THE RIGHT TO LIFE: SECTION 11 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA.

This is the first person account of my experiences of how i reached a point in my legal life wherein i have concluded that the right to life is/should be the supreme, all encompassing law of the country. I understand that placing supremacy on a document such as the constitution makes sense, but in my opinion, legal supremacy should be bestowed on just section 11 of the constitution. The constitution would literally be quarter page if the constitution was just section 11(right to life) and it would have more than sufficient to cover everything that is currently covered in our constitution. 

With the supremacy of the right to life being the case, legislation would be formulated in order to advance that right. Basically if the right to life was our constitution just the right to life, the legislator's sole mandate in advancing the spirit, purport and object of the constitution would be to create laws whose sole purpose and object is the advancement of the lives of people. What does our constitution say? its say that " adopt this Constitution as the supreme law so as to Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person". 

My experience as a person who has been a subject of the constitution, both as a legal professional and scholar and as a citizen, I can say that my life does not need all those words in the constitution. My right to life and the objective to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person is all i need.

In this essay i will tack question centred on what life is, how that life is deserving of protection from the law, why its important that laws and judgement reflect the lived realities of the people it governs and finally how the RIGHT TO LIFE BASICALLY IS THANOS WITH ALL THE STONES, how a single section 11 encompasses everything and everywhere all at once 

WHAT IS LIFE?

The one question that plagues my thoughts when am having my bi-monthly existential crisis. Its a question which has not set defined answer, not philosophically, not biologically, not scientifically, not even legally . Life, depending on who you asking, will mean different things. Therefore, in this writing i will strickly stick to "life" as a concept housed in the legal spheres.

In any quest i undertake to understand a concept from the legal prism, i tend to start with checking out what the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 says about it. In this case, yes it does.

Section 11 of the Constitution provides that 'Everyone has the right to Life'. Big Right to grant to a life that already has life from it mere existence ( I have always struggled to understand how X grants another something they already). When i was growing up there used to be a phrase we would when someone ask or says something so obvious that no reasonable person would miss. We would say " You asking while its written on the bus"(sounds way better in IsiZulu). The Constitution is mentioning something that is written on the bus- but thats a topic for another writing.

Anyway, upon the dawn of Democracy in mzansi, the formulators and writers of this document negotiated and reached a mutual conclusion that 'everyone has the right to life'.

Within this context of the Constitution, What is this Life we have been given as a right?

The preamble of the Constitution is the perfect place to begin in understanding the content of our Right to Life. I have not read alot of preambles of Constitution but i can still confidently state that our countries Constitution preamble is some beautiful shit. In order to get to the point I will state the parts of the preamble relevent to the question, but i do recommend that you go read the entire preamble, because it gawd darn a pieace of poetry.

Yes, the preamble provides that "through the freely elected representative, we adopt this Constitution as supreme law of the repoublic so as to-

Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person

Lay foundation for a democratic and open society based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by the law

Establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights"

Lets break it down. Basically the preamble is the explaination of our right to life and it constitute. It provides that our Right to Life is one which is to espoused within a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. This right is such that, the elected representative are under obligation to promote and protect it by improving the quality of this life and ensuring the potential of all granted this right is freed. The Right to Life is where the Will of its holder is capable of dictating its destiny and that such will is protected by the law. As to whether South Africa in the last 30 years of democracy has given its people such a right is another topic on its. But in brief, no it hasnt. The quality is far from being improved, the potentials are stifled by corruption and greed from the very same people tasked to ensuring potentials are freed, and fundamental human rights are just a campaign slogan for when politician want votes, besides that, they just words on page. But this isnt a criticism to the state of the government of the nation, its about the Right to Life which i have more to write about.

"THE MORE TO WRITE ABOUT":

There are about 30(thirty) or so rights within the bill of rights chapter. Every single one of these rights can be argued to form part of the content that makes the section 11 Right to Life. The fundamental human rights are the laws ways of showing appreciation and recognition to ones existence. Its the recognition that Life is the most valuable thing and its requires a formal, official set of rules to ensure that its not disturbed in any way by anyone and anything. Human rights are not just entitlements given to people, they are guides in showing people how they should treat each other. They are rules of behaviour in a society governed by law, order, social justice and democracy. Human rights are the fundamental building blocks of a civilization and the Right to Life is the right of all rights.

My former professor at university, Marius Pieterse, who taught me Constitutional law, Bill of rights, Social Justice and Human rights wrote an informative and beautiful commentary on the Right to Life." More than legally, this work provided me with a even better understanding of what life is. A paragraph is cited from the famous S v Makwanyane 1995 case where it provides that life as cherished by the Constitution isnt just life as an organic matter, its life involving "living as a human being, being part of a broader community and sharing in the experience of humanity" ( Marius Pieterse: Chaper 39 Right to Life , page 3) . And this made me think of how Life isn't a gift meant to be enjoyed alone, its a gift which is worth enjoying when it's shared with others arround. The Right to Life, on the premise of the obligation of the state, entails that the state has a duty to unify people and share life in unison for the wellbeing and better of everyone. The author in this writing expresses an understanding that life "is a cognitve and intellectual experience of humanity". Therefore, my Right to life, your Right to Life isn't only about the protection, promotion and advancement of the physical integrity of your existence but also the protection, promotion and advancement of your emotional, intellectual, and spiritual integrity of your existence.

IN CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, I have always held the idea that 73% of the Constitution could be erased and SECTION 11: RIGHT TO LIFE would cover everything that would have been erased. Basically, section 11 alone would be a sufficient Constitution. Then legislation would be created on the central premise of Life. All objects and purpose of every piece of legislation would be centred around the protection, promotion and advancement of the "cognitive and intellectual human experience" of everyone.

Exercise your RIGHT TO LIFE, by simply LIVING.

Carry water, chop wood and smile, its not that complicated

Disclaimer

The views and opinion expressed are those of my own, based on my own experiences and my subjective interpretation of the subject matter. They are not authority nor should they be construed to be authority. Do your research, read further, gain knowledge and do what you want with it.

Also am not saying carrying water and chooping wood and smiling are secrete formulas to living life in exercising your right to life. Its just an expression which i suspect i got wrong.