Indirect horizontal application of the right to have access to health care services

Abstract

Apart from their direct application against the state, the justiciability of socio-economic rights also requires the transformation of those aspects of private law that regulate relationships which are crucial for their effective enjoyment. This is acknowledged by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which determines that rights may sometimes bind private parties and requires courts to develop the common law in accordance with spirit, purport and objects of the rights in the Bill of Rights.