Ziyad Motala

Faculty

Department/Office

Faculty, Law Department

Biography

Professor of Law

B.A., University of Natal, South Africa
LL.B University of Natal, South Africa
LL.M, 1988, Northwestern University School of Law
S.J.D, 1991, Northwestern University School of Law

Biography

Professor Ziyad Motala is a legal scholar and Professor at Howard University School of Law. He previously served as the Director of the Comparative and International Law Program at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa and held the position of Honorary Professor of Law at the University of the Western Cape School of Law.

Before joining Howard University, Professor Motala taught at Northwestern Law School as an Adjunct Law Professor and was a Visiting Professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. A native of Durban, South Africa, he was actively involved in the struggle for liberation in South Africa. He earned his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Natal (South Africa) and later obtained an LL.M. and an S.J.D. from Northwestern University in Chicago.

An authority in international law, constitutional law, and comparative constitutional law, Professor Motala has presented papers and delivered keynote speeches at numerous conferences worldwide. He coordinated a one-week seminar on the Protection of Human Rights in Africa, conducted by the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in collaboration with the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Bureau and the United Nations Center for Human Rights.

Professor Motala has an extensive publication record in his areas of expertise. He co-authored Constitutional Law: Analysis and Cases with Cyril Ramaphosa, the current President of the Republic of South Africa. His other notable works include Constitutional Options for a Democratic South Africa: A Comparative Perspective and The Protection of Human Rights in African Criminal Proceedings, co-edited with M.C. Bassiouni. Additionally, he has produced casebooks such as Constitutional Law Cases: The Structure of Government and Constitutional Law Cases: Equal Protection and Fundamental Rights.

With over one hundred publications, including law review articles, journal pieces, op-eds, and books, Professor Motala has made significant contributions to legal scholarship. His expertise has been sought in legal reform and justice administration projects across various regions worldwide.

Ziyad Motala Publications:

Published Books

CONSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (Howard University Press 1994).

THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICAN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (1995 Z. Motala with M.C. Bassiouni eds., Martinis Nijhoff and Kluwer Publishers).

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ANALYSIS AND CASES (with M. Cyril Ramaphosa) Oxford University Press, 2002)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: The Structure of
Government (1st ed. LawCarta 2019)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (1st. ed. LawCarta 2020).

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: The Structure of
Government (2nd. ed. LawCarta 2023)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (3rd. Ed. LawCarta 2023).

COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES AND MATERIALS (work in progress. A survey of separation of powers, judicial review and fundamental rights under a select number of constitutions).

Published Articles:

Human Rights in Africa: A Cultural, Ideological and Legal Examination. (12) Hastings Int'l & Comp L. Rev. 373 (1989)

An Evaluation of the Constitutions and Influence of Soviet Constitutional Law on Afro-Marxist Countries: Has it Provided a Viable Model of Government for African Countries. (19) Cap. U.L. Rev. 187 (1990).

South Africa's Constitutional Options: A Critical Examination of the Plural Paradigm in KNOWLEDGE AND POWER IN SOUTH AFRICA: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES (J. Jansen editor, 1992).

The Jurisprudence of Constitutional Law, The Philosophical Origins and Differences Between The Western Liberal And Soviet Communist State Law. (8) Dickinson Journal of International Law 225 (1990).

The Record of Federal Constitutions in Africa: Some Lessons For A Post-Apartheid South Africa. (7) ARIZ. J. INT'L & COMP. L 225 (1990).

Independence of the Judiciary, Prospects and Limitations of Judicial Review in Terms of The United States Model in a New South African Order: Towards an Alternative Judicial Structure Based on the Continental Models. 55 Albany Law Review 367 (1991).

Above article reprinted in 24 Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa (1991).

South Africa's Constitutional Options in Comparative Perspective: Towards a Responsive and Democratic Constitution 2 Journal of International Law and Practice 253 (1993)

Socio-Economic Rights, Federalism And The Courts: Comparative Lessons For South Africa 112(1) South African Law Journal 61 (1995).

Self-Defense in International Law, The United Nations, And The Bosnian Conflict 57 Pittsburgh Law Review 1 (1995)

Towards an Appropriate Understanding of Separation of Powers, And Accountability of The Executive And Public Service Under The New South African Order 112(3) South African Law Journal 503 (1995)

The Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, The Constitution And International Law XXVIII Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa 338 (1995)

Legal Education in South Africa, Moving Beyond the Couch Potato Model Towards a Lawyering Skills Approach 113 South African Law Journal, 695 (1996)

The Constitutional Court's Approach to International Law and its Method of Interpretation in the "Amnesty Decision": Intellectual Honesty or Political Expediency 21 South African Year Book of International Law, (1996).

Published Articles and Presentations

PUBLICATIONS:

Published Books

CONSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE (Howard University Press 1994).

THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICAN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS (1995 Z. Motala with M.C. Bassiouni eds., Martinis Nijhoff and Kluwer Publishers).

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ANALYSIS AND CASES (with M. Cyril Ramaphosa) Oxford University Press, 2002)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: The Structure of
Government (LawCarta 2019)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW CASES: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS (LaCarta 2020).