11.
The above section verbalises the foundations of the broad inclusive and
open entered language anchored around democracy in a constitutional
state, the rechtsstaat.
12.
The concept of the rechtsstaat, incorporates a number of things that
will be outlined below.
What is clear however is that the
Constitutional Court becomes the watch dog indeed a ferocious watch
dog if not a bull dog over the Constitution itself and whether or not it
is applied.
In Executive Council of Western Cape Legislature &
Others v President of South Africa & Others 1995 (4) SA 877 (CC);
the South African Constitutional Court in one of its early defined
decision put this principle in the following language:~
"Constitutional cases cannot be decided on the basis that
Parliament or the President acted in good faith or on the
basis that there was no objection to action taken at the time
that it was carried out. It is of crucial importance at this
early stage of the development of our new Constitutional
order to establish respect for the principle of that the
Constitution is supreme. The Constitution itself allows this
Court to control the consequences of a declaration of
invalidity if it should be necessary to do so. Our duty is to
declare legislative and executive action which is inconsistent
with the Constitution to be invalid, and then to deal with
the consequences of the invalidity in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution."
13.
Thus
the
first
immediate
consequence
of Section
2
of
the
Constitution, is the incorporation of the idea and concept of
constitutionalism. This is the notion that government should derive its
powers from a written Constitution and that its power should be
limited to those set out in the Constitution. The Constitution itself
Page 4 of 46
Applicant's Heads of Argument in the matter between:
Loveness Mudzuru & Another v Minister of Justice Legal & Parliamentary Affairs & 2 Others
Case Number CCZ 79/2014
Prepared byTendai Biti Law