ActionSA is deeply concerned by today’s split 2–1 judgment of the Western Cape High Court granting an interim interdict that suspends the work of Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee.
We note the dissenting judgment, which found that the President had failed to establish a basis for the extraordinary interim relief he sought. In our view, Parliament should have been permitted to continue discharging its constitutional oversight responsibilities while the substantive legal issues are determined.
Although today’s order is interim in nature, its immediate effect is to suspend Parliament from exercising one of its most important constitutional responsibilities. Section 89 of the Constitution entrusts Parliament – not the Executive or the courts – with determining whether a president has committed a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or is unable to perform the functions of office. That constitutional responsibility should not be frustrated through protracted litigation.
While we respect the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, we are equally concerned that constitutional accountability risks becoming hostage to procedural litigation. If impeachment proceedings can routinely be suspended through successive court applications, Parliament’s constitutional powers risk becoming illusory, with justice delayed becoming accountability denied.
The Section 89 Committee exists to establish the facts, evaluate the evidence, and determine whether the constitutional threshold for impeachment has been met. Preventing the Committee from carrying out that work delays Parliament’s constitutional mandate on a matter of exceptional public importance and undermines the principle that no one, including the President, is above constitutional scrutiny.
ActionSA will study the full judgment, consider its implications, and engage on the appropriate legal and parliamentary steps to ensure that Parliament’s constitutional oversight role is protected and that accountability is not indefinitely postponed.
ActionSA Deeply Concerned Court Interdict Risks Turning Justice Delayed into Accountability Denied
ActionSA is deeply concerned by today’s split 2–1 judgment of the Western Cape High Court granting an interim interdict that suspends the work of Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee.
We note the dissenting judgment, which found that the President had failed to establish a basis for the extraordinary interim relief he sought. In our view, Parliament should have been permitted to continue discharging its constitutional oversight responsibilities while the substantive legal issues are determined.
Although today’s order is interim in nature, its immediate effect is to suspend Parliament from exercising one of its most important constitutional responsibilities. Section 89 of the Constitution entrusts Parliament – not the Executive or the courts – with determining whether a president has committed a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or is unable to perform the functions of office. That constitutional responsibility should not be frustrated through protracted litigation.
While we respect the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, we are equally concerned that constitutional accountability risks becoming hostage to procedural litigation. If impeachment proceedings can routinely be suspended through successive court applications, Parliament’s constitutional powers risk becoming illusory, with justice delayed becoming accountability denied.
The Section 89 Committee exists to establish the facts, evaluate the evidence, and determine whether the constitutional threshold for impeachment has been met. Preventing the Committee from carrying out that work delays Parliament’s constitutional mandate on a matter of exceptional public importance and undermines the principle that no one, including the President, is above constitutional scrutiny.
ActionSA will study the full judgment, consider its implications, and engage on the appropriate legal and parliamentary steps to ensure that Parliament’s constitutional oversight role is protected and that accountability is not indefinitely postponed.