Gatekeepers or rights keepers? Domestic violence court clerks and the administration of justice in South Africa

This dissertation evaluates how court clerks use discretion to change, delete, or add to the basic statutory blueprint of the Domestic Violence Act in South Africa and the implications that this has for complainants rights. The dissertation argues that DV court clerks are critical but forgotten street bureaucrats, given that their work involves making judgments about "deserving" victims, and the protection that the court can and should provide. Building on the literatures of discretion in public administration and criminal justice, the study argues that the clerks act as either "gatekeepers" for the court system or as "rights keepers" for the complainant: defining victims and relationships as either 'normal' or 'problematic', and shaping the interpretation of rights on the basis of these judgments. This study applies implementation models developed in the U.S. to an international setting, the South African policy arena specifically, and to the policy area of domestic violence. It extends analysis of the interrelationship of street-level bureaucrats, community, and the law.