To See the Conference Programme
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For all administrative related queries please contact: Ms Jemima Thomas (who will be available on-site on Friday and Saturday evenings) Cell-phone: 073 4888 874 E-mail: [email protected] For additional conference related assistance please contact Ms Vitima Jere Cell-phone: 079 664 7454 E-mail: [email protected] Copyright vests in the authors of the papers All information correct at time of going to press Dear LSA in Africa Delegates, Welcome to South Africa’s Mother City, and the first formal Law and Society conference to be held on the African continent. The Centre for Law and Society, along with the Law and Society Association, is proud to host such an exciting, and diverse, collection of scholars and papers – all focused on the African continent. The idea for this conference germinated at a roundtable held at the 2014 LSA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, where a large number of scholars convened to discuss how they may envision a more global socio-legal field. The discussion recognised that while LSA had served as a major hub for socio-legal scholars drawn from many countries, existing networks tended to favour themes and ideas that originated in, and primarily benefitted, scholars from the North. From the perspective of scholars from the Global South, any exchange, when it did happen, tended to be rather lopsided, favouring Northern theory and scholarship. The Committee on the 2nd Half Century, appointed by Presidents Michael McCann and Carroll Seron, and led by Eve Darian-Smith and Greg Shaffer, concluded that LSA could take a number of steps to improve this situation. Among them was the idea of holding small, mini-meetings in selected parts of the Global South, co-hosted by LSA and a local organisation. CLS recognised this as an opportunity for the African continent, and one that would add value to our existing efforts in addressing the lack of coordination and organisation around law and society scholarship in Africa - in part due to limited funding opportunities, the size of the region, and the local challenges facing particular communities of scholars. CLS, under the leadership of Dee Smythe, therefore proposed to LSA that we hold a Law and Society in Africa conference which would be open to scholars from Africa and to all members of LSA, and would aim to create and stimulate an African law and society network. For CLS, the conference is a platform to showcase the innovative research and socio-legal thinking emerging within and across Africa. The conference aims to nurture intellectual exchange between scholars in the Global South and Global North by bringing together scholars from African countries with people from the North. Our conference theme, ‘Dynamism, Liminality, Reality? Policy, Research and the Law in an Afropolitan Era’, makes reference to the tensions that arise in crafting and applying law and policy in a context of continual, dynamic (post) transition as has been experienced in Africa. We hope to problematize how policy, research and the law respond to an environment that is at once fluid and responsive, but also focused on social problems that are often deep-seated and entrenched. The conference panels provide us an opportunity, as African scholars working on African problems, to reflect not only on the law and society ‘moment’ at the end of 2016, but also on the wealth of knowledge, innovation and connections that we have to make among ourselves and our work. We hope that the conference will produce rich and robust engagement, and spark a vibrant network of African Law and Society scholarship that will flourish. Enjoy the few days that we have together, and we look forward to meeting again elsewhere on the continent. Finally, a special thanks must go to the CLS Conference Organising Committee members – especially Diane Jefthas, Dee Smythe, Jemima Thomas and Vitima Jere. This team is, without doubt, the reason that this conference is taking place. Without their hard work, dedication, attention to detail and energy, this would not have been possible. Kelley Moult and Heinz Klug Centre for Law and Society / University of Wisconsin Law School Conference Co-Chairs Dear Law and Society Conference Attendees, It is my pleasure to welcome all attendees of the Law and Society in Africa Conference to the University of Cape Town (UCT) Faculty of Law. It is so wonderful to have you visit here in Cape Town at this beautiful time in this the most beautiful city in the world! I look forward to reconnecting with old Law and Society friends and colleagues and meeting new ones. It is especially an honour to be associated with this Law and Society conference with scholars from across the African continent, the USA, and elsewhere gathering to engage and explore the many contours of Law and Society research and scholarship. As you may be aware, in 2016 UCT and other universities across South Africa experienced a series of disruptions with students protesting the social inequalities that still bedevil South Africa after 22 years of democracy. Our struggle in South Africa for social and economic justice will continue as we try to bridge the gap between our constitutional promises of dignity, non-discrimination and human rights, and the realities of the lives of many black South Africans. I know that many of these issues will be debated, alongside others, at this conference. What sets UCT Law apart is the emphasis we place on engaged scholarship and I can think of no better example of engaged scholarship than what will be taking place over the next three days. Kelley Moult, Diane Jefthas, Dee Smythe, Heinz Klug and others on the planning committee put together an absolutely wonderful program – and I applaud and thank them. Please let me know if I may be of assistance to you as you spend the next few days in Cape Town. Welcome again! Penelope Andrews Dean: Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town The Centre for Law and Society (CLS) at the University of Cape Town is proud to be the host of the Law and Society in Africa conference. The Centre is an innovative and multi-disciplinary hub located in the Law Faculty at UCT. It strives to be a place where scholars, students and activists engage critically with, and work together on, the challenges facing contemporary South Africa and Africa at the intersection of law and society. Through socio-legal research, teaching, and critical exchange, the centre aims to shape a new generation of scholars, practitioners and activists working at the law and society interface, and to build responsive and relevant legal theory, scholarship and practice. We are committed to social justice, constitutionalism and transformation. The Centre aims to provide an interactive space to collaborate on solutions to pressing social injustices, and incubates ideas, people and projects to promote justice. As one of the foremost university-based law and society research units on the African continent, CLS sees one of its aims as facilitating connections among law and society researchers in South Africa, Africa and beyond. The conference, with its focus on sharing scholarship on African policy-relevant socio-legal research, presents an important opportunity to bring scholars from across the continent together into a space which facilitates mutual learning, builds knowledge, provides an introduction and access to local and global law and society networks, and fosters collaborative partnerships. It also provides us with an opportunity to provide early career Black African scholars and PhD students exposure to critical thinkers known for making significant scholarly contributions in the law and society arena while simultaneously showcasing the exciting, innovative work being done on the African continent. CLS does not view the conference as a single event, but rather as a catalyst for a robust and active Law and Society in Africa network. The Centre aims to be a vibrant and supportive hub for showcasing a diversity of voices, perspectives and disciplines that shape law in practice and for building the field of legal theory and practice. Look out for our series of videos showcasing plenaries and presentations from the conference that will be uploaded onto the CLS website in early 2017. VENUE: ZAMBEZI Kelley Moult University of Cape Town, Centre for Law & Society Penelope Andrews University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law VENUE: ZAMBEZI What is the Law and Society ‘moment’ in South Africa going into 2017, as we respond to the real challenges of law and society in our country? Jameelah Omar University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law Joel Modiri University of Pretoria,. Faculty of Law Nolundi Luwaya University of Cape Town, Land and Accountability Research Centre Sanele Sibanda University of the Witwatersrand, School of Law Facilitated by Rashida Manjoo, University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law Children and the Law Courts and Judges Socio-Legal Research Agendas Venue: Clubhouse Venue: Zambezi Venue: Berg Land and Property Equality Citizenship Venue: Clubhouse Venue: Zambezi Venue: Berg VENUE: ZAMBEZI The Development of Law and Society Scholarship David Trubek University of Wisconsin Law School Dennis Davis University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law Facilitated by Dee Smythe, University of Cape Town, Centre for Law & Society A traditional South African ‘braai’ (barbeque) served on the terrace at the River Club A shuttle will be available to take guests back to the hotel thereafter. Teaching and Learning Constitutionalism Gender, Law and Society Venue: Zambezi Venue: Clubhouse Venue: Berg The “Other” Law Urban Land Occupations Authoritarianism and International Law Venue: Zambezi Venue: Clubhouse Venue: Berg VENUE: ZAMBEZI Race and the Law Tanya Hernandez Fordham University School of Law Penelope Andrews University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law Facilitated by Elrena van der Spuy, University of Cape Town, Faculty of Law Socio-Economic Rights Intellectual Property and Indigenous Knowledge Venue: Zambezi Venue: Clubhouse VENUE: BO-KAAP MUSEUM Turning to Law: Perspectives on Legal Activism for Social Justice Amelia Vukeya Motsepe Senior Legal Consultant Kerry Williams Webber Wentzel Mandisa Shandu Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre Nurina Ally Equal Education Law Centre Introduction to the Bo-Kaap by Fr.