Christina Murray

University of Cape Town, Law, Department Member

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Christina Murray is a senior adviser on the Mediation Standby Team of the Mediation Support Unit in the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations.. Previously she was Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at the University of Cape Town. Her primary focus is constitutional design and processes for political settlement and constitution-making. She served on the constitutional support team of the Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Yemen in 2013.

In 2012 she was a member of the Constitution Commission of Fiji (see www.constitution.org.fj). Between February 2009 and October 2010 she served as a member of the Kenyan Committee of Experts appointed by the Kenyan Parliament to draft a new Constitution of Kenya. That Constitution became law in Kenya on 27 August 2010.

Professor Murray’s first experience in constitution making was serving on a panel of seven experts advising the South African Constitutional Assembly in drafting South Africa's 'final' Constitution between 1994 and 1996. Since then she has advised a number of government departments in South Africa on the implementation of the new system of multi-level government and worked with South Africa's national Parliament and many of its nine provincial legislatures. In addition to Kenya and Fiji, her most recent constitutional work outside South Africa has concerned Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Southern Sudan, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Christina Murray has taught and written on human rights law (and particularly issues relating to gender equality, violence against women, constitutional rights for women and African customary law), international law, and constitutional law (including systems of government, multilevel government, fiscal federalism and traditional leadership).

Between 1992 and 2004 she was director of UCT's Law, Race and Gender Research Unit. LRG's main work was in the field of judicial education on social context issues, especially on race and gender. She was head of the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town from 2002 – 2008 and Deputy Dean of the Law Faculty from 2000 – 2002. She has held fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson School in Princeton and the United States Institute for Peace, among others.
Phone: + 1 202 469 2556

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Papers by Christina Murray

Is Polygamy Wrong

Agenda, 2011

South African law asserts that polygamy is wrong, but Christina Murray questions whether polygamy... more

Is Polygamy Wrong

Agenda, 2011

South African law asserts that polygamy is wrong, but Christina Murray questions whether polygamy... more

Suspension and dissolution of municipal councils under section 139 of the constitution: aantekeninge

Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse …, 2007

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Making and Remaking Kenya's Constitution

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Kenya has undergone two major processes of constitutional review since 2000. In 2013 a new Consti... more Kenya has undergone two major processes of constitutional review since 2000. In 2013 a new Constitution was adopted. Nonetheless it is currently considering a raft of constitutional amendments that would change the 2013 Constitution in fundamental ways. This chapter outlines the different processes followed to secure constitutional change and explores their successes and failures. A key question that runs through the chapter is how agreement that satisfies both the political elite and citizens generally can be reached on fundamental constitutional change.

Making and Remaking Kenya’s Constitution

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Nov 17, 2022

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Public Schools for Afrikaners in South Africa

Law, Nation-Building and Transformation

Learning to lose, learning to win: Government and opposition in South Africa’s transition to democracy

Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems, 2008

National Dialogues and Constitution Making

National Dialogues and constitution-making processes are increasingly part of political settlemen... more National Dialogues and constitution-making processes are increasingly part of political settlements. This Chapter focuses on the relationship between Dialogues and constitution-making processes but also explores the relationship between Dialogues and state institutions (such as the legislature, executive and judiciary) and state processes (elections). Both National Dialogues and constitution-making processes occur in a wide variety of circumstances and take many different forms so it is hard to generalize about their form and roles. However, although Dialogues often engage in constitutional issues, they generally do not produce final constitutions. The Chapter suggests that aspects of most constitution-making processes, such as a level procedural formality, greater technical expertise and, sometimes, greater formal legitimacy, explain why they and not Dialogues are used for constitutionmaking. It also explores ways in which Dialogue decisions may be followed up in a constitution-mak...

Power-sharing in Kenya

Reforming Multi-level Government in South Africa

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines, 2009

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Constitutional Design in Africa: Is Mix and Match OK?

Ethnopolitics, 2016

Constitutions and conflict management in Africa (2015) is an engaging mix of description, analysi... more Constitutions and conflict management in Africa (2015) is an engaging mix of description, analysis, and prescription. The complexity of the determinants of political stability in Africa is apparent in the case studies, which also remind us how much the success of constitutional arrangements depends on context. The real challenge, of course, lies in drawing conclusions. Kuperman takes on this challenge, boldly concluding with a recommendation that runs counter to the dominant academic trend. He argues that foreign advisers should not press African countries to move from their predominantly ‘integrative’ systems with executive power concentrated in the centre to ‘accommodative’ constitutional systems. Instead, those integrative systems should be reformed by the introduction of marginal liberal reform (p. 227). The recommendation is based, first, on evidence in the case studies that neither ‘integrative’ nor ‘accommodative’ constitutional design necessarily does the trick, ensuring political stability. The real issue in every case, Kuperman suggests, lies in whether the constitutional design is properly implemented and institutionalised to provide good governance, which he reminds us is possible under either model. In response to those who argue that strongly integrative systems are unlikely candidates for political stability and good governance, especially in multi-ethnic countries, he points to Ghana. Secondly, Kuperman argues that the case studies demonstrate that imperfect change from integrative to accommodative systems, that is, change that introduces only partial accommodation, is dangerous. Witness, he says, Burundi in the 1990s, or Sudan in the wake of its inaptly named Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005. The upshot is that international actors should promote ‘liberal reforms of Africa’s existing integrative constitutional designs’ (p. 23), because such evolutionary reform can promote stability without the risks arising from the attempted revolutionary reform of full accommodation (p. 2). Here I take up just two questions about this provocative conclusion. First, is it correct that accommodation must be treated as a package and that partial implementation is so Ethnopolitics, 2016 Vol. 15, No. 5, 528–532, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2016.1144417

Hangings in South Africa: The Last Ten Years

S. Afr. J. on Hum. Rts., 1989

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Lay assessors in South Africa's magistrates' courts

A Constitutional Beginning: Making South Africa's Final Constitution(2001)

U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.

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Cases and Comments

South African journal on human rights, 1988

Cases and Comments

South African journal on human rights, 1989

The Death Penalty in the Cape Provincial Division: 1986–1988

South African Journal on Human Rights, 1989

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BUDGET CHANGE Constitution has safeguards that ensure the Executive can no longer unilaterally dictate fi scal policy and the Legislature cannot do as it wishes without upsetting economic and political stability

T he 2010 Constitution has made dramatic changes to the Budget process. These open it up to a wid... more T he 2010 Constitution has made dramatic changes to the Budget process. These open it up to a wider set of actors, particularly giving citizens and MPs a greater role, and fundamentally reducing the traditional, undemocratic and nearly unlimited powers of the Executive. Yet, radical changes in the Budget process can lead to confusion about roles. This must not become an excuse for poor fi nancial management. To ensure continued fi nancial stability and sustainable expenditure, a collaborative relationship between the Treasury and Parliament is needed. This article spells out the way the Constitution governs the process of adopting the annual national Budget; raises questions about areas where the process may create uncertainty or instability; and suggests some mechanisms to foster a co-operative and prudent approach.

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Cases and Comments

South African Journal on Human Rights