‘LITIGATING MUNICIPAL FAILURE?' UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

03 March 2026 | Story Tshepo Tsotetsi | Photo Tshepo Tsotetsi

As communities across South Africa increasingly turn to the courts to compel municipalities to fulfil their constitutional and statutory obligations, litigation has become a central feature of the country’s governance landscape. It was within this context that the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Free State Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law convened a conference titled ‘Litigating Municipal Failure in South Africa?’

The question mark in the title signalled a deliberate pause for reflection: is litigation a sustainable mechanism for addressing municipal dysfunction, or does it expose deeper structural weaknesses within the local sphere of government? 

The conference brought together academics, legal practitioners, municipal officials, civil society organisations, and policymakers, including Lawyers for Human Rights, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, and the South African Human Rights Commission, to explore the practical, legal, and institutional challenges of addressing municipal dysfunction through litigation.

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