OPINIONISTA: It’s 50-50: The ConCourt must avoid taking chances with justice By Brynne Guthrie
. Of them, five believed that the matter did not raise a constitutional issue or an arguable point of law of general public importance, and thus did not engage the court’s jurisdiction. The other five judges believed that the matter raised a constitutional issue and that the appeal to the Constitutional Court should have succeeded to some extent.
Over the past 10 years, the number of applications brought to the Constitutional Court each year has drastically increased. In 2013, the court received around 175 new applications and this number, in the wake of the 17Amendment, grew to roughly 230 in 2014. In 2018, the court received 338 new applications. Often, when applying to the Constitutional Court for a hearing, applicants argue that their dispute raises a constitutional issue and, in the alternative, an arguable point of law.
It also, at least on some level, creates the expectation that the court is going to make important pronouncements which, even if not in the applicant’s favour, will impact society generally. This is particularly true when cases come before the Constitutional Court which is perceived as the ultimate protector of rights. When cases are then dismissed after oral argument because they do not engage the court’s jurisdiction, one must wonder whether the resources expended were worth it.
Considering that the court is enjoined to decide cases on the basis of the precedents created by judgments that have come before, the court’s position on jurisdiction is unclear. The Constitution, in section 173, empowers the court to regulate its own procedure. Yet no judge was appointed to act in the DCJ’s position. . The number of Acting Justices on the bench of late has been a subject of controversy and adding another would certainly not have garnered public support.
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