No need to assess Constitutional Court judgements - DA

Statement issued by Dene Smuts, DA Spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development
24 November 2011

Cabinet's decision to subject the judgements of the Constitutional Court to research in order to see how they have influenced inter alia socio-economic transformation must rate as one of its strangest proposals to date.

It will inevitably be seen as a sinister attempt to bend the Bench to the executive and the ruling party's will, especially given the recent spate of hostile comment from such persons as ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe and Deputy Correctional Services Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi, and the fact that it is common knowledge that certain judgements are unpopular with the ANC.

The courts are not an instrument of government policy whose output can be measured on performance indicators and other governance criteria. They are there to give authoritative interpretation of the Constitution and the law. Read more ...