The “Meaningful Engagement” and the promotion of democratic pluralism in the judicial enforcement of fundamental social rights in South Africa

Abstract

The present paper intends to analyze the procedural mechanism known as “Meaningful Engagement”, developed by the South African Constitutional Court in order to promote the solution of conflicts involving social rights of marginalized groups, through the interaction between those effectively affected by and the responsible public authorities, in search of a deliberative agreement that responds to the context and the particular necessities involved. Using the deductive method, and especially the critical review of bibliography of comparative law on the subject, it is shown that the use of this institute as a jurisdictional strategy in the context of the realization of constitutionally recognized human rights, represents respect both the substantive and procedural aspects of justice, and can successfully negotiate the tensions between universalism and particularism in a multiethnic and multicultural democratic society. Moreover, by allowing equal participation in the construction of constitutional meanings, the “Meaningful Engagement” promotes the observance of pluralism as a corollary of the liberal democratic principles of equality and freedom.