South Africa’s responsibility to the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered

The South African Institute of International Affairs welcomes the Constitutional Court's March 2016 ruling, asserting that it transcends the specific issue of presidential residence upgrades to reaffirm the preeminence of the rule of law and the separation of powers. The statement emphasizes that independent constitutional bodies, specifically the Public Protector, are vital for providing a voice to the poor and marginalised in a society where litigation is prohibitively expensive.

• The Constitutional Court's order of 31 March 2016 reaffirmed several core democratic principles: the importance of the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judiciary; the rule of law which applies to all individuals regardless of status or affiliation; and the critical role of independent constitutional institutions like the Public Protector in maintaining good governance.
• The ruling highlights the specific responsibility of constitutional bodies to protect the poor and marginalised, noting that the Public Protector serves as a necessary mechanism for justice in a country where deep poverty makes legal litigation too expensive for many.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2016). South Africa’s responsibility to the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-s-responsiblity-to-the-poor-the-voiceless-and-the-least-remembered/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africa’s responsibility to the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered. 2016. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-s-responsiblity-to-the-poor-the-voiceless-and-the-least-remembered/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=South Africa’s responsibility to the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered |date=5 April 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-s-responsiblity-to-the-poor-the-voiceless-and-the-least-remembered/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2016south, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{South Africa’s responsibility to the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-s-responsiblity-to-the-poor-the-voiceless-and-the-least-remembered/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }