Tue, 2 June 2020 - Staff Writer

The Gauteng High Court has declared the Alert Level 4 and Alert Level 3 Lockdown regulations unconstitutional and invalid, according to a statement posted by Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu.

The ruling by Judge Norman Davis resulted from the case brought against the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs by Reyno Dawid de Beer and the Liberty Fighters Network.

In his ruling, Davis said: Insofar as the “lockdown regulations” do not satisfy the “rationality test”, their encroachment on and limitation of rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution are not justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom as contemplated in Section 36 of the Constitution.

According to the statement from the Presidency, the court has suspended the declaration of invalidity for a period of 14 days, and the Alert Level 3 regulations would remain in operation for now.

The court has further directed the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, in consultation with the relevant Ministers to review, amend and republish the regulations with “due consideration to the limitation each regulation has on the rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights”.

The minister’s statement says the cabinet would make a further statement once it had fully studied the judgment.

News & Information

See Also