Michael Power

Director and Co-founder of Power Singh Inc.

Michael Power is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a Director and Co-founder of Power Singh Inc.

Michael focuses on constitutional and public international law, administrative law, information and media law, and environmental law, with a particular interest in constitutional litigation and the development and implementation of international law.

Contact Michael

[email protected]

+2710 822 7860

Michael Power

Michael Power is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and a Director and Co-founder of Power Singh Inc.

Contact Michael

[email protected]

+2710 822 7860

Michael Power

Protecting and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms

About Michael

Learn more about Michael and his work.

Overview

Michael is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa (with Right of Appearance) and a Director and Co-founder of Power Singh Inc. Michael holds B.A., LL.B. (with Distinction), and LL.M. in Public International Law (with Distinction) degrees from the University of Witwatersrand, and a Certificate in International Trade Regulation from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern. He is also an Executive M.B.A. candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town.

Michael focuses on constitutional and human rights law, public international law, administrative law, information and media law, and environmental law, with a particular interest in strategic and test case litigation, the development and implementation of international law, and advising on rights-based tools and strategies to achieve public interest outcomes. He is also a Director and Co-founder of ALT Advisory (2017-), a public interest advisory and research firm which works in association with Power Singh Inc., and currently acts as an adviser to the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO) in its Protest Rights and Policing thematic area.

Before forming Power Singh Inc., Michael practised constitutional and international law at the Legal Resources Centre (2012-14; 2015-17), and he clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2014, Justice Bess Nkabinde) and the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court, Johannesburg (2011, Justice Kathleen Satchwell).

Michael has represented and advised individuals, activists, civil society organisations, social movements, socially responsible organisations, and international institutions, which include various agencies of the United Nations and organs of the African Union. He has appeared before multiple courts and tribunals in South Africa, including the Constitutional Court, and he has engaged with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Council. He has also supported litigation at the European Court of Human Rights.
Professional Affiliations
- Attorney of the High Court of South Africa (with Right of Appearance), admitted on 12 May 2014.
- Member of the Legal Practice Council (Membership Number: 37241).
Academic Qualifications
- Executive M.B.A. candidate, 2023-24 (Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town).
- B.A., LL.B. (with Distinction), LL.M. in Public International Law (with Distinction) (University of the Witwatersrand).
- Certificate in International Trade Regulation (University of Bern).
Judicial Clerkships
- Justice Bess Nkabinde at the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2014).
- Justice Kathleen Satchwell at the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court of South Africa, Johannesburg (2011).
Selected Cases / Legal Submissions
Case involvements
- Blind SA v Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition [2022] ZACC 33 – constitutional law, equality & inclusion, amicus curiae
- AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC and Another v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others; Minister of Police v AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC and Others [2021] ZACC 3; 2021 (4) BCLR 349 (CC); 2021 (3) SA 246 (CC) – constitutional law, state surveillance, amicus curiae
- Law Society of South Africa and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others [2018] ZAGPPHC 4 – constitutional law, international law, amicus curiae
- Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and Others [2017] ZAGPPHC 53 – constitutional law, international law, amicus curiae
- SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Another v South African Broadcasting Corporation ICASA CCC 214/2016 – constitutional law, public participation
- Minister of Home Affairs v Rahim and Others [2016] ZACC 3 – constitutional law, international law, amicus curiae, unlawful detention
- South African Human Rights Commission and Others v Minister of Home Affairs: Naledi Pandor and Others [2014] ZAGPJHC 198 – constitutional law, immigration law, unlawful detention
- Magidiwana and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others [2013] ZACC 27 – constitutional law
- Federation for Sustainable Environment and Others v Minister of Water Affairs and Others [2012] ZAGPPHC – constitutional law, environmental law, right to water
- Sikuola v Minister of Home Affairs and Others [2012] ZAGPJHC 98 – constitutional law, immigration law, unlawful detention
Commissions of Inquiry
- Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training (Fees Commission) (2016-17) – constitutional law, right to education
- Marikana Commission of Inquiry (2012-14) – constitutional law, right to life
Treaty Body Mechanisms
- Written and oral submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Committee during the General Discussion on the preparation of a General Comment on Article 21 (Right of Peaceful Assembly) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (2019) – international law, freedom of assembly
- Written and oral submissions to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights on South Africa’s Initial Report (2017-18) – international law
- Written and oral submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on South Africa’s Initial Report (2016) – international law
Recent Publications / Presentations
- Co-Author, Haar et al., ‘Lethal in Disguise 2: How Crowd-Control Weapons Impact Health and Human Rights’ Report (22 March 2023).
- Co-Author, Guruli et al., ‘Access Denied: Internet Access and the Right to Education in South Africa’ Report (29 September 2020).
- Avani Singh & Michael Power, ‘New digital regulations mean the state can track you — no questions asked’ (31 March 2020) Mail & Guardian.
- Avani Singh & Michael Power, ‘The privacy awakening: the urgent need to harmonise the right to privacy in Africa’ (2019) 3
  African Human Rights Yearbook 202-220.
- Michael Power & Avani Singh, ‘South African High Court finds surveillance law unconstitutional‘ (26 September 2019) IACL-AIDC Blog.
- Avani Singh & Michael Power, ‘Attacks on foreign nationals may constitute terrorism‘ (13 September 2019) GroundUp.
- Co-Author, International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO) / International Human Rights Clinic, University of Chicago Law School (IHRC), ‘Defending Dissent: Towards State Practices that Protect and Promote the Rights to Protest’ Report (27 June 2018).
- Michael Power & Manson Gwanyanya, ‘Massacre at Marikana: A failure of oversight and the need for direct community involvement’ (July 2017) SUR International Journal on Human Rights 25.
- Michael Power & Eric Cheng, ‘Opening the Protest Space: Reflections on the Legal Development of Protest Laws in South Africa and Proposed Areas of Reform’, presented at the South African Journal of Human Rights Colloquium, 19 May 2017, University of the Witwatersrand.
- Presentation of the draft Principles and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Right to Water in Africa, presented during the Panel of the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOC‑WG), 24 October 2016, 59^th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Kairaba Beach Hotel, Banjul, The Gambia.
- Presentation of ‘Lethal in Disguise: The Health Consequences of Crowd Control Weapons’, presented at the NGO Forum of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 5 April 2016, 58^th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Paradise Suits Hotel, Banjul, The Gambia.
- Contributor, International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO) / Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), ‘Lethal in Disguise: The Health Consequences of Crowd-Control Weapons’ Report (9 March 2016).
- ‘The excessive use of force in public order policing: Marikana and global trends towards remilitarisation’, presented at Commissioning the Present: Marikana and its Aftermath, 8 May 2015, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Author, Trial Observation Report, State v Beatrice Tele Mtetwa, International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (24 December 2013).
- Mitchell Mackay & Michael Power, ‘Moving on from Mistrust: Balancing State Security Concerns with the Right to Open and Democratic Government’ (2013) Focus 71.
- Michael Power, ‘Hybrid Lore: Moving Toward True Transitional Justice’ (2012) University of the Witwatersrand LL.M. Dissertation.