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JOURNAL OF UWC FACULTY OF LAW | ISSN 2077-4907 | Short URL www.ldd.org.za

Debunking 'Conglomo-talk': A case study of the amicus curiae as an instrument for advocacy, investigation and mobilisation

Volume: Volume 5(2) - 2001

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Heywood, Mark

Mark Heywood focuses on the legal action brought by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (PMA) to test the constitutionality of an amendment to South Africa's Medicines and Related Substances Control Act of 1965. It traverses some of the history of a case rich in irony, insofar as the PMA utilized rights in the Constitution intended to protect vulnerable people against vested interests.

The irony was compounded when the Treatment Action Campaign joined the litigation as amicus curiae to turn the PMA's case against itself. The article concludes with an examination of exactly what was achieved as a result of the case.

About the author/s

Mark Heywood

Head: AIDS Law Project, Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), University of the Witwatersrand

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