There would be “no holy cows” as SA progressed further into its democracy – and “everything in the country is going to be under the spotlight”, cabinet spokesman Jimmy Manyi said on Thursday as journalists sought clarity on the government’s planned review of Constitutional Court judgments.
In a briefing following this week’s cabinet meeting, Manyi was at pains to stress that there was “nothing sinister” about the review – but failed to provide examples of how the rulings of the Concourt were hindering transformation.
Manyi said the review, which would be a “scientific assessment” and would be done in an “objective manner”, was aimed at improving democracy. When journalists asked how it would improve democracy, Manyi told them to “stop fighting” and to wait for a briefing next week by the Department of Justice.
“We have an evolving democracy and we have a jurisprudence that continues to play its part in terms of further court decisions. There are various impacts that the various rulings have on society as we are busy democratising. That’s all there is to it,” Manyi said.
“There is nothing sinister. Cabinet is saying let’s make an assessment of how these rulings impact on society and our democracy.”
Earlier, Manyi said the cabinet had reinforced the messages of President Jacob Zuma and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe relating to the review of the Concourt’s rulings. He said the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development would next week “clarify the point that this is an assessment of the impact of the judgments of the Constitutional Court on the transformation of society”.
“It is also an evaluation of the impact of our jurisprudence on the democratisation process. Cabinet advises that this should not be misconstrued as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law as entrenched in our constitution,” Manyi said.
Zuma said in an interview earlier this month that the government wanted to review the powers of the Constitutional Court.
Speaking during the State of the Nation debate, Radebe endorsed Zuma’s comments and said the “evolving jurisprudence”, championed by the Concourt, “should always strive to advance the values of a democratic society to improve the quality of life of all people”.
Pressed for further comment yesterday, Manyi said: “You must understand that we come from an apartheid past where there was a particular jurisprudence that was informed by a set of circumstances then. We now have a new country. We need to check and see with the democratisation that has been happening – with statutes being changed and different rulings being made – what the impact is.
“It is a legitimate thing to do and will give us a comparison in the whole trajectory of jurisprudence of the country.” - Political Bureau