On Thursday 26 April 2012, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) hosted a seminar on the judicial system in South Africa. Funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the seminar was a reaction to the ongoing debate concerning the transformation of the judicial system. Judge Johann Kriegler, Prof Steven Friedman and Dr Narnia Bohler-Muller presented their views on this controversial topic. more...

In the context of the current political debates about changes of the constitution, the necessary checks and balances and the fear about the sustainability of democracy in South Africa, the Hanns Seidel Foundation together with the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) organised a round table in Cape Town on 3 April 2012 entitled “The Chapter 9 Institutions in South Africa”. more...

17 years into democracy there is an on-going debate on whether the electoral system in South Africa should be revised. Back in 1994 South Africa chose to have a proportional representation (PR) closed list system at national and provincial level of government, however, the disadvantages of this system have become quite clear. more...

The “oxygen of society” is what former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Sandile Ngcobo, characterised the free press as in his keynote address at the 2nd Annual Constitutional Conference titled “Freedom of information and freedom of expression: The bedrock of democracy”. Organised by Omega Investment Research, the conference held on 7 March 2012 included sponsorship from the Hanns Seidel Foundation. more...