Participatory Approaches to Socio-Economic Rights Adjudication

This article explores the potential of participatory modes of adjudicating socio-economic rights to mitigate the democratic and distributive deficits of adjudication, particularly in the context of the structural reforms required to fulfil the positive duties imposed by these rights. It traces a particular application of a participatory model of adjudication through the doctrine and remedy of meaningful engagement which has emerged in the context of South African evictions law. The benefits of meaningful engagement in advancing direct participation by communities and organisations in the processes of socio-economic rights realisation are considered. However, attention is also drawn to the ways in which engagement orders can limit participatory systemic reforms that advance the normative goals of these rights. The article is intended as a contribution to the broader global debate on models of participatory adjudication in the context of socio-economic rights

Adjudication · Citizen journalism · Context (archaeology · Doctrine · Human rights · Law and economics · Normative · Political science · Sociology · Corporate Law and Human Rights · Human Rights and Development · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Public Administration