Faculty of Law

The South African Constitution has been hailed across the world for being an instrument of transformation that guarantees socio-economic rights.  One of the most notable provisions in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution is section 28 which have “child-specific” rights that children are, in addition to all the other rights in the Bill of rights, entitled to. These include the right to a name and nationality, the right to parental and family care, the right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse and degradation as well as the right to have their best interests be the paramount consideration in any matter that concerns them.

These rights are expanded upon in various laws such as the Children’s Act, the Child Justice Act , the Sexual Offences Act and the South African Schools Act- just to name a few.  But there is often a gap between the rights in the Constitution and their implementation on the ground.

A further right guaranteed by the Constitution is the right to access a basic education as provided for in section 29(1).  The right to education has been characterised as a gate-way right as it enables access to other rights and for many developing countries, ensures that citizens are not relegated to a life of poverty.  The South African Constitutional Court has made it clear that all children should have access to a basic education, and that government must prioritise access to education. It is clear from the law and policy that access must be non-discriminatory- everyone must be included.

When 17 year-old Ashely Melaton applied to his local community high school, he was refused admission because the school was of the view that it could not accommodate his wheelchair.  Ashley has brittle bone disease. By law, all schools and public places must provide access for persons with disabilities, including wheelchair ramps. Ashley was determined to attend the school of his choice, so with his mother’s support, got assistance from UP Centre for Child Law for legal assistance where senior attorney Anjuli Maistry took up his case. The Centre’s efforts paid off – Ashley was admitted to the school.

The Centre for Child Law, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2018, was set up to create excellence around child law as a field of study.  In addition to this, the Centre aims to ensure that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of children are realised through litigation, research and advocacy. Through teaching child law and children’s rights the Centre hopes to encourage young lawyers to become child rights experts.

“We take cases that are about changing systems for children when something is going wrong……….or we can see a lot of children are affected by failures to protect their rights.  At times a single child’s situation mirrors that of many and taking that child’s case results in a systemic change that benefits all children. We take cases from the Children’s Court, High Court through to the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court,” explained Prof Ann Skelton, the Director of the Centre for Child Law who is also a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and holds the UNESCO Chair of Education Law in Africa.

The Centre is globally recognised for its ground breaking work, in compelling government to abide by its own laws, but it is it is in the lives of its clients that the impact is really felt.

“I did not know I had rights- it’s good to know that someone is prepared to fight for you,” said Ashley, who is now able to attend his local school.

South Africa has some of the worlds’ most progressive laws for children. Ensuring that these laws are observed is where the Centre focuses its work.  “We are trying to look at the reality of children’s lives. Who is failing where? We need to know the real life situation of children in order to ensure that their protection can become a reality,” said Prof Skelton.

“Our aim is to make sure that the Constitution becomes a live instrument and not just words on paper,” said Karabo Ozah, Deputy Director at the Centre for Child Law and UP alumnus.

The Centre also provides a sense of purpose for candidate attorneys who undertake their articles of clerkship there under the supervision of Karabo Ozah and Anjuli Maistry, who are the senior attorneys, and the leadership of Prof Skelton.

“My work makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Stanley Malematja, Candidate Attorney and UP LLM student.  He has worked on several precedent-setting matters. He found out about the Centre through participating in its annual child law moot court competition, which attracts law student participants from around the country. UP law students are very involved in organising and running the moot. The purpose of the competition is to raise awareness about how the law can be used to fight for children’s lives, and to get young lawyers in this kind of work.