Abstract:
This note deals with the question whether, under the present-day South
African constitutional law, members of the public are entitled to any
information held by cabinet (the national executive). This question is
considered with specific reference to the law of comparative
jurisdictions. Two competing principles must be considered: on the one
hand, the constitutional right of access to information held by the state
(cabinet information in the present case) and, on the other hand, the
convention of cabinet secrecy. The latter originated in English
constitutional law, which might be argued to have been inherited by
South Africa.
