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Article
Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road v. City of Johannesburg: Enforcing the Right to Adequate Housing through Engagement
Human Rights Law Review
  • Brian E. Ray, Cleveland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Keywords
  • socio-economic rights,
  • South Africa,
  • Constitutional Law,
  • negotiation,
  • engagement
Disciplines
Abstract

On 19 February 2008, the South African Constitutional Court handed down an important new socioeconomic rights decision, Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road v City of Johannesburg ('City of Johannesburg'). City of Johannesburg approved a landmark settlement between the City of Johannesburg and residents of several informal communities in Johannesburg who had sought to prevent the City from evicting them as part of an inner-city regeneration project. Rather than imposing a direct remedy, the Court instead constitutionalised a novel 'engagement' requirement in housing-rights cases. Engagement, which requires government entities to consult with residents affected by policy decisions that may involve eviction and publicly report on that process, offers a novel and potentially powerful mechanism for enforcing socioeconomic rights that limits court intervention in policy decisions.

Citation Information
Brian Ray, Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road v. City of Johannesburg: Enforcing the Right to Adequate Housing through Engagement, 8 Human Rights Law Review 703 (2008)