ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the disparate reasons for the flow of the political into the legal. In identifying the causes of the judicialisation of politics an examination of the South African Constitutional Court through a historical-institutionalist lens shows a history and a habit of legalisation of politics. This stems first through apartheid laws and opposition to those laws, and later through the prevalence of a rights culture. In the elevation of the law as the vehicle to fight social ills, the connection between law and politics is exceedingly pronounced. This chapter sketches a historical overview of the legitimacy of the South African judiciary; before moving to a more institutionalist focus outlining the nature and role of the Constitutional Court in establishing democracy.
