the constitutional court

547 Pages·2014·11.01 MB·English

THE IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
OF THE
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
IN THE
FORMATIVE YEARS
OF
DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA
by
Penuell Mpapa Maduna
submitted in accordance with the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF LAWS
atthe
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
PROMOTER: Professor DH van WYK
June 1997
University of South Africa
SUMMARY
Title of thesis:
The Impact and Influence of the Constitutional Court in the Formative Years of
Democracy in South Africa
The objective of this thesis is to assess the impact and influence of South Africa's
Constitutional Court in the first two years of our democracy. To achieve this objective,
some of the definitive and controversial cases already decided by the Court have been
selected and analysed in an attempt to glean some jurisprudential perspectives of the
Court.
It focuses on the work of the Court over the past two years. It deals with the evolution
of South Africa into a democracy, and analyzes the South African legal system prior to
the beginning of the process of transformation. It briefly surveys the evolution of our
constitutional system, dating back from the pre-1910 colonial period and provides a
broad outline of the legal system in the post-April 1994 period of transformation.
It analyzes the Court from the point of view of, inter a/ia, its composition, jurisdiction and
powers. The Court is also contrasted with courts in other jurisdictions which exercise
full judicial review.
The Court's emerging jurisprudence is examined. A review is made, inter alia, of the
Court's understanding of, and approach to, the questions of the values underpinning
the post-apartheid society and its constitutional system, and constitutional
interpretation.
The right against self-incrimination and South African company law and the two relevant
Constitutional Court cases are discussed.
The collection of evidence by the State and the constitutionality of provisions relating
to search and seizure and the taking of fingerprints are looked into.
The Court's approach to statutory presumptions and criminal prosecutions; some
aspects of our appeals procedures; an accused's right to be assisted by a lawyer at
state expense; the question of a fair trial and access to information; capital punishment;
corporal punishment; committal to prison for debt; and the certification of constitutions
is analyzed.
Two of the cases in which the provinces clashed with the national government on the
distribution of posers between provinces and the national government are discussed.
The conclusion is that the Court has, overall, hitherto acquitted itself well in the handling
of particularly the controversial quasi-political questions that arose in the cases it has
decided.
Penuel! M. Maduna -LLD Thesis June 1997
University of South Africa
Key Terms:
A constitutional court
Constitutionalism
Parliamentary sovereignty
The franchise
The presumption of innocence
The right to a fair trial
The right to life
Capital punishment
Corporal punishment
Imprisonment for debt
Formal and substantive equality
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University of South Africa
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY
KEY TERMS II
DEDICATION XXV
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XX.VI
INTRODUCTION 1
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 2
A New Grundnorm ............................................. 2
A Chapter on Fundamental Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Locus Standi in ludicio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
New Enforcement Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
App~ntmentofJudges ........................................ 4
Judicial Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Idea of a Constitutional Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Proponents of a Constitutional Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Opponents of a Constitutional Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
THE SITUATION TODAY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9
ENDNOTES • INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
CHAPTER ONE
21
FROM THE OLD TO A NEW CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 21
FROM THE ACT OF UNION TO 1961 ................................. 21
The Pre-Union Situation ........................................ 22
The Cape Colony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Natal ..................................................... 25
The Orange Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The South African Republic (the Transvaal) ........................ 28
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FROM 1902 TO 1909 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Franchise ............................................... 30
The Doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty ......................... 35
The Constitution .............................................. 37
Blacks and National Party Rule .................................. 37
An 'Independent' Transkei ..................................... 39
Bophuthatswana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
The Ciskei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Venda .................................................... 42
Indians and Coloureds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Coloureds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Indians .............................................. 43
FROM 1961TO1983 ........................................... 45
Parliamentary Sovereignty ...................................... 45
The Unentrenched Provisions ................................... 46
A Bill of Rights? .............................................. 4 7
The Franchise ............................................... 48
FROM 1983 TO 1993 ........................................... 48
Parliament .................................................. 48
An Executive State President ................................... 49
The Executive ............................................... 50
The President's Council ....................................... 51
Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Testing Right .................... 51
The Testing Right and Other Acts of Government .................... 53
Parliamentary Sovereignty and the State President .................. 54
The Franchise ............................................... 55
A Bill of Rights? .............................................. 56
FROM 1994 TO 1996 ........................................... 56
Parliament .................................................. 57
The Provinces ............................................... 57
The Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
A Fundamental Law .......................................... 58
A Rigid Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Constitutionalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Franchise .............................................. 59
A Bill of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Juristic Persons ....................................... 60
Locus Standi ............................................... 61
Interpretation ............................................... 63
Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
State of Emergency and Suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
The Executive ............................................... 64
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The Judiciary .....................· . .......................... 64
Judicial Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Judicial Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Additional Enforcement and Protection Mechanisms .................. 66
The Public Protector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Human Rights Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The Commission on Gender Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Conclusion .................................................. 69
Endnotes - Chapter One ....................................... 70
CHAPTER TWO
86
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
INTRODUCTION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 86
PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 87
THE COMPOSITION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ••••••••••••••••••••• 89
The President and Deputy President of the Court .................... 89
In the Other Jurisdictions ....................................... 90
The Ten Other Members of the Court ............................. 91
Appointments from Serving Judges of the Supreme Court ............ 91
Appointments on the Recommendations of the Judicial Service Commissio~1
Criticism .................................................... 92
Appointments in the Other Jurisdictions ........................... 93
Austria .................................................... 93
France .................................................... 94
Germany .................................................. 95
Italy ...................................................... 96
Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Spain ..................................................... 97
Turkey .................................................... 97
THE PLACE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT VIS-A-VIS THE OTHER COURTS .•• 98
The Hierarchy of South African Courts ............................ 98
The Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Other Superior Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Special Criminal Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Water Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Special Income Tax Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Courts Dealing with Patent Rights, Trade Marks and Copyright . . 101
The Lower Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Penuel! M. Maduna -LLD Thesis v June 1997
University of South Africa
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 103
The Powers and Functions of the Constitutional Court ............... 105
The Constitutional Court and the Constitution-making Process ......... 105
The New Constitutional Text .................................. 105
Provincial Constitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
The Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court ........................ 106
' Exclusive Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Constitutionality of Acts of Parliament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7
Adjudication over the Constitutionality of Bills before Parliament . 109
Adjudication of Disputes between National Organs of State . . . . . 110
Concurrent Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 O
Protection of Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 O
Adjudication of Disputes over the Constitutionality of
Executive and Administrative Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Enquiry into the Constitutionality of Provincial
and Subordinate Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Adjudication of Disputes between the Lower Rungs
of Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Adjudication of Disputes over the Constitutionality
of Bills before Provincial Legislatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Engaging the Constitutional Court ............................... 113
Direct Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Reference by the Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly . . . 115
Reference by the President of the Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Reference by Parliament and Provincial Legislatures . . . . . . . . . . 116
Reference by the Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Reference by the Other Courts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
By Governments and Executive Authorities ................. 121
By Amici Curiae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Issues of Constitutionality and not of Facts ........................ 122
A CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AS OPPOSED TO A SUPREME COURT ••••••••••• 122
The United States Supreme Court ............................... 123
Jurisdiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Congress and the Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
The Supreme Court, Abstract Review and Advisory Opinions . . . . . . . . . 124
Effect of Declaration of Invalidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Canada ................................................... 126
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Jurisdiction ................................................ 127
Constitutional Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
"Reading Down" a Statute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
The Courts and the Governments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Effect of Declaration of Invalidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Severance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
ENDNOTES - CHAPTER Two ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.• 132
Penuel! M. Maduna -LLD Thesis vi June 1997
University of South Africa
CHAPTER THREE
152
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND A NEW JURISPRUDENCE
INTRODUCTION • . • • • . • • • . • • . . • • • • • . • • • • . • • • • . • . • . • • • • . • • . • • . . . 152
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ENTERS THE SCENE ••..••••.•..••••.••.. 153
"Values" ................................................... 154
Values and Natural Law ....................................... 156
'Values" versus "Rules" ....................................... 157
"Legal Reasoning" versus "Substantive Reasoning" ................. 158
Constitutional Interpretation and Interpretation of Statutes ............ 160
Constitutional Adjudication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Values and Popular Morality ................................... 165
"African Values and Indigenous Law" ............................ 166
The Constitutional Court and Comparable Foreign Case Law . . . . . . . . . . 168
The Verticality-Horizontality Dichotomy ........................... 169
Constitutional Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
The Constitutional Court's Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
The Constitutional Assembly Intervenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Retrospectivity .............................................. 178
The Common Law Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
The Statutory Presumption against Retrospectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
The Law after the April 1994 General Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Equality ................................................... 182
Section 8(1) of the (Interim) Constitution ........................ 182
Section 8(2) of the (Interim) Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
ENDNOTES -CHAPTER THREE . . . . . . . . • . • . . . • . • . . . . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . 189
CHAPTER FOUR
THE RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION AND OUR COMPANY LAW 204
INTRODUCTION ...•.•......................••.•.....•......... 204
THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCEDURE ............•.•.•............... 206
THE NATURE OF THE EXAMINATION ................................ 207
THE RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION .....•..................... 207
FERREIRA V LEVIN NO AND OTHERS AND VRYEHOEK AND OTHERS
V POWELL NO AND OTHERS .•.........••..........•............. 208
The Constitutional Court Rules ..... '. ........................... 209
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University of South Africa
Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Locus Standi .............................................. 210
The Court's Ruling .......................................... 211
The Court's Order .......................................... 212
BERNSTEIN AND OTHERS V BESTER NO AND OTHERS •••••••••••••••••• 213
The Grounds of the Attack ..................................... 214
1} Section 417(2}(b} of the Act ........................... 214
2}(a} Violation of Section 11(1) of the Constitution ........... 214
2}(b} Violation of Section 13 of the Constitution ............. 214
3} Violation of Section 24 of the Constitution ............... 216
4} Violation of Section 8 of the Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
The Court's Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
JURISPRUDENTIAL IMPLICATIONS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 218
ENDNOTES - CHAPTER FOUR •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 220
CHAPTER FIVE
THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND THE COLLECTION
226
OF EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
INTRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 226
SECTION 37 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT •••••••••••••••••••••• 227
SEARCH AND SEIZURE PROVISIONS: SECTION 22 OF THE ACT ••••••••••••• 228
SECTION 112(1 )(B) OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT ••••••••.••••.••• 229
POINTINGS OUT AS EVIDENCE: SECTION 218(2) OF THE ACT ••••••••••••.• 230
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•• 232
Section 205 of the Act ........................................ 232
Sections 6 and 7 of the Investigation of Serious Economic Offences Act . 234
THE O'BRIEN APPROACH ....................................... 235
ENDNOTES - CHAPTER FIVE ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••. 237
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CHAPTER SIX
241
THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND STATUTORY PRESUMPTIONS
INTRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 241
THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 243
SECTION 217(1) OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT ••••••••••••••••••• 244
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT INTERVENES •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 246
The Validity of Section 217(1 )(b )(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Act ..... 248
The (Interim) Constitution and Matters 'pending' before 27 April 1994 ... 250
The Implications of the Two Decisions ........................... 251
The Court and Statutory Presumptions in General ................. 252
SECTION 21 (1 )(A)(I) OF THE DRUGS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING ACT •••••••••• 253
The Validity of Section 21 (1 )(a)(i) of the
Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act .......................... 253
The Legal Effect of the Bhulwana Judgment ...................... 255
THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SECTION 21 (1 )(A)(lll) OF THE
DRUGS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING ACT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 257
THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SECTION 40(1) OF THE
ARMS AND AMMUNITION ACT •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••. 257
The Legal Implications of the Mbatha Decision ..................... 258
THE VALIDITY OF SECTIONS 245 AND 332(5) OF THE
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 259
ENDNOTES ·CHAPTER SIX •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••.••. 261
CHAPTER SEVEN
270
THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND OUR APPEALS PROCEDURES
INTRODUCTION ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 270
s v NTULI •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••• 272
Section 309(4 )(a) ............................................ 272
Section 305 ................................................ 27 4
s
v RENS ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 274
ENDNOTES ·CHAPTER SEVEN ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 277
Penuel! M. Maduna - LLD Thesis ix June 1997