The MISSION of the division is to practice, promote, and teach constitutional-based jurisprudence. "We teach and cultivate the constitutional values underlying the jurisprudential system."

VISION

Within the broader context of the Faculty of Law’s vision to be a university of excellence, equity, and innovation, the department strives:

• To continually maintain and improve the recognition and acknowledgement afforded to the quality of its activities and the achievements of its students and staff, both nationally and internationally.
• To continually maintain a national and regional perspective in its activities.
• To contribute, within the department’s context, towards the rebuilding and development of the entire community.

INTRODUCTION

The arrival of democracy in 1994 and the acceptance of a final Constitution in 1996 proclaimed the entrenchment of democracy in South Africa. A completely new government management system, aimed at the transformation of South Africa through the attainment of equality and the exercising of democratic values, was securely entrenched. As a result, the legal system was obliged to adjust to this transformation and to cooperate in the effective development of this transformation.

Against this background, the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Public Law: Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy provides a specialised approach to teaching and research on legal matters that are related to the impact of the Constitution of South Africa on the law.

The department has a proud record of excellence in terms of teaching and research. Areas of expertise include: International Law, Human Rights Law, Health and Ethics, Equal Employment, Children’s Rights, Women’s Human Rights, Environmental Rights, Mining Law, Legal Philosophy, and Administrative Law. The Department of Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy intends to continue its contribution to the law against the background of a truly democratic South Africa. The department teaches the various philosophies underlying the law, and in so doing, provides insight into the law and into a variety of other ethical questions.