Topic 14

The Constitutional Court

[Looking at our Justice System]

The Constitutional Court was established in 1994 to protect the Constitution. It makes sure that the rules of the Constitution are obeyed and that everyone’s rights are protected. It can make decisions when people disagree with what the Constitution says. There are usually 11 judges, headed by the Chief Justice. They meet to discuss the important issues of the case. If they do not all agree on the decision, they take a vote and the decision that has the most votes is accepted.

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The Court's Position in the Justice System

The Constitutional Court is South Africa's highest court on constitutional matters. So its jurisdiction - the scope of its authority to hear cases - is restricted to constitutional matters and issues connected with decisions on constitutional matters.
Chapter 8 of the final Constitution, entitled "Courts and Administration of Justice", sets out the structure of South Africa's court system and defines the role of each court.Section 165 says the judicial authority of South Africa is vested in the courts, which are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law. And section 166 identifies these courts as:

the Constitutional Court;
the Supreme Court of Appeal;
the High Courts;
the Magistrates' Courts; and any other court established or recognised by an Act of parliament.

The Constitutional Court is the highest court in the country when it comes to the interpretation, protection and enforcement of the Constitution.
It deals exclusively with constitutional matters - those cases that raise questions about the application or interpretation of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court of Appeal, which used to be known as the Appellate Division, sits in Bloemfontein and is the highest court in respect of all other matters. It can hear and decide an appeal against any decision of a High Court.
Decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeal are binding on all lesser courts and the decisions of the High Courts (which used to be known as the Supreme Courts) are binding on Magistrates' Courts within their areas. These decisions are an important source of law. A decision of a High Court in one division is not binding on another, but in practice has strong persuasive force.
At the moment there are 10 High Courts: the Cape of Good Hope; Eastern Cape; Northern Cape; Free State; Kwa-Zulu Natal; Transvaal; Transkei; Ciskei; Venda and North-West. There are also three local divisions: the Witwatersrand Local Division, the Durban and Coast Local Division and South-eastern Cape Division.

COMPULSORY ACTIVITY

Complete the quiz in Google Classroom for Topic 15.

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