The Africanisation of Children's Rights in South Africa: Quo Vadis?


Songca R.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AFRICAN RENAISSANCE STUDIES, vol.13, no.1, pp.77-95, 2018 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 13 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2018
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/18186874.2018.1482043
  • Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AFRICAN RENAISSANCE STUDIES
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.77-95
  • Keywords: Africanisation, child justice system, child offenders, children's rights, constitutional democracy, customary law, human rights, restorative justice, Ubuntu
  • Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The article seeks to demonstrate how traditional African approaches to justice pervade the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (CJA) in ways that provide young offenders the possibility to have their dignity restored, by affording them an opportunity to take responsibility for their wrongful conduct. The article argues that this approach to justice underscores African values of Ubuntu and restorative justice in addressing offending in terms of the CJA. In the final analysis, the author argues that the successful implementation of these approaches will depend partly on how innovative officers in judicial proceedings are in using African models of justice, the values of the Constitution, and the lived experiences of children in conflict with the law.