Fourth-Branch Institutions: South Africa

doi:10.1017/9781108699068.020

19 - Fourth-Branch Institutions: South Africa

from VI - Structure

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 February 2022

Mark Tushnet

Edited by

David S. Law

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David S. Law: Affiliation:
University of Virginia

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Summary

Scholars are increasingly taking note of a species of government institutions that fall outside the traditional separation of powers and have come to be known as the “fourth branch”: these institutions are created by constitutional design to engage in independent oversight and investigation of the other branches. Using South Africa as a case study of “fourth branch” institutions, this chapter dives deeply into the South African cases on corruption (such as the Scorpions litigation, set in its political background) before turning to the more general theme of Chapter 9 institutions in South Africa, then surveying the rise of the furth branch in constitutional systems around the world. The chapter concludes by evaluating both the value and the limits of the “deep dive” case study approach to understanding topics in constitutional design.

Keywords

Fourth-Branch Institutions South African Constitutional Court Anti-Corruption Institutions Glenister Constitutional Design Chapter 9 Institutions Hawks Scorpions Judicial Deference Institutional Accountability Institutional Independence South Africa Corruption

Type: Chapter
Information: Constitutionalism in Context , pp. 426 - 446

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108699068.020 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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References

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