STATEMENT: ATTACKS ON JUDICIARY UNACCEPTABLE
2015-06-29
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) notes with great concern the increasing attacks on the independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness of the courts by senior members of the African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance partners.
ANC Secretary General, Gwede Mantashe, accuses the Judiciary of “overreaching” and “contradicting the interest of the state versus judiciary”. He reportedly stated that “there is a drive in sections of the judiciary to create chaos for governance… if it doesn’t happen in the Western Cape High Court, it will happen in the Northern Gauteng – those are the two benches where you always see that the narrative is totally negative and create a contradiction.”
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) welcomes the release of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry’s report into the tragic incidents at the Lonmin Mine in Marikana, which led to the deaths of 44 people between 11 – 16 August 2012.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) welcomes a unanimous judgment handed down by a full bench of the Western Cape High Court preventing Members of Parliament from being arrested in the National Assembly or the National Council of Provinces (the NCOP).
THE CONSTITUTION AND GOOD PUBLIC LEADERSHIP: BREAKFAST DISCUSSION SERIES 2015
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) notes with great concern and condemns the ongoing attacks on foreigners in South Africa – most recently in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) noted with concern a recent media report about the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) unwillingness to allow the use of Afrikaans during one of its meetings in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape.
In commemorating World Health Day, the Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) notes with concern the deteriorating state of public healthcare services in South Africa – including public hospitals, ambulance services and other health services – further disadvantaging those in South Africa who cannot afford any other medical care.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) welcomes a judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in City of Cape Town v South African National Roads Authority Limited & Others in which the Court reiterated the importance of openness as a key constitutional value in our democracy.