{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.01574074074074074, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.672839506172839, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Balancing Private Rights and Public Obligations: Constitutionally Mandated Compulsory Licensing of Hiv/Aids Related Treatments in South Africa

ABSTRACT In South Africa, patent monopolies on antiretroviral medicines have increased their expense, making them unaffordable to many South Africans living with HIV. Without this essential treatment, many of those people will die. The debate over how to reduce the cost of these medicines raises questions concerning the delicate balance that exists between the private rights of inventors, individuals in need of treatment, and the public welfare obligations of governments. This article explores the import of South Africa's constitutional obligations for the balancing of those rights and obligations. In particular, it focuses on the constitutional imperatives with respect to compulsory licensing of HIV/AIDS related treatments in South Africa and the enforceability of those imperatives as a vehicle for addressing the pressing questions of what the South African government should, and perhaps must, do in these desperate times.