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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The judicialization of Namibian politics
Author:Steytler, NicoISNI
Year:1993
Periodical:South African Journal on Human Rights
Volume:9
Issue:4
Pages:477-499
Language:English
Geographic term:Namibia
Subjects:constitutions
1990
judicial power
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/02587203.1993.11827922
Abstract:The Namibian constitution of 1990 is a good example of how provision is made for the judicialization of politics from without and from within. Through judicial review and the method of appointment of judges, the power of the judiciary and the legal profession has been increased at the expense of the legislature and the executive. Moreover, the ombudsman, overseeing the administration, may introduce judicial decisionmaking methods to the civil service. The author argues that the judicialization of Namibian politics was one of the key devices for protecting minority interests, thereby facilitating national reconciliation and Namibian independence under majority rule. Central to this device stands the justiciable bill of rights and the judges who will interpret it. The author further argues that the unprecedented levels to which minority parties have sought to judicialize politics in Namibia may in the end undermine the potency of this device. The absolute entrenchment of judicial review and the built-in institutional distance between the courts and the legislature and the executive may lead to the breakdown of the constitutional order on which minority protection depends. Ref.
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