Constitutional Court ruling strengthens asylum seekers' rights in South Africa.
The Constitutional Court has confirmed a previous ruling by the Western Cape High Court, declaring parts of the Refugees Act unconstitutional and therefore invalid.
The judgment strengthens legal protections for asylum seekers by ensuring that procedural requirements do not automatically prevent people from seeking refuge.
The legality of processes that denied new asylum seekers access to the asylum system since around November 2023—leading to their arrest, detention, and deportation without a refugee status determination interview—has been declared unconstitutional.
The case was brought before the courts in May 2023 by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and Lawyers for Human Rights.
