Abstract:
The Constitution of South Africa’s
(SA’s) ‘Bill of Rights is
a cornerstone of democracy
in South Africa. It enshrines
the rights of all people in our
country and affirms the democratic values
of human dignity, equality and freedom’.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic,
many of the fundamental rights
have been restricted. In the case of Brits
v The President of the Republic of South
Africa and Three Others, the applicant
approached the court on behalf of the
public with specific regard to fundamental
rights, as provided for in s 33(2) of
the Constitution, seeking transparent
reasons for the alleged administrative
decisions that the respondents took in
light of the pandemic. The purpose of
this article is to summarise the abovementioned case and to set out the rights
allegedly infringed. Legislation will be
discussed that regulates the event of a
national disaster and whether decisions
made by the respondent were justifiable.
