In South Africa’s young democracy, there’s a growing area of law practice related to holding companies accountable for human rights of their customers, potential customers and employees.

This accountability has come into play over the environmental impact of mining in South Africa, the development of antiretroviral drugs for AIDS, and the role of private developers in evictions, among others.

As the HIV/AIDS crisis ravaged South Africa, it launched non-governmental organizations, international coalitions and efforts by multinational pharmaceutical companies vowing to develop a vaccine, a cure-all, something to help.

The companies succeeded. They came up with a cocktail of antiretroviral drugs that arrested the progression of HIV/AIDS. But GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim – the drugs’ manufacturers – refused to grant four companies the licenses to produce generic drugs at a lower cost for distribution to the government and international health organizations.

Section 27 – a team of legal aid lawyers named for the constitutional clause guaranteeing the right to health care for all South Africans – stepped in and sued.

The training they gained though an American legal project sponsored by a corporate foundation helped them win.

The Franklin Thomas Fellowship, a program funded by the Ford Foundation, provides scholarships for South African constitutional and human rights lawyers to pursue post-graduate legal study in the U.S.

Started in 1998, the foundation recently announced funding though 2040 — an unprecedented endowment for a private fellowship — for human rights lawyers to pursue further challenges and rights in the implementation of South Africa’s 20-year-old constitution.

Adila Hassim is director of litigation at South Africa’s Section 27 and the inaugural recipient of the fellowship.

“Our focus is not to target businesses in general, but socioeconomic businesses, especially in the private health sector, that have an obligation to help the people under our constitution,” Hassim told AFKInsider. “We use the constitution to hold those companies accountable for what we perceive to be their duties. The state places obligations on private parties, and though they are a question of debate and context, companies are not here to violate people’s rights. Those always come first.”

The new funds, which will replenish the program’s trust, were announced in April in Johannesburg as the foundation marked the 20th anniversary of the Ford Foundation’s presence there.

The Franklin Thomas Fellowship Program is named after the former president of the Ford Foundation and current head of the TFF Study Group, a nonprofit development assistance group focused on Southern Africa. Since 1998, it has awarded a single fellowship annually to an attorney who demonstrates a commitment to human rights and the intention to practice in that field in South Africa.

Nicolette Naylor is a senior program officer for the Ford Foundation who helps oversee the fellowships.

Holding multinational companies accountable in terms of human rights and the South African constitution is an area of law that is growing, Naylor told AFKInsider. “The work has taken off, especially in terms of the environmental impact of mining in South Africa with public interest lawyers taking on Anglo-American mines regarding the silicosis of mine workers. In the same vein, the role of private developers is one that has been taken to the constitutional court in terms of the eviction laws in South Africa.”

South Africa’s constitution, established in 1994 after the end of apartheid, has several independent bodies to support human rights and equality. Informally, these bodies are known as the “Chapter 9 Institutions.” They include the the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality, the Auditor General, and the Electoral Commission. The South African National Assembly may not interfere with the independence of these institutions. They have to report on their activities once a year.

The Public Protector institution became a household term around the world recently over South African President Jacob Zuma’s excessive use of public funds for upgrades to his home.

Thurgood Marshal, Jr. is an international-affairs lawyer, a member of the Ford Foundation board of trustees and the son of the first black Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall.

There is plenty of reason to be concerned because South Africa’s constitution is an ambitious constitution, Marshall told AFKInsider.

“So much ground … needs to be covered – it’s daunting to see how many topics have been addressed and require more advocacy. There are a lot of different views that need to be reckoned with, and we were have been able to see through many, but there is still a vibrant debate.

“Nothing is being neglected, although that does not mean all the right answers are going to be coming quickly.”

Franklin Thomas fellows have a certain advantage, according to Naylor. They gain well-rounded legal expertise from South Africa’s Constitutional Court and then further their studies in the U.S., a country that established one of the first modern constitutions. Some of the fellows are now directors of large corporate law firms and some work in the social justice sector.

“The fellowship also contributes to the next generation of black female lawyers as we try to grow that pool in South Africa,” Naylor said.

The Ford Foundation primarily funds the fellowship and the Constitutional Court Trust of South Africa supplements that funding. In the past, based on established relationships with U.S. universities, the foundation negotiated special tuition rates for fellows who attended their law schools. The most recent fellow was just accepted to Harvard Law School — a first for Franklin Thomas fellows.

Section 27 won the antiretroviral drug fair-pricing battle.

Many other battles loom. The latest is affirmative action. The South African Constitution guarantees that employers must ensure that blacks, women and people with disabilities have equal opportunities in the workplace at all categories and levels. The Employment Act applies to employers with 50 or more workers, municipalities, state agencies and other businesses arriving in the country, such as international mining companies or developers.

“The starting point is always the constitution – it imposes these rights,” Hassim said. “Citizens have rights. And if the government is failing in its obligations, we have a much higher level of accountability here than in the U.S.”