Hands off ConCourt, Black Lawyers' Association says

"The only way... is to divorce the current constitutional democracy and remarry parliamentary sovereignty," BLA president Pritzman Mabunda said in a statement. If this route was followed, it may be subjected to constitutional scrutiny by the Constitutional Court, which was the subject matter.

President Jacob Zuma reportedly said he wanted to review the court's powers. The issue was reportedly raised by a deputy minister and ANC leaders at the party's national executive committee meeting two weeks ago and was discussed by Cabinet ministers. Later the presidency said that Zuma's comments had to be viewed in the context of a decision Cabinet took last year. It said this decision was about doing an assessment on the impact of Constitutional Court judgments on the transformation of South Africa's society since it had gained democracy. Section 167 (4) of the Constitution stated that only the Constitutional Court could decide on the constitutionality of any amendment to the Constitution.

Mabunda said that according to section 74 (1) of the Constitution, which dealt with bills that amend the Constitution, section one of the Constitution may be amended by 1the National Assembly. "[This is] a tedious exercise which may still be found to be constitutionally wanting if challenged," Mabunda told News24, adding that Seventy-five percent of its members and six provinces from the National Council of Provinces had to support the vote.

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