Statutêre ondermyning van die Rechtsstaat-idee : Suid-Afrika onder die vergrootglas

Abstract

During the previous constitutional dispensation, South Africa could not qualify as a Rechtsstaat (the English equivalent for Rechtsstaat can be translated as constitutional state for purposes of this dissertation). This position was changed when South Africa entered a new constitutional dispensation on 27 April 1994. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is the supreme law of the country. Every piece of legislation as well as all executive acts must be consistent with the provisions of the Constitution. Sections 9, 32 and 33 of the Constitution provide for national legislation to be promulgated to give effect to the above mentioned sections. These acts are the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 and the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000. It seems as if certain provisions in these acts are inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore also inconsistent with the principles of a constitutional state. In this contribution the validity of these acts will be evaluated to see if these acts do not undermine the principles that underlie a constitutional state.