This major work, written by prominent South African academics, is an introduction to the new constitutional order in South Africa. It does not aim to provide a detailed commentary on fundamental rights in South Africa, but instead seeks to place the rights affirmed in the constitution in a comparative and international context. In doing so the book focuses upon the principles that form the foundation of the new constitutional order: the supremacy of the Constitution, the notion of a democratic constitutional state, and the judicial protection of fundamental rights. This is a book which will be of interest to all lawyers and political scientists particularly those interested in constitutionalism and constitutional litigation.