Quote of the week
Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Zuma and Others (CCT 52/21) [2021] ZACC 18
Lawyers finally discovering Constitutional Court
It is true that the Constitutional Court can only hear cases raising constitutional matters or “issues connected with decisions on constitutional matters”. But since the Pharmaceutical case it is clear that almost any case can be fashioned into a constitutional case. Section 39(2), which requires courts when interpreting legislation or developing the common law to promote the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights, also provide much scope for innovative lawyers to take cases to Braamfontein.
But fear and loathing (and perhaps some ignorance) of the Constitution have prevented many lawyers from making the jurisdictional arguments to give their clients another shot at victory.
Perhaps all that is beginning to change. Recently it seems as if some lawyers are beginning to realise that the Constitution has now become the overarching framework within which to do legal business.
For example, in the case of Mohunram and Another v National Director of Public Prosecutions and Another being argued at the CC today, applicants make use of s 39(2) to argue that the application of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act to a specific set of facts is a Constitutional matter because it implicates the right to property.
Next Tuesday in the case of Van der Merwe v Taylor lawyers will argue that they should be granted leave to appeal to the CC despite having been refused leave to appeal to SCA because the rule of law requires it. This is because different lower courts gave different judgments on the same issue and the Constitutional Court has said that precedent is a Rule of Law – hence Constitutional – issue. In effect they are going to argue that where different lower courts give contradictory judgments the Rule of Law requires the CC to clear things up to provide legal certainty.
A long shot, yes, but interesting and innovative reasoning.
The problem is that the CC jurisprudence on jurisdiction is not coherent or predictable. Perhaps if more “peripheral” cases come to them, they will be forced to think these issues through and will have to produce some guidelines to help lawyers decide whether it is worth a shot to appeal to the CC.
