31
August 2009
CCT 53/09
Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development v Nyathi
and Others
Not
lazy, just callous and disrespectful of the Constitution - 1
September
How else does one explain the fact that the the Minister of
Justice and Constitutional Development, the relevant officials,
and Parliament had failed to comply with a previous order
of the Constitutional Court handed down in June 2008
ordering it to pass legislation within 12 months that would
allow for the effective enforcement of court orders for judgment
debt against the state? In that case the majority of judges of
the Constitutional Court declared invalid section 3 of the State
Liability Act
because it did not provide for the satisfaction of judgment debt
against the state. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking website
27
August 2009
CCT
110/08 [2009] ZACC 24
Reflect-All 1025 CC and Others v MEC for Public Transport,
Roads and Works, Gauteng Provincial Government and Another
|
According
to section 172(2)(a) of the Constitution
of the Republic of South Africa, 1996,
"an order of constitutional invalidity made by the
Supreme Court of Appeal has no force unless it is
confirmed by the Constitutional Court".
In
the matter of Reflect-All 1025 CC & others v Member
of the Executive Council for Public Transport, Roads &
Works, Gauteng Provincial Government & another [2009]
JOL 24132 (CC) where judgment was handed down in the
Constitutional Court this morning, the court dealt with
the "constitutionality of legislation pertaining to
the planning of provincial roads" and whether or not
such legislation deprives "owners of their property
contrary to section 25(1) of the Constitution".
The
applicants in this matter challenged sections 10(1) and
10(3) of the Infrastructure
Act
and contended that these sections of the act were in
contravention of section 25 of the Constitution
in that they imposed "restrictions on the use,
enjoyment and exploitation of privately owned
property".
The
court also examined the constitutional obligations of each
sphere of government "in accordance with the
principles of co-operative governance".
Source
: LexisNexis |
25
August 2009
CCT
53/08 [2009] ZACC 23
Koyabe and Others v Minister for Home Affairs and Others
|
According
to section 33 of the Constitution
of the
Republic
of
South Africa
, 1996,
everyone has the right to just administrative action,
however, all available internal remedies must be exhausted
before administrative action is taken under judicial
review. (Section 7(2) of the Promotion
of Administrative Justice Act 2000)
In
the matter at hand, where judgment was delivered in the
Constitutional Court this morning, the first and second
applicants had been granted permanent residence in South
Africa in 2006, however their permits had been withdrawn
by the Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs
in 2007, following allegations of having fraudulently
obtained their identity documents. The North Gauteng High
court was approached in an attempt to set aside the
aforementioned decision, however this application was
dismissed on the grounds that all internal remedies had
not been exhausted at this stage.
The
applicants then sought leave to appeal the decision of the
High Court in the
Constitutional Court
.
In
the judgment which was handed down this morning, the
Constitutional Court
dealt with the interpretation of sections 7(2) and 8(1) of
the Promotion
of Administrative Justice Act 2000.
In their arguments, counsel for the applicants highlighted
the fact that they were protected by section 34 of the
Constitution in respect of access to courts. The court
also emphasised the duty to exhaust internal remedies.
Source
: LexisNexis |
18
August 2009
CCT91/09
[2009] ZACC 22
Du Toit v Minister for Safety and Security and Another
'Amnesty
doesn't mean getting your job back' - 18 August
The Constitutional Court this morning told a former security
police bomber that getting amnesty did not give him the right to
have his job back. In a unanimous judgment, Chief Justice Pius
Langa said the aim of the amnesty law was not to restore to
victims what they had lost, or to restore perpetrators to
positions they had lost. The Chief Justice said it was important
that benefits accorded to perpetrators did not outweigh those
accorded to victims. - IOL
website
|
The
Promotion
of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995
("Reconciliation Act) serves to achieve national
unity and "reconciliation by the development of a
collective memory through truth-telling. In order for the
truth to be told, perpetrators of crimes committed with a
political purpose were granted amnesty" in accordance
with certain provisions of this act.
In
a
Constitutional Court
judgment handed down this morning, the court dealt
specifically with the issue of "the effect of amnesty
on consequences flowing from a criminal conviction and
sentence". In the matter at hand, the applicant had
been convicted on four counts of murder, in the Eastern
Cape High Court,
Port Elizabeth
, and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. The murders
were said to have been politically motivated. The
applicant was granted amnesty in respect of the four
counts of murder at a later stage.
One
of the main issues that the court had to deal with was the
fact that the applicant, who was a member of the SAPS at
the time that the crimes were committed, sought
reinstatement by the SAPS after he was granted amnesty.
The
Constitutional Court
examined certain contentions by the applicant which
included the following :
1.
Section 20(9) of the Reconciliation Act "is an
indication of the purpose of the legislation to exclude
retrospectivity only when this is specifically
indicated".
2.
"Reference to 'appeal or review' in section 36(2) of
the SAPS Act should be read to include a successful
application for amnesty".
Source
: LexisNexis |
Apartheid
policeman loses job bid - 18 August
An apartheid-era South African policeman has lost a court battle
to get his old job back. Wybrand du Toit was found guilty in
1996 of killing four people in 1989, but was later given amnesty
by the Truth and Reconciliation hearings. Before the amnesty, he
was told he would be reinstated if he was pardoned. - BBC
News website
FF
Plus asks for moratorium on the phasing out of single medium
Afrikaans schools - 20 August
The Freedom Front Plus today in a statement asked for a
moratorium on the phasing out of single medium Afrikaans
schools. This follows on the application in the Constitutional
Court of the Education Department of Mpumalanga and the National
Department of Education for leave to appeal the decision of the
Court of Appeals in March of this year, that the High School
Ermelo could reinstate their language policy to single medium
Afrikaans. Mr. Andrew Gerber, FF Plus spokesperson on Education
says this step has become necessary because there will very soon
be no such schools left in South Africa if government continues
on the road it embarked on in 1994. - Politicsweb
website
Keyphrase :
Language policy
Political
pardons for 384 prisoners? - 24 August
The Constitutional Court will rule on Tuesday on whether 384
prisoners, some serving sentences for murder and robbery, are
entitled to apply for political pardons. Inkatha Freedom Party
chief whip Koos van der Merwe said on Monday he hoped the matter
would "finally be resolved" six years after
applications for presidential pardon were made. "Most of
them are in jail for serious crimes, such as murder and robbery
- allegedly political," Van der Merwe told Sapa. - IOL
website
Foreign
nationals told to exhaust procedure - 25 August
The Constitutional Court
on Tuesday ruled two Kenyan nationals, who wanted to live in South Africa, have to ask for a ministerial review at the Home Affairs
Department before going to court. The pair was going to be
deported for having fraudulent ID documents when they asked the
court to review the decision by Home Affairs but Judge Yvonne
Mokgoro said they must follow the department's procedures. - Eye
Witness News website
FF
Plus asks for moratorium on the phasing out of single medium
Afrikaans schools - 20 August
The Freedom Front Plus today in a statement asked for a
moratorium on the phasing out of single medium Afrikaans
schools. This follows on the application in the Constitutional
Court of the Education Department of Mpumalanga and the National
Department of Education for leave to appeal the decision of the
Court of Appeals in March of this year, that the High School
Ermelo could reinstate their language policy to single medium
Afrikaans. Mr. Andrew Gerber, FF Plus spokesperson on Education
says this step has become necessary because there will very soon
be no such schools left in South Africa if government continues
on the road it embarked on in 1994. - Politicsweb
website
Keyphrase :
Language policy
Parents
were excluded from language policy - 21 August
he
Constitutional Court
has heard the parents and children at Hoërskool Ermelo
were not part of discussions around changing its language
policy. The court reserved judgment on Thursday in the
Mpumalanga
Education Department’s bid to force it to change from an
Afrikaans-only policy. - Eye
Witness News website
Political
pardons for 384 prisoners? - 24 August
The Constitutional Court will rule on Tuesday on whether 384
prisoners, some serving sentences for murder and robbery, are
entitled to apply for political pardons. Inkatha Freedom Party
chief whip Koos van der Merwe said on Monday he hoped the matter
would "finally be resolved" six years after
applications for presidential pardon were made. "Most of
them are in jail for serious crimes, such as murder and robbery
- allegedly political," Van der Merwe told Sapa. - IOL
website
Foreign
nationals told to exhaust procedure - 25 August
The
Constitutional Court
on Tuesday ruled two Kenyan nationals, who wanted to live in
South Africa, have to ask for a ministerial review at the Home Affairs
Department before going to court. The pair was going to be
deported for having fraudulent ID documents when they asked the
court to review the decision by Home Affairs but Judge Yvonne
Mokgoro said they must follow the department's procedures. - Eye
Witness News website
What
South Africa's water trial can teach us about health care for
all - 2 September
As the debate rages on about health care, issues of basic rights
and essential services are the focus of much discussion. Just
what should our government provide for us? If services are
provided, how much should each citizen get? In South Africa
today and tomorrow, the Constitutional Court will be looking at
exactly those questions. And their conclusions will be
instructive. - Article by Emma Ruby-Sachs on the Huffington
Post website
Jhb
defends prepaid meters - 2 September
Before the installation of prepaid meters in Phiri, Soweto, the
City of Johannesburg was making huge losses on water payments,
the Constitutional Court heard on Wednesday. Advocate Gilbert
Marcus said meters were legally introduced in terms of by-laws,
with consultation with the community, and the meters had to be
approved by the SA Bureau of Standards. He was arguing on behalf
of the City of Johannesburg in a case brought by a group of
Phiri residents about the lawfulness of prepaid meters. - News24
website
Keyphrase :
Municipal
Systems Act