ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the justice model, as set forth by Albie Sachs, may be seen to apply the ideas of liberal contractarian philosophy to South African conditions. Sachs’ constitutional model is based on an understanding of South African society in which devastating poverty and inequality is seen to be the major source of conflict and unrest. The constitutional set-up advocated by Sachs is guided by the twin concerns of making the state a powerful instrument of social change, and of safeguarding citizens’ rights and liberties from illegitimate state intervention. A certain ambivalence regarding the nationbuilding dimension. Cultural diversity is characterised as an asset. The different institutions, such as the Human Rights Commission, the Social Rights Commission and the Ombud, included in Sachs programme for affirmative action, are a way to ensure that the implementation of laws and policies acts according to procedures specified by the constitution and the legislature.
