The Constitutional Court continues to have a significant role in the transformation of society, which is underscored by a series of landmark judgments by the highest court in the land. These judgments include, amongst other judgments, the Makwanyane judgment which outlawed the death penalty and reinforced the values of human dignity and ubuntu; the Grootboom judgment which gave effect to the right to housing enshrined in the Bill of Rights; as well as the Treatment Action Campaign, TAC, judgment which gave effect to the right to basic health care and access to antiretroviral drugs.
Our evolving jurisprudence championed by our Constitutional Court should always strive to advance the values of a democratic society to improve the quality of life of all our people. It is within this context that the judgments of the courts, in particular of the Constitutional Court, will generate debates and criticism, not unusual in a constitutional democracy.
However, any criticism in this regard will always be welcomed as stated by the late former Chief Justice Mahomed:
What they are entitled to and demand is that such criticism should be fair and informed; that it must be in good faith, that it does not impugn upon the dignity or bona fides and, above all, does not impair their independence because judges themselves would not be the only victims of such impairment.
The assessment, therefore, of the impact of judgments of the Constitutional Court on the transformation of the South African society seeks to evaluate the impact of our jurisprudence on the democratisation process. This must, therefore, not be viewed as an attempt by government to undermine the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law which are entrenched in our Constitution.
The ANC government continues to implement laws and programmes to safeguard the constitutional values that advance the national democratic principles that underlie our rainbow nation. The Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill, its accompanying Superior Courts Bill currently being debated in Parliament, and the President's proclamation that establishes the Office of the Chief Justice as a separate independent entity, seek to affirm our commitment to the independence of the judiciary.
The measures we have introduced are not an ideological onslaught on the independence of the judiciary, as some of our detractors argue, but are constitutional imperatives entrusted to our government. This includes the obligation to establish a judiciary that reflects the racial and gender demographics of the South African society. The transformation of the judiciary extends beyond the racial and gender composition and includes changing the mindset of the members of the distinct arms of the state and the transformation of the legal order to advance the attainment of our national democratic society.
In striving for a better life for all, underpinned by our vision of a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society, we have persistently encountered obstacles, mainly due to the legacies of more than 300 years of colonial oppression, which produced an economy predominantly led and owned by white males. Our agenda is informed by a framework for a mixed economy, where the private sector and our developmental state interplay to resolve the legacy of colonialism and apartheid.
This journey towards a national democratic society is and will not be easy as the first president of the ANC, John Langalibalele Dube, told us in January 1912:
Many are the difficulties I foresee in our way - enemies without, fierce and frank; dangers within, undersigned perhaps but still more harmful. It will be an uphill fight, but our watchword shall be "Excelsior!" - onward, higher; cautiously, ploddingly! ... by the nobility of our character shall we break down the adamantine wall of colour prejudice and force even our enemies to be our admirers and our friend.
On this occasion, Mr Speaker, allow me to make a call that we should look beyond our differences and ensure that we all work towards the vision of a national democratic society that is envisaged in our Constitution. We will continue to build a stable, peaceful, democratic, nonsexist and prosperous society, in which the fruits of our country are enjoyed by the people as a whole, as outlined in the Freedom Charter and further consolidated in our guide, the Constitution. I thank you. [Applause.]