutionalism as evidenced by the SCA’s approach to the interpretation of the rights to basic education and equality, respectively. It discusses the reaffirmation of the principle of the duty to budget in South Africa’s evolving socio-economic rights jurisprudence and finally it discusses the choice of remedy in the judgment.