Constitutional Court is a work in progress

THE 30-year-old Constitutional Court is a living shrine to the supreme pledge of equality and justice in democratic South Africa. The real test of the apex court is whether it is an effectual guardian of the people, especially of the most powerless and marginalised in society. In the injustice of apartheid, courts accorded legality to an inhumane regime and the judiciary was weaponized against the African majority.

- KIM HELLER

In democratic South Africa, justice must be done and seen to be done so that the historically disempowered can believe in the promise of a free and equitable nation. Early landmark judgments in the Constitutional Court affirmed the right of citizens to access life-saving HIV treatment, and water and housing. These judgments created optimism that the apex court would be a faithful chamber of justice for ordinary South Africans.

Another victory was the Court’s ruling permitting civil rights organisations and individuals to present cases before it. However, the vital mission of safeguarding citizens’ rights and improving fair access to justice has been frustrated by the sluggish enactment of crucial judgments on socio-economic rights, impaired state capacity, and a lack of government accountability. Recent entanglements of the Court in political wars have also negatively affected its standing and trustworthiness.

The 2021 Constitutional Court’s sentencing of former president Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt was celebrated by his political opponents. However, many South Africans saw this as an ominous political weaponisation of the judiciary and a betrayal of justice. Fury mounted and over 300 were killed in one of the worst outbreaks of civil turmoil in democratic South Africa.