In search of a remedy : a critical analysis of remedies granted in human rights cases

Abstract

Human rights actions are supposed to be heard and decided as expeditiously as possible. It is a legal norm, respected more in breach than observance. What is even worse as shall be seen, is that when an applicant succeeds in proving that his fundamental rights were breached by Government or a public authority, he still faces an uphill struggle to get a remedy which remains as elusive as anything - owing to a wrong interpretation of the law by our Courts. The Constitution in Article 46 grants wide remedial powers in cases of breach of the rights listed in Chapter IV. To what extent have these powers been used to redress such infringements of the supreme law of the land? [excerpt]