TUTORIAL ON TOPIC 8.
JUDICIAL PRECEDENT
QUESTION ONE
What impact has the Constitution 17 th Amendment Act of 2013 had on judicial
precedent? Explain fully.
The impact that the Constitution 17 th Amendment Act of 2013 was as follows: first the
Constitutional Court was made the highest court in all matters of the republic from
section 167(3)a of the Act as it was only the highest court in the matters concerning
the Constitution and the Supreme Court of Appeal was the highest court in matters
that are not constitutional. The Constitutional Court is now the highest Court in all
matters and makes the final decision in all matters including the ones from the
parliament and they confirm any order of invalidity from the SCA as provided in
section 167(3)(b) of the Act and precedents from the Constitutional Court bind all the
other Court beneath it. Now the SCA is second highest Court below the
Constitutional Court and above the High Court in the hierarchy of the Courts and
thus they confirm the order of invalidity from the High Court from section 168 of the
Act and make appeals to the Constitutional Court for the confirmation of an order of
invalidity. The SCA decides only the appeals or any issue relating to the appeals as
provided in section 168(3)(b) of the Act. The precedents from the SCA binds the
High Courts and Lower Courts.
The High Court is the third highest Court in the hierarchy, and they can decide on
every constitutional matter except in a situation whereby only the Constitutional
Court wants to hear it directly from section 169(1)(a) of the Act. The High are now
distributed in divisions across South Africa and each division has a Judge President
and his deputies and officials from section 169(3) of the Act. The decisions from the
various divisions does not bind each other but they are persuasive since these
decisions from the divisions are made independently from each division. The
precedent from the High Court binds the Magistrate courts and other lower Court.
The Magistrate courts does not decide on constitutional matters as stated in section
170 of the Act and their decision bind neither High Court, SCA and CC.
JUDICIAL PRECEDENT
QUESTION ONE
What impact has the Constitution 17 th Amendment Act of 2013 had on judicial
precedent? Explain fully.
The impact that the Constitution 17 th Amendment Act of 2013 was as follows: first the
Constitutional Court was made the highest court in all matters of the republic from
section 167(3)a of the Act as it was only the highest court in the matters concerning
the Constitution and the Supreme Court of Appeal was the highest court in matters
that are not constitutional. The Constitutional Court is now the highest Court in all
matters and makes the final decision in all matters including the ones from the
parliament and they confirm any order of invalidity from the SCA as provided in
section 167(3)(b) of the Act and precedents from the Constitutional Court bind all the
other Court beneath it. Now the SCA is second highest Court below the
Constitutional Court and above the High Court in the hierarchy of the Courts and
thus they confirm the order of invalidity from the High Court from section 168 of the
Act and make appeals to the Constitutional Court for the confirmation of an order of
invalidity. The SCA decides only the appeals or any issue relating to the appeals as
provided in section 168(3)(b) of the Act. The precedents from the SCA binds the
High Courts and Lower Courts.
The High Court is the third highest Court in the hierarchy, and they can decide on
every constitutional matter except in a situation whereby only the Constitutional
Court wants to hear it directly from section 169(1)(a) of the Act. The High are now
distributed in divisions across South Africa and each division has a Judge President
and his deputies and officials from section 169(3) of the Act. The decisions from the
various divisions does not bind each other but they are persuasive since these
decisions from the divisions are made independently from each division. The
precedent from the High Court binds the Magistrate courts and other lower Court.
The Magistrate courts does not decide on constitutional matters as stated in section
170 of the Act and their decision bind neither High Court, SCA and CC.
