THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT'S JUDGMENT IN RESPECT OF THE DISSOLUTION OF THE SCORPIONS (THE DIRECTORATE OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS)
All those who believe in constitutional democracy and the rule of law should rejoice in today's decision by a 5 to 4 majority of the Constitutional Court that the 2008 act that abolished the Directorate of Special Operations (the Scorpions) was invalid.
The Court decided that the Constitution imposed an obligation on the State to establish and maintain an independent organization to combat corruption and organized crime. It further found that the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations (the Hawks), which the government established to replace the Scorpions, does not meet the constitutional requirements of adequate independence. "Consequently, the impugned legislation does not pass constitutional muster.
The main conclusion is that the DPCI is insufficiently insulated from political influence in its structure and functioning." The Court gave Parliament 18 months to establish a sufficiently independent unit to fight corruption and organized crime. (However, it is to be hoped, in the light of the urgent need to combat corruption and organized crime, that Parliament will complete its work in this regard as soon as possible.)
The Court's decision provides enormous reinforcement to the concept of the rule of law - which in its essence means that no one is above the law.
The decision to dissolve the Scorpions in 2008 was taken by the ANC's National Conference in Polokwane at the end of 2007 - supposedly to reorganize the country's crime-fighting capabilities. However, it was difficult to see why any such reorganization was necessary: the Scorpions had a success rate that far exceeded that of the SAPS; its operatives were highly trained, skilled and motivated; and their close co-operation with prosecutors had proved to be a winning formula. Despite clashes with the SAPS, the Khampepe Commission had found that the unit should be retained and that other steps should be taken to improve co-ordination with the SAPS.