Constitutional Amendments Make Me Nauseous

Farrel — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 15:19:00 -0500

I always feel a bit uneasy whenever there’s talk of constitutional amendments, especially in South Africa where the ANC government could change the constitution whenever they want to (check out this page to see the ones done so far).

I feel especially uneasy when said constitutional amendments tamper with the balance of government, which is what the current proposed amendment will do. Government is aiming to limit the courts powers even further in the future (can’t have any of those ‘activist judges’ to borrow a phrase from Dubya) by preventing courts from barring an act from coming into comencement. Once the act is in effect I assume it can then be shot down. But as they say posession is nine tenths of the law and once a law is in effect it’s a lot harder to get rid of.

The proposed amendment will also shake up the courts system a bit. The Labour Appeals court is set to disappear (COSATU must be thrilled! Not.) and will create a single High Court of South Africa. So what will the new High Court do that is not done by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeals?

And to add a bit of totalitarian control to the mix the Minister of Justice will now control the budget and administration of the entire court system.

Checks? Balances? Seperation of power? Anyone?

Politics.za: Constitutional Amendments Make Me Nauseous

Constitutional Amendments Make Me Nauseous