The Constitutional Court will on Thursday hear oral representations in the confirmation application brought by the Democratic Alliance to confirm the unconstitutionality of Section 11 of the Powers‚ Privileges and Immunities of Parliament Act as ordered by the Western Cape High Court in May this year.
This section allows the Police‚ on the instruction of the Presiding Officer‚ to remove people from the precinct of Parliament and to arrest them. In the alternative. The DA is asking the Court for a ruling declaring that Section 11 does not apply to Members of Parliament (MPs).
“While it is never desirable to rely on the Courts to make rulings on the workings of Parliament‚ the extraordinary events that characterised the State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this year compelled the Party to approach the Court in this matter‚” the DA said.
“Part of the job of MPs is to hold the President and other members of the Executive to account. It would be a sad day for our democracy if the Presiding Officers were allowed to have members arrested and removed from the precinct of Parliament for fulfilling their constitutional responsibility‚ however much the Executive may not like the message or how it is delivered‚” the party added.
RDM News Wire.
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