Judgment in court case against President Zuma and the South African government for their role in the closure of the SADC Tribunal
Today the Pretoria High Court handed down judgment in the prolonged the court application against former South African President Jacob Zuma and his government for their role in the closure of the regional human rights court, the Southern Development African Community’s SADC Tribunal in 2012.
The court found that “South Africa remains bound by the [SADC] Treaty and the First Protocol. Amending the Treaty and without terminating the First Protocol, the Executive has no authority to participate in a decision in conflict with South Africa’s binding obligations.
The application was launched in April 2015 by The Law Society of South Africa to declare the actions of President Zuma, as well as the Minister of Justice, Michael Masutha, and the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, unconstitutional in relation to SADC’s 2014 Protocol.
The South Africa Litigation Centre, admitted as a friend of the court (amicus curiae), together with The Centre for Applied Legal Studies, argued that the right of access to courts was not limited to the right to domestic courts, but also entitled access to a regional court.
South African civil rights group AfriForum successfully assisted four Zimbabwean farmers and two agricultural companies to intervene in the case. The farmers lost their properties as part of Zimbabwe’s land reform policies. They successfully approached the SADC Tribunal in 2008 to protect their property rights but the Tribunal was eventually suspended and thereafter left to die a natural death.