We are pleased to present the 2017 edition of Inkundla, a law review written and edited by students at the Oliver Schreiner School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. The aim of the journal is to encourage and facilitate scholarly legal writing amongst Wits law students.

The word ‘Inkundla’ refers to a traditional court where debates and eye-witness accounts of emerging social phenomena were hosted. Pursuant to the aspirations of the founding editors, we hope that this edition of the journal continues to fulfill the same function.

On a more personal level, we hope the journal will take you, the reader, on a journey through a variety of topics and opinions as interpreted and expressed by young legal minds.

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance received from various people. In particular, we would like to thank Ms Franziska Sucker of the School of Law and Mr Ernest Lee Mate, a founding editor, for their continued involvement and encouragement in our effort to produce this edition. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the School of Law for their support. Moreover, we would like to thank Juta and Company for their financial assistance. We also thank Mariya Badeva-Bright for her assistance with the Inkundla website, and Taremeredzwa Takudzwa Chirewa, whose artwork appeared on the cover of the first edition of Inkundla and continues to feature on the back cover to commemorate that edition.

Furthermore, we are indebted to Melanie Salgueiro, for allowing us to use her beautiful water colour painting as the cover of this edition. It is our belief that the painting encapsulates the idea of a journey, in a specifically South African context, in the same way we hope the published articles will do.

Thank you to all those who sent us their work for publication. A special thanks to the authors of the selected essays.

South Africa, and indeed the broader international community, has been faced with various challenges and milestones this past year. These have resulted in paradigm shifts across sectors as diverse as the economy, our political climate, and the environment. The need for responsive and thoughtful scholarship on these issues thus remains paramount.

 In this edition, our authors have heeded this call and have not only provided incisive analyses of topical issues; they have also arrived at solutions and recommendations which attempt to address these pressing concerns. Sulaiman Hoosen explores the concept of sustainable development and its application to the advent of nuclear energy in South Africa. Fathima Rawat investigates the South African government’s adoption of neoliberal housing policies and the effect this has had on entrenching economic inequality. Divina Naidoo evaluates the constitutional imperative of considering the carbon lock-in effect when devising and implementing fracking policies. Sfiso Bernard Nxumalo examines the various arguments for and against a waiver of the right to defence of prescription. Zinzi Lawrence addresses the constitutionality of imposing a dress-code in the South African Parliament. Finally, Tshego Nyoka provides trenchant commentary on the global financial crisis and its characterisation in the South African context.

 The editorial team endeavoured to select essays of a high standard. We hope that you will find these essays as insightful, engaging and thought-provoking as we do.

Published: 2017-08-10