Government, parliament and courts share balancing act
Quoted in an edited extract from the Chief Albert Luthuli Memorial lecture given in Durban recently and published by The Witness, former ConCourt justice Sandile Ngcobo said that it is irrelevant whether judges like the laws and policies made by the other branches of the government, as this can never influence their decisions, similarly, the legislature and the executive may not like the decisions made by the courts, but this is equally irrelevant.
Despite the separation of powers, Ngcobo said, all three branches of the government - the legislature, the executive and the judiciary -have one mission in common: to uphold and protect the Constitution and make good on the constitutional promise of a new society. "Our Constitution, like any constitution, is a promissory note. It promises a new society that is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights," he said.
"Understanding and observing the constitutional principle of separation of powers," Ngcobo said, "requires the maintenance of a delicate balance among the different arms of the government and respect for the different roles of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary." The court made three points regard separation of powers: firstly, there is no universal model of separation of powers, secondly, separation of powers is not a fixed or rigid constitutional doctrine, and thirdly, there is no separation that is absolute.
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