Traditional Courts Bill must be brought entirely in line with Constitution

24 January 2017

While the latest version of the Traditional Courts Bill is vastly improved, and has incorporated many if not all of the suggestions made, especially by the Democratic Alliance, in the improvement thereof, it remains problematic on a variety of levels.

In particular the rights of women and children will have to be scrutinised and fiercely protected in a largely patriarchal system that traditionally did not allow equal access to traditional justice.

The Bill will also have to be looked at through the prism of bringing customary law into line with the principles espoused in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and allowing room for the development of customary law within the principles of the Bill of Rights, especially allowing for access to the Constitutional Court for this purpose.

As a work in progress it is nevertheless a promising start.

The DA will now use all Parliamentary mechanisms available to us to ensure that every single aspect of this Bill is fully in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. This is simply non-negotiable.

Issued by Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, 24 January 2017