Freedom Under Law warns the Constitutional Court is under severe strain.
Although the Constitutional Court is back to its full complement of 11 judges following this month’s appointment of two judges, the court is overburdened and unable to dispose of its workload within reasonable timeframes.
The average period between hearing and judgment has more than doubled over the past decade; applications for leave to appeal remain undecided for months; and the court’s rate of delivering judgments has fallen significantly below the judiciary’s own targets.
This was highlighted by Freedom Under Law (FUL), who on Tuesday released a report titled “A review of the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction and operating practices in light of its increased workload and consequential delays”. It examines how a dramatic rise in appeals, growing backlogs and procedural inefficiencies have placed the country’s apex court under increasing pressure.
According to the report, South Africa’s Constitutional Court is facing mounting institutional strain that threatens its ability to fulfil its constitutional role effectively. Following research done by FUL and captured in the report, it found that the Constitutional Court cannot continue as it is currently. If it does, the crisis presented by its burgeoning workload will only worsen.
