Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 39
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- A seminal decision on the obligation to progressively realize socioeconomic rights is that taken in the Grootboom case, in which the Constitutional Court of South Africa considered the plight of a community lacking basic shelter, sanitation facilities and access to clean water. To determine whether the State had complied with the obligation of progressive realization, the Court applied a standard of "reasonableness". It held that a reasonable programme must: be comprehensive, coherent and coordinated; be capable of facilitating the realization of the right; prioritize the needs of those in the most desperate situations; make appropriate financial and human resources available; be balanced and flexible; make appropriate provision for short-, medium- and long-term needs; be reasonably conceived and implemented; and be transparent. Through that approach, the Court clarified that, while it is the role of the Government to determine precise policies and programmes, it is the proper role of courts to assess whether policies and programmes are in compliance with human rights. In Grootboom, the Court found that the State's programmes failed to address as a priority the circumstances of those in the most desperate situations, and required the Government to take measures to correct this.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Paragraph number
- 39
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