South Africa's Constitution at Twenty-one

shrined a range of fundamental rights to which all South Africans are entitled. In a marked breach with the past, citizens rights would no longer depend upon the pigment of their skin or other idiosyncratic features.

 

Today, 21 years since its inception, the Constitution has acquired an almost mythical status, both at home and abroad. Yet, crucially, its primary impact has been on the nuts and bolts of peoples lives. It means that the death penalty is no longer a sentencing option, and gays and lesbians can get married and adopt. It affects directly the types of contracts and commercial arrangements the courts will countenance and on peoples rights to land. As such, it impacts on each and every South Africans daily life and shapes the country and society we live in.