Judicial overreach: a purely South African phenomenon?
Much has been said recently in South Africa on whether courts were interfering in the realm of the executive. This brief by Anton van Dalsen shows that this discussion doesn't just take place here.
Introduction
In a recent brief, the subject of “judicial overreach” was discussed, especially as a result of some perceptions of the judiciary crossing the line between its own defined jurisdiction and that of the executive and/or legislature’s mandates. 1
On the subject of the Constitutional Court straying into the field of Parliament, the Speaker of the National Assembly stated a few weeks ago that
It has become ever more important, that the Constitutional Court cultivates that prudent reticence which has distinguished it in the past and to which it owes not only its popularity, in comparison to other constitutional organs, but above all its authority.