Appointing Judges This method of selection of appointing judges to the Constitutional Court created much debate. In the Technical Committee’s Twelfth Report, it was initially proposed that an independent Judicial Services Commission appoint all judges – except those for the Constitutional Court. It was argued that a different approach was needed, one which recognised the …
Qualifications of the judges Michael Corbett, then Chief Justice of the Appellate Division. Avusa Michael Corbett, Chief Justice of the Appellate Division at the time, had opposed this decision around appointing judges from a category of ‘non-legal’ experts. He believed that the judges of the Constitutional Court should be appointed from the members of the …
The powers of judicial review In making this historic decision of establishing a new and independent court, the negotiators effectively put an end to parliamentary sovereignty. Since 1910, parliamentary sovereignty had been the country’s governance system, which had allowed the whites-only legislature to enact apartheid laws without the scrutiny of a court that had the …
The institutional nature of the Constitutional Court The journey towards this decision had several steps and was altered under the final Constitution: Sensitive to the possibility that the Appellate Division might feel undermined by a new separate court with considerable powers, the negotiators at first proposed that the Appellate Division should remain the final arbiter …
The institutional nature of the Constitutional Court Read More »
President Mandela gives his State of the Nation address in Parliament. Mandela ends his address with the words, “Let us all get down to work”.
President Nelson Mandela announces his cabinet. It includes members of the African National Congress, National Party and Inkatha Freedom Party.
