'Cabinet acted unlawfully'?

Businessman Hugh Glenister's lawyer argued hard in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to stop the legislation that would move the Scorpions to the police.

But, the judges of the court kept expressing concerns over the ramifications of the intervention in the parliamentary processes. "This is a case where initiating the legislation gives rise to the destruction of an institution," argued Glenister's lawyer, David Unterhalter. He submitted that by initiating legislation made on a resolution made by the ruling African National Congress, Cabinet was subordinating the law so that certain ANC national executive committee members could avoid scrutiny.

Unterhalter said the separation of powers was just a doctrine of prudence and there could be cases which justified judicial intervention in parliamentary process.He said the Cabinet had acted unconstitutionally by initiating the legislation and this gave the Constitutional Court the power to intervene.

But the judges remained sceptical. Judge Sandile Ngcobo said: "These considerations should be placed before parliament. Presently there are hearings which are hearing these issues. "And, presently we are sitting as the court looking at these issues. That just can't be right... That just can't be right." Judge Kate O'Regan said it was speculative to argue that the Scorpions would be ineffective until the process was complete. She was also not convinced that staff departures during the legislative process were cataclysmic. She calculated that only about 10% of the Scorpions? staff had left. "I am not sure that is the cataclysmic kind of effect that requires interfering with parliament," she said

Source: News 24