South Africa: Constitutional & Administrative Law

Practitioners appearing in full court appeals have long worked on the assumption that Rule 49(13) of the Uniform Rules applies whenever an appeal is directed to the full court of a division of the High Court - regardless of who granted leave. That assumption has now been tested and found wanting. In Koopman v Minister of Police (963/2022) [2026] ZASCA 45 (7 April 2026), the Supreme Court of Appeal held that Rule 49(13) of the Uniform Rules does not apply where it is the SCA, rather than a High Court judge, that grants leave to appeal to the full court.

The Constitutional Court has confirmed that South Africa's parental-leave regime in the BCEA unfairly discriminated between different kinds of parents and has ordered a temporary "reading-in"...

South Africa is a constitutional democracy, which means that it is a country which observes human rights principles and is governed by the rule of law.