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Open research questions in Legal Issues in South Africa

166 gap statements mined from Legal Issues in South Africa papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,389 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The study highlights the need for further research on the impact of crime on the economy.

    Revisiting How the Traditional Leaders in Pre- post-1994 Dealt with Anti-Corruption and Violence in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • Sycophancy is a significant problem in Africa, particularly in Ghana. Corruption and poor accountability standards are major challenges in Africa. The study highlights the need to address the root causes of sycophancy.

    Sycophancy, a Tool for Upward Mobility, Self-Efficacy and Resilience in Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to understand the motivations of sycophants and the linkages between sycophancy and corruption, underdevelopment, and poor accountability standards.

    Sycophancy, a Tool for Upward Mobility, Self-Efficacy and Resilience in Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper notes that the phenomenon of party constitutionalisation in Nigeria's Fourth Republic has not been adequately studied.

    Has it ended in Tears? · 2026 · DOI

  • The binary approach to the universalism versus cultural relativism debate is limited. The historical context of colonialism and power dynamics complicates this debate.

    Critique on Universalism Versus Cultural Relativism Debate, With Special Attention to Customary Law and Constitutionalism In South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to understand the interplay between South Africa's political landscape and social work education. The article identifies a gap in the literature regarding the impact of political instability, coalition governance arrangements, corruption scandals, and policy oscillations on social work education.

    Politics in the lecture hall: The intersection of South Africa’s political landscape and social work education · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of transformative ecclesial leadership in South Africa.

    The Bill of Rights, transformative ecclesial leadership, and the kairotic task · 2026 · DOI

  • Key terms have not been given distinctive constitutional contours, and it remains uncertain to what extent legislative instruments such as NEMA are legitimately filling these gaps.

    The Problem with the Normative Content of Section 24 of the Constitution of South Africa · 2019 · DOI

  • It argues that the right has been left normatively impoverished, and especially the interaction and relationship with the cornerstone statute, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) remains unclear.

    The Problem with the Normative Content of Section 24 of the Constitution of South Africa · 2019 · DOI

  • The complexity surrounding the prosecution of criminal cases in which young victims or witnesses are involved, especially in cases of sexual abuse, remains controversial and often results in the criminal justice system being blamed for neglecting the needs and welfare of child victims and witnesses.

    The constitutional right to protection of child victims and witnesses in the South African criminal justice system : director of Public Prosecutions, Transvaal v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, and others · 2010

  • The main findings suggest that while the ward committee may have been effective in certain aspects, the extent of its effectiveness was limited by the poor attendance at public meetings; the general impact of poverty on collective action; the exclusionary nature of organization through sectors; and the lack of substantive influence in the decision-making process.

    Contextualizing Social Capital, Citizen Participation and Poverty through an Examination of the Ward Committee Systemin Bonteheuwel in the Western Cape, South Africa · 2008 · DOI

  • Thereafter we will address the pursuit of justice in respect of both apartheid’s perpetrators as well as its victims—the discussion will, however, be limited to the liability of those who fall outside the scope of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) mandate.

    Righting the Wrongs of Apartheid Justice for Victims and Unjust Profiteers · 2004 · DOI

  • In preparing the paper, the author realised that many changes had taken place in the legal relationship between parent and child in South Africa since 1994 and that their implications for education management need to be explored.

    Some recent developments in the legal relationship between parent and child · 2001 · DOI

  • The Court found that Minister Louis Le Grange's claim that the detainees had been trying to create a revolutionary climate was insufficient to permit their arrest under Section 28 of the 1982 Security Act.

    Diplomatic Asylum as a Human Right: The Case of the Durban Six · 1989 · DOI

  • There is a lack of comparative perspectives on South Africa's economic situation. The country's economic problems are often viewed in isolation, rather than as part of a broader transformation process.

    Economic crisis or transformation? South Africa's economy in the late 1980s · 1987 · DOI

  • The policy implications of betterment planning are multifaceted and influenced by various factors. The lack of clear objectives and outcomes makes it challenging to assess the effectiveness of betterment planning.

    Betterment planning in South Africa: Some thoughts on its history, feasibility and wider policy implications · 1987 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of the complexities of betterment planning. The paper identifies a need for further research on the policy implications of betterment planning.

    Betterment planning in South Africa: Some thoughts on its history, feasibility and wider policy implications · 1987 · DOI

  • The binary approach to this debate can lead to harmful stereotypes and legal interpretations.

    Critique on Universalism Versus Cultural Relativism Debate, With Special Attention to Customary Law and Constitutionalism In South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • This topic has not been widely analysed in the works of scholars for the meantime, though the actualization of the issue at the level of the academic society should be helpful on dealing not only with this inner problem of civil service, but also on revealing broader political, economic, social context of its effective performance.

    Valstybės tarnybos reguliavimo problemos · 2014 · DOI

  • Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 9(8), 4481–4495.

    THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE IN NIGERIA: ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS · 2026 · DOI

  • Franklin Chinagorom Ogbu, Ph.D1, Ayika Patience Ozi2, Loveth G.

    THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE IN NIGERIA: ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS · 2026 · DOI

  • It finds that successive regimes after Mbeki and Obasanjo exhibited poor commitment to implement the ideals of the APRM to further the gains made by the understudied regimes and thereby weakened the developmentalism push of the countries.

    Irony of Development Agendas: Perspectives on APRM under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo · 2021 · DOI

  • Section 3 of the NWA stipulates that water falls under the centralised control of the public trustee to, inter alia, improve the allocation, management, use, conservation and equality of access to this scarce resource.

    Construing the transformed property paradigm of South Africa’s water law: new opportunities presented by legal pluralism? · 2021 · DOI

  • While this argument would also lend support to the argument of this paper—showing how positions based on Rawls' foundation, such as Brighouse and Swift's, would inevitably lead to the neglect of peoples outside of any Rawlsian sovereign state, whatever their educational needs—it is perhaps not so intuitively obvious why this follows from Rawls' position; explication of this would take us too far beyond the scope…

    Challenging educational injustice: ‘Grassroots’ privatisation in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa · 2013 · DOI

  • The need to understand the history and implications of South Africa's destabilization policy - The lack of attention to the policy's longevity…

    South Africa's destabilization policy · 1987 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Legal Issues in South Africa

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a need to understand the motivations of sycophants and the linkages between sycophancy and corruption, underdevelopment, and poor accountability standards (“Sycophancy, a Tool for Upward Mobility, Self-Efficacy and Resilience in Africa”, 2026); (2) There is a need to understand the interplay between South Africa's political landscape and social work education (“Politics in the lecture hall: The intersection of South Africa’s political…”, 2026); (3) The lack of transformative ecclesial leadership in South Africa (“The Bill of Rights, transformative ecclesial leadership, and the kairotic task”, 2026); (4) It argues that the right has been left normatively impoverished, and especially the interaction and relationship with the cornerstone statute, the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) remains unclear (“The Problem with the Normative Content of Section 24 of the Constitution of…”, 2019); (5) There is a lack of comparative perspectives on South Africa's economic situation (“Economic crisis or transformation? South Africa's economy in the late 1980s”, 1987). 166 gap statements have been mined from Legal Issues in South Africa papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,389 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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