Hon Speaker and members of the House, the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill heralds a new era in our constitutional democracy and also unleashes an aura of hope, contentment and enhanced confidence in our judicial system by all peace- loving South Africans. This Bill brings about revolutionary reforms to our court system since the establishment of the Supreme Court and the magistrates' courts through the Supreme Court Act of 1959 and the Magistrates Court Act of 1944 respectively.
The proposed constitutional amendments provide a constitutional axis on which our judicial system, suited to the constitutional axis and requirements of the Constitution, will revolve under the watchful eye of the Chief Justice, which this Bill formally ordains as the head of the judiciary. The Superior Courts Bill, which will be debated by this House this coming Thursday and which has, for more than 14 years, been dealt with side by side with these constitutional amendments, provides the nuts and bolts that glue the judicial system together in its quest to deliver justice in keeping with the needs and aspirations of our people.
We have come a long way, and during the long journey to realise the vision of a transformed judiciary which starts to unfold before our eyes today, the ANC-led government has remained loyal to its commitment to upholding the independence of the judiciary ...