An estimated 400 people's courts surfaced in townships around South Africa during the first half of the 1980's. Several dominant events affected the townships and promoted conditions favorable to the rise of popular justice. In general, the demise of councillor courts left a void in informal township justice arrangements, and people's courts emerged. People's courts were established in various ways and in response to specific contexts. For example, some courts resulted from the strategies of certain political organizations which used the courts to educate the public. The rapid rise of people's courts in townships was part of a process through which politicized structural inequalities intersected with social problems at a particular point in history. This process produced an environment conducive to the formation of alternative, opposition-based tribunals in townships. By the latter part of 1986, however, the prominence of many people's courts receded. The courts tended to isolate themselves from the community, youth were overrepresented, increasingly punitive punishments were employed, and an erosion in popular support for the courts occurred. The author concludes that an intricate balance has to be established between the sometimes competing demands of remaining sensitive to a given community context without compromising social justice ideals. 41 references and 8 notes