The Possibility of Rights Claims-Making in Court: Looking Back on Twenty-Five Years of Social Rights Constitutionalism in South Africa

What factors influence citizens’ demand for law to protect social rights? We turn to the case of social rights in South Africa, just under three decades after the end of apartheid and the adoption of social rights constitutionalism, to examine the contours of rights claims-making in the courts. Drawing on original interview and survey research, we argue that above and beyond factors such as the accessibility of the courts and support of civil society, citizens must believe that rights claims-making through courts is possible. We find that these beliefs and the subsequent demand for justice are connected to people’s personal circumstances, sentiments as rights-holders, and trust in legal institutions, rendering the legitimacy of social rights constitutionalism beholden to people’s perception that the state actually delivers on these constitutional promises.