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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1997 |
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Reported
Differing rezoning procedures for exempted and non-exempted local authorities do not violate the interim Constitution’s equality guarantee.
Town planning — Rezoning procedures — Differing procedures for exempted and non-exempted local authorities — Whether denial of right of appeal to objectors breaches equality (s 8) — Differentiation held rationally connected to legitimate governmental purpose.
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4 December 1997 |
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Reported
A 23‑month pre‑trial delay causing social but not trial prejudice did not justify a permanent stay; High Court costs order set aside.
Constitutional law – fair trial: right to trial within a reasonable time (s 25(3)(a)) – meaning of "charged" – scope includes remand/arraignment – right protects liberty, social (stigma, occupational, anxiety) and trial-related prejudice – reasonableness assessed by flexible balancing test (length, reasons including systemic, assertion, prejudice) – permanent stay an extraordinary remedy reserved for significant trial prejudice – costs against bona fide constitutional litigant reversed.
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2 December 1997 |
| November 1997 |
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Reported
Whether section 27(3) requires the state to provide ongoing dialysis for chronic renal failure patients.
* Constitutional law – section 27(3) "emergency medical treatment" – limited to sudden, time‑limited emergencies; excludes routine, ongoing life‑prolonging treatment for chronic incurable conditions. * Health care rights – sections 27(1)–(2) – access to health services subject to "available resources" and progressive realisation; permits rationing and prioritisation. * Right to life (section 11) – does not, absent clearer constitutional language, impose an unconditional duty to fund indefinite life‑prolonging treatment. * Justiciability – courts reluctant to order specific allocation of scarce medical resources where rational clinical guidelines applied. * Administrative/medical criteria – transplant candidacy and comorbidity exclusions are permissible bases for dialysis prioritisation.
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27 November 1997 |
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Reported
A regulation excluding non‑citizens from permanent teaching posts unfairly discriminates against permanent residents and is unconstitutional.
Equality — Discrimination — Citizenship as an unspecified ground — Differentiation on citizenship can impair dignity and be unfair; protection of citizens' employment does not justify excluding permanent residents; subordinate regulations cannot be read to neutralise unconstitutional discrimination.
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26 November 1997 |
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Reported
Amended Western Cape provincial constitution certified as complying with section 143 after corrective amendments.
Constitutional law — Provincial constitutions — Certification under section 143 of the Constitution — Amendments curing prior defects — Executive structure provisions (provincial cabinet) must conform to section 1 values and Chapter 3.
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18 November 1997 |
| October 1997 |
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Reported
A statutory presumption shifting the legal burden breaches the constitutional presumption of innocence and is invalid.
Constitutional law – statutory presumptions – presumption placing legal burden on accused (s 21(1)(b) Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act) violates the presumption of innocence; limitation of rights – infringement unjustified under interim or new Constitution; transitional provisions – item 17 sch 6 and applicability of new Constitution; remedies – confirmation of invalidity, limited retrospective effect, interlocutory relief and remittal to High Court; guidance on suspension/retrospectivity and procedural safeguards.
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14 October 1997 |
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Reported
Direct access refused: no exceptional circumstances and disputed facts require trial court process.
Constitutional Court — Rule 17 direct access — exceptional circumstances required — environmental urgency insufficient; procedural non‑compliance undermining access claims; security for costs and right of access to courts; disputed facts requiring oral evidence; referral under section 102(1) interim Constitution; Court will not act as court of first instance for matters pending in High Court.
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8 October 1997 |
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Reported
Whether automatic vesting of a solvent spouse’s property on sequestration breaches property or equality rights.
Insolvency law – spouse’s property – s 21 Insolvency Act – automatic vesting in Master/trustee – whether expropriation under property clause; equality – differentiation of solvent spouses – unfair discrimination analysis; creditors’ meetings – ss 64–65 scope and limits – relevance to insolvent estate; privilege and self‑incrimination – presiding officer must disallow questions infringing chapter 3 rights; criminal sanction – answers to unlawfully put questions not punishable.
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7 October 1997 |
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Reported
Court upholds Liquor Act licensing, hours and product restrictions (rational‑basis review); closed‑day religious concern but limitation justified.
Constitutional law — procedure — admission of new factual/expert evidence on direct appeal — scope of rules 19 and 34 — rule 34 limits to common‑cause or easily verifiable official/scientific/statistical facts. Constitutional law — socioeconomic rights — section 26 (interim Constitution) — interpretation: subsections read together; review on rational‑basis standard for measures designed to promote listed objectives. Administrative/licensing law — Liquor Act — licensing scheme, hours/days and product‑type restrictions upheld as rationally connected to legitimate public objectives. Constitutional law — religion — section 14 — state selection of Christian‑based closed days may carry sectarian symbolism, but limitation may be justified under section 33.
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6 October 1997 |
| September 1997 |
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Reported
Compelled answers under Companies Act s415 cannot be used against the witness in criminal trials, except specified statutory exceptions.
Companies Act s415(3),(5) — Compelled interrogation at creditors’ meetings — Self-incrimination and fair trial rights (s35(3)) — Admissibility of compelled answers in criminal proceedings — Interaction with Insolvency Act s65(2A) — Direct-use immunity — Constitutional Court procedure — referral and confirmation under ss167(5),172(2) and inherent power s173.
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18 September 1997 |
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Reported
Constitutional Court may hear Supreme Court of Appeal constitutional appeals only with leave; 1996 Bill of Rights not applied to completed trials.
Constitutional Court – appellate jurisdiction – appeals from Supreme Court of Appeal on constitutional matters – leave required pending legislation – inherent power to regulate process – transitional provisions and non-retroactivity of new Bill of Rights to completed trials – appellate delay not ordinarily ground for reversal – leave applications may be dealt with in chambers.
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18 September 1997 |
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Reported
Provincial constitutions may vary structures/procedures but cannot alter national powers or reassign constitutional judicial duties.
Provincial constitution-making — NC 104(1)(a), NC 142-145 — limits of power; 'legislative or executive structures and procedures' defined narrowly as form/composition and internal procedures; electoral systems: provincial text may not displace nationally prescribed electoral system or leave electoral design to future provincial legislation; provinces may not reassign national judicial functions or vary nationally prescribed ethical prohibitions by local definition; repetition of national provisions germane to provincial governance permissible.
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2 September 1997 |
| June 1997 |
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Reported
Court rejects punitive "constitutional damages" claim; common‑law compensation deemed adequate in this case.
Constitutional remedies — section 7(4)(a) interim Constitution — appropriateness of damages as relief for chapter 3 infringements — limits on punitive/exemplary constitutional damages against the State — development of common law to give effect to constitutional rights — limited weight of foreign jurisprudence.
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5 June 1997 |
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Reported
The applicant's request to extend suspension of an invalidity order was refused for inexcusable delay and inadequate justification.
Constitutional law — Variation of court orders — Power to extend or vary suspension of declaration of invalidity — Section 172(1)(b)(ii) and section 173 considered; common-law functus officio principle — Rule 17 direct access procedure and out-of-term hearings — Ministerial duty to place full and timely information before court when seeking suspension — Executive delay and inadequacy of affidavits fatal to application.
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5 June 1997 |
| April 1997 |
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Reported
Presidential clemency powers are constitutionally reviewable; categorical remission for mothers was held not unfairly discriminatory on these facts.
Constitutional law — Presidential prerogative/clemency powers under s82(1)(k) — executive acts subject to Constitution and review — equality clause s8(2)/(4) — sex/gender discrimination by categorical remission to mothers — presumption of unfairness and its rebuttal — justification/limitations analysis under s33(1) — appropriate remedy.
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18 April 1997 |
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Reported
Section 84’s presumption of negligence in non‑control-area fires is constitutionally valid and not unfairly discriminatory.
Forestry Act s84 — presumption of negligence for fires outside fire control areas — constitutional challenge under Interim Constitution: presumption of innocence (s25(3)(c)) and equality/unfair discrimination (s8); interpretive saving under s35(2) to prefer constitutionally viable construction; differentiation tested by rationality and dignity-focused unfairness analysis.
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18 April 1997 |
| March 1997 |
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Reported
Referral of constitutionality of tax-assessment bars rejected; applicant failed to exhaust statutory remedies.
Constitutional law – referral under section 102(1) interim Constitution – requirement that referred issue "may be decisive for the case"; Tax law – Income Tax Act sections 92 and 94 – effect on taxpayer’s ability to challenge assessments in sequestration proceedings; Administrative law – obligation to exhaust statutory objection and appeal remedies before seeking constitutional adjudication; Direct access – section 91(1)(b) certified statement; sequestration power under section 91(1)(c).
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27 March 1997 |
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Reported
Reverse onus rules in sections 245 and 332(5) breach the constitutional presumption of innocence and are invalid.
Criminal procedure – reverse onus presumptions – sections 245 and 332(5) Criminal Procedure Act – presumption of innocence (s25(3)(c)) – limitation analysis under s33(1) – vicarious/criminal liability of company directors – severance and reading-down – interplay with s90 (exceptions/exemptions) of Act – retrospective effect to pending appeals/reviews.
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6 March 1997 |
| February 1997 |
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Reported
A legislative rule dispensing with an unmarried father’s consent to adoption unjustifiably discriminates and must be remedied by Parliament.
Constitutional law – equality (s8) – adoption law – s18(4)(d) Child Care Act – dispensation of father’s consent for illegitimate child – unjustified discrimination on grounds of marital status/gender; referral under s102(1) – competent; remedy – declaration of invalidity suspended for Parliament to amend (s98(5)).
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5 February 1997 |
