Conweek throws spotlight on Constitution again

At a time when everyone's eyeballing the legislature's every move and every reported threat to the Constitution, the Democratic Governance Rights Unit's (DGRU) third annual Constitution Week, or conweek, which ran from 12 to 15 March, was well-timed.

The four-day-long conweek aimed to get law students fired up about the Constitution and its importance to South Africa.

This year, hot topics such as the arms deal, the role of education in realising constitutionalism, and the Traditional Courts Bill were mooted. Rather than shy away from these subjects, the country - and the legal fraternity - should enter into robust conversation about them, advised DGRU director, Professor Richard Calland. "We should not be squeamish about these debates," he said.