August 2020

Government ineptitude impacts the most vulnerable (Social Grants Case) Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development and Others (2017) Should the Constitutional Court validate an unlawful contract to ensure that 17 million people receive their social grants? Background In two previous judgments, in 2013 and 2014 respectively, the Constitutional Court had invalidated the biggest …

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David v Goliath Makate v Vodacom (Pty) Ltd (2016) How does the Constitution protect individuals against the abuse of corporate power? Background Kenneth Nkosana Makate was employed by Vodacom (Pty) Ltd as a trainee accountant. In November 2000, he came up with the ‘Please Call Me’ idea as a means to communicate with his long-distance …

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Nkandla – The President Breaks His Oath Of Office Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others and Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others (2016) Is the President obligated to comply with the findings of the Public Protector, an office established by Chapter Nine of the Constitution? …

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Money and politics My Vote Counts NPC v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others (2018) Does the Constitution require political parties to disclose the sources of their private funding? Background My Vote Counts (MVC) – a non-profit organisation that campaigns for greater transparent regulation of political parties, argued that one of the dangers of …

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The Court ruling on one of its own – the Chief Justice Justice Alliance of South Africa v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (2011) Can the President extend the term of the Chief Justice and not the other justices? Background At midnight on 14 August 2011, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo’s term …

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The constitution and the fight against corruption Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa (2011) Was the disbandment of the Scorpions, a special unit set up to tackle crime and corruption, and its replacement with the Hawks, constitutional? Background Over the first decades of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, corruption has had a profound …

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Justice for mineworkers Mankayi v AngloGold Ashanti (2011) In a constitutional democracy, what is rightful compensation for mineworkers who contract terminal illnesses while working underground? They would blast and blast and then just send us in, without waiting for 15 minutes. There was dust everywhere. We were not even given masks. It feels like I …

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Victims must have a say in pardons Albutt v Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Others (2010) Can the President pardon perpetrators of apartheid crime without hearing the victims of such crime? Background The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 1996 by the Government of National Unity to help deal …

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The importance of diversity in schools MEC for Education: KwaZulu-Natal and Others v Pillay (2007) What is the place of religious and cultural expression in public schools? The practise of the wearing of a nose stud is central to my religious and cultural beliefs and it has been practised for centuries by the women in …

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Resistance from the grass root Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA v Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and Others (2009) Does the Slums Act violate the Constitution and make an already vulnerable group more vulnerable? The Constitution is on our side. Background In 2007, the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) introduced the ‘Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums …

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