Kate O'Regan
Professor of Human Rights Law, and Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights
Faculty officer role(s):
Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights
Biography
Kate O'Regan is the inaugural Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and a former judge of the South African Constitutional Court (1994 – 2009). In the mid-1980s she practiced as a lawyer in Johannesburg in a variety of fields, but especially labour law and land law, representing many of the emerging trade unions and their members, as well as communities threatened with eviction under apartheid land laws. In 1990, she joined the Faculty of Law at UCT where she taught a range of courses including race, gender and the law, labour law, civil procedure and evidence. Since her fifteen-year term at the South African Constitutional Court ended in 2009, she has amongst other things served as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia (from 2010 - 2016), Chairperson of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency and a breakdown in trust between the police and the community of Khayelitsha (2012 – 2014), and as a member of the boards or advisory bodies of many NGOs working in the fields of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and equality.
Publications
Claassens A and O’Regan K, ‘Editorial Citizenship and Accountability: Customary Law and Traditional Leadership under South Africa’s Democratic Constitution’ (2021) 47(2) Journal of Southern African Studies 155
O’Regan C, ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70: A time to look back, and a time to look forward’ (2018) 6 Journal of the British Academy 259
O’REGAN K, ‘Political parties: The missing link in our Constitution?’ [2018] South African Judicial Education Journal
O’Regan K, ‘A Tribute to Justice Dikgang Moseneke’ (2017) 2017 Acta Juridica 273
O’Regan K, ‘Fidelity to Law: How Bram Fischer illuminates a perennial debate’ [2017] (June) Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal 1
O’Regan K, ‘Tradition and Modernity: Adjudicating a Constitutional Paradox’ [2014] (6) Constitutional Court Review 105
O’Regan K, ‘""The right to equality in the South African Constitution"" Symposium in Honour of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’ [2013] (25) Columbia Journal of Gender and the Law
O’Regan K, ‘""A Forum for Reason: Reflections on the Role and Work of the Constitutional Court""’ [2012] (28) South African Journal on Human Rights
O’Regan K, ‘""Text Matters: Some Reflections on the Forging of a new Constitutional Jurisprudence in South Africa""’ [2012] (79) Modern Law Review 1
O’Regan K, ‘""The three R’s of the Constitution: Responsibility, Respect and Rights""’ [2004] Acta Jurídica 86
O’Regan K, ‘""Breaking Ground: Some thoughts on the seismic shift in our administrative law""’ (2004) 121 South African Law Journal 424
O’Regan K, ‘Cultivating a Constitution: Challenges facing the Constitutional Court’ [2000] (22) Dublin University Law Journal 1
O’Regan K, ‘""Equality in Employment and the Limits of the Law: Symmetry and Individualism in Anti-Discrimination Law’ [1994] Acta Jurídica 64
O’Regan K, ‘Rules for Rule-making: Administrative Law and Subordinate Decision-Making’ [1993] Acta Jurídica
O’Regan K, ‘""Contempt of Court and the Enforcement of Labour Injunctions""’ [1991] (54) Modern Law Review 385
O’Regan K, ‘Workers’ Participation in Corporate Decision-making’ [1991] Acta Jurídica 113
O’Regan K, ‘""The development of private labour arbitration in South Africa: a review of the awards""’ [1989] (10) Industrial Law Journal (South Africa) 557
O’Regan K, ‘""No more forced removals? An historical analysis of the Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act’ [1989] (5361) South African Journal on Human Rights 361
O’Regan K, ‘Interdicts Restraining Strike Action -- The Implications of the Labour Relations Amendment Act 1988’ [1988] (9) Industrial Law Journal (South Africa) 959
Aristova E and O’REGAN C, Civil Liability for Human Rights Violations: A Handbook for Practitioners (2022)
O’Regan K, ‘Prosecutions and Politics in a Constitutional State: Prosecution of Heads of State in post-apartheid South Africa’ in A Sajo and R Uitz (eds.), Critical Essays on Human Rights Criticism (Boomuitgevers 2020)
O’Regan K, ‘Contemporary challenges for human rights: a view from South Africa’ in S Mount and M Harris (eds.), The Promise of Law: Essays marking the retirement of Dame Sian Elias as Chief Justice of New Zealand (LexisNexis 2020)
O’Regan K, ‘La promesa de las Constituciones: una reflexion desde Sudáfrica’ in R O. Niembro and S Verdugo (eds.), La Justicia Constitucional en Tiempos de Cambio (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, Mexico 2019)
O’REGAN C, ‘Mission in progress’ in R Dixon and T Roux (eds.), Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments: A Critical Assessment of the 1996 South African Constitution’s Local and International Influence (CUP 2018)
O’Regan K, ‘Mission in Progress: Towards an Assessment of South Africa’s Constitution at 20’ in R Dixon and T Roux (eds.), Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments: A Critical Assessment of the 1996 South African Constitution’s Local and International Influence (Cambridge University Press 2018)
O’Regan K and Khosla M, ‘Equality in Asia’ in T Ginsburg and R Dixon (eds.), Comparative Constitutional Law in Asia (Edward Elgar 2014)
O’Regan K and Cameron E, ‘Judges, bias and recusal in South Africa’, Judiciaries in Comparative Perspective (2011)
O’Regan K, ‘""Addressing the Legacy of the Past: Equality in the South African Constitution""’ in T Loenen and P Rodrigues (eds.), Non-Discrimination Law: Comparative Perspectives (Kluwer Law International 1999)
Murray C and O’Regan K, ‘""Putting Women into the Constitution""’ in S Bazilli (ed.), Putting Women on the Agenda (Ravan Press 1991)
Murray C and O’Regan K, No Place to Rest: Forced Removals and the Law in South Africa (Oxford University Press 1990)
Corder H and others, ‘A Charter for Social Justice: A contribution to the South African Bill of Rights Debate’ (Department of Public Law, University of Cape Town 1992)