DA wins court case to keep police out of Parliament

12 May 2015

The Western Cape High Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for the police to remove and arrest Members of Parliament, following the DA’s successful application. 

This morning the court declared that Section 11 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliaments and Provincial Legislatures Act of 2004 is “inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid to the extent that it permits a member to be arrested for conduct protected by sections 58(1)(b) and 71(1)(b) of the Constitution.”

This is because it precluded MPs from exercising their constitutional mandate to hold the Executive to account. 

Section 11 of this Act in its current form allows the police, on the instruction of the Presiding Officer, to remove people from the precinct of Parliament and to arrest them. 

We are pleased that the Court has declared this Section inconsistent with our constitutional order in so far as it applies to MPs.

Parliament will now need to revise this law within 12 months in order to “remedy the defect” and align it with the Constitution.

The DA’s application arose from the forceful removal of members of an entire opposition party during the State of the Nation Address. 

At the time the Presiding Officers acknowledged that the South African Police Service (SAPS) were working directly with the security services on the precinct of Parliament. Therefore the state-controlled SAPS had again infringed on the independence of Parliament, as it had done at the end of 2014 when the riot police stormed the Chamber.

It is essential for the oversight role Parliament must play that its work cannot be suppressed by the security forces, and that the police may not interfere with the function and work of political parties. Continuing to apply Section 11 of this Act in its current incarnation would have been a blow to our jealously guarded freedom of speech, and indeed a miscarriage of justice.

This is a victory for Parliament and its constitutional responsibility to hold the Executive to account. It is a victory for our Constitution. 

The DA will remain steadfast in its endeavour hold all institutions of state to account and tirelessly fight for the critical institutions in defence of democracy.

Statement issued by James Selfe MP, Chairperson of the DA’s Federal Executive, May 12 2015