DA: Lockdown regulations ruling ‘first of many’
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes Tuesday’s ruling in the High Court in Pretoria, which declared some of the lockdown regulations invalid, will be the first in a series of legal blows suffered by government.
Judge Norman Davis delivered the scathing judgment on Tuesday.
He gave the government 14 days to “review, amend and republish regulations” to ensure they were consistent with the constitution.
This means the lockdown regulations will remain in place for the next two weeks.
The ruling came after Reyno de Beer and his Liberty Fighters Network challenged the level 3 and 4 regulations, arguing that they limited their rights as contained in the Bill of Rights.
DA interim leader John Steenhuisen says the ruling exposes the pettiness and irrationality of many of the regulations.
"We believe this is an exceptionally good potent for the variety of cases that we have before the high court in the country.
“But also for our Constitutional Court challenge against the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act itself, and its complete lack of oversight as well as the taking over of the powers of the legislature and amending laws that have got nothing to do with combating the virus.”
Steenhuisen says the ruling contains some harsh lessons for the government.
"We also believe it is a solitary lesson for the petty autocrat behind many of these rules and regulations, that this is still a democratic country where we are governed by the government that is accountable to its citizens.
“Citizens are democratic beings, not subjects of the government.”
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Judge Norman Davis delivered the scathing judgment on Tuesday. He gave the government 14 days to "review, amend and republish regulations" to ensure they were consistent with the constitution. This means the lockdown regulations will remain in place for the next two weeks.