http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za This blog deals with political and social issues in South Africa, mostly from the perspective of Constitutional Law. Written by Pierre de Vos Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:15:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It is, to say the least, rather ironic that President Jacob Zuma has called for a national debate on the "issue of a national moral code" around the same time that it emerged that he himself was flouting the law, that his Minister of Arts and Culture holds hateful views about ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/moral-code-nah-lets-rather-get-rich-quick-and-oppress-woman-and-gays/ No wonder President Jacob Zuma is flouting the provisions of the Executive Members Act. He has gotten away with this kind of thing before. In 2003 Zuma was in serious trouble after it emerged that he had received millions of Rand from fraudster Schabir Shaik without declaring these benefits as ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/jacob-zuma-has-flouted-ethics-rules-before/ The news that  President Jacob Zuma has failed to declare his financial interests and the financial interests of his spouses, permanent companions and dependent children as required by the law, is shocking and surprising. Given the fact that the President got into terrible legal trouble after receiving more than R4 ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/why-is-zuma-flouting-the-law/ Readers of this Blog already know that Minister Jeff Radebe (LLM Leipzig) has some pretty strange views about the Constitution. We also know that he is not a man to let the facts or an authoritative interpretation of the Constitution intrude on an expedient political argument. So it should come ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/jeff-radebe-llm-leipzig-get-it-wrong-again/ So, imagine you are driving home late at night in your BMW. You hear a screeching of tyres and see two overweight men pointing their guns at your head. You panic and - as if you are now sitting behind the wheel of one of those malfunctioning Toyota's - your ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/be-afraid-be-very-afraid/ Evita Bezuidenhout, talking about the revelations of apartheid era Vlakplaas hitsquads and the claim by many white South Africans that they never knew about the extra-judicial killing and torture of black South Africans by the police, said that "the future is certain; it's the past that is unpredictable". Last week the Supreme Court of Appeal ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/the-past-is-very-unpredictable-and-may-not-exist/ If you are not a graduate of the University of Stellenbosch, you can skip this post. For some reason I have been nominated as a candidate for election to the University of Stellenbosch Council by the alumni of that university. As I would be embarrassed if I get the lowest ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/shameless-canvassing-for-votes/ The decision by the Labour Court in Barnard vs SAPS did not come as a surprise. In effect the Court found that the SAPS had unfairly discriminated against Barnard by declining to approve her promotion merely because she happened to be white, despite the fact that she was recommended for ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/on-the-limits-of-affirmative-action/ http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/making-fun-of-conspiracies/ ETV news reports that lawyers for Jackie Selebi is to approach Menzi Simelane, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) in order to have his trial stopped. They report that Selebi will argue that there was a conspiracy against him and that the prosecution was tainted by prosecutorial misconduct. Details are still ... http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/selebis-zuma-option/