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Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment
Lawfare has generated significant debate within the South African legal and political circles. The Courts have been lambasted for their adjudication of disputes considered to be ‘political' and falling outside the scope of their judicial authority. The critique has been particularly scathing in case...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | Eng |
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Department of Public Law
2024
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| _version_ | 1867614261045362688 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Hadebe, Lindokuhle |
| author2 | Ramalekana, Nomfundo |
| author_browse | Hadebe, Lindokuhle Ramalekana, Nomfundo |
| author_facet | Ramalekana, Nomfundo Hadebe, Lindokuhle |
| author_sort | Hadebe, Lindokuhle |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Lawfare has generated significant debate within the South African legal and political circles. The Courts have been lambasted for their adjudication of disputes considered to be ‘political' and falling outside the scope of their judicial authority. The critique has been particularly scathing in cases dealing with the conduct of functionaries of critical constitutional institutions. This dissertation will critically evaluate the validity of this lawfare charge by focusing on the President's constitutional powers to appoint the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and Cabinet. The dissertation will evaluate the President's power to appoint such critical constitutional functionaries within the political context of a one-party democracy which emboldens the President's power to appoint any candidate he deems fit with very few internal fetters. I will examine how this largely unconstrained power can be harmful when used for ulterior purposes that subvert constitutional democracy. Rejecting the lawfare critique, I argue that in light of the institutional arrangements of our constitutional democracy, Courts have become an increasingly important branch of government within the trias politica to safeguard and protect democracy and further the rule of law. I will analyse case law that display how the Courts have utilised their judicial authority to curtail irrational decision making and improper conduct by functionaries of key constitutional institutions. Relying on democratic reinforcement theory, I will argue that the Courts' intervention in these cases has been to further constitutionalism and good governance. It is not, as some of the lawfare critics suggest, a breach of the separation of powers principle or an instrument to unduly rob the political branches of their power in an improper way. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39540 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | Eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:49:13.713Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Department of Public Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Public Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39540 Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment Hadebe, Lindokuhle Ramalekana, Nomfundo Law Lawfare has generated significant debate within the South African legal and political circles. The Courts have been lambasted for their adjudication of disputes considered to be ‘political' and falling outside the scope of their judicial authority. The critique has been particularly scathing in cases dealing with the conduct of functionaries of critical constitutional institutions. This dissertation will critically evaluate the validity of this lawfare charge by focusing on the President's constitutional powers to appoint the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and Cabinet. The dissertation will evaluate the President's power to appoint such critical constitutional functionaries within the political context of a one-party democracy which emboldens the President's power to appoint any candidate he deems fit with very few internal fetters. I will examine how this largely unconstrained power can be harmful when used for ulterior purposes that subvert constitutional democracy. Rejecting the lawfare critique, I argue that in light of the institutional arrangements of our constitutional democracy, Courts have become an increasingly important branch of government within the trias politica to safeguard and protect democracy and further the rule of law. I will analyse case law that display how the Courts have utilised their judicial authority to curtail irrational decision making and improper conduct by functionaries of key constitutional institutions. Relying on democratic reinforcement theory, I will argue that the Courts' intervention in these cases has been to further constitutionalism and good governance. It is not, as some of the lawfare critics suggest, a breach of the separation of powers principle or an instrument to unduly rob the political branches of their power in an improper way. 2024-04-30T13:07:11Z 2024-04-30T13:07:11Z 2023 2024-04-25T13:10:56Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39540 Eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law |
| spellingShingle | Law Hadebe, Lindokuhle Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| title_full | Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| title_fullStr | Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| title_short | Executive Authority and Judicial Intervention: A Lawfare Critique into the President’s Powers of Appointment |
| title_sort | executive authority and judicial intervention a lawfare critique into the president s powers of appointment |
| topic | Law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39540 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hadebelindokuhle executiveauthorityandjudicialinterventionalawfarecritiqueintothepresidentspowersofappointment |