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Judgment No. CCZ 2/18
Constitutional Application No. CCZ 86/15
Whilst s 56(1) of the Constitution requires respect and protection of human equality as a
foundational value, it does not mean that identically the same rules of law should be applicable to
all persons in every instance, regardless of differences of factual circumstances and conditions.
Section 56(1) of the Constitution does not protect a right to identical treatment. The right to
equality is violated when the State makes an unjustified distinction between people or situations.
Section 56(1) of the Constitution is not about formal equality, as formal equality is already part of
the Constitution. The fundamental principle of the rule of law to the effect that all State power is
bound by law and that everyone is bound by law means that there is equal application of law since
the very nature of law demands universal application. Section 56(1) of the Constitution speaks to
substantive equality.
Human beings may be equal yet act differently in different situations or circumstances.
Need may arise for the enactment of a law, the specific object of which is the prohibition of the
recurrence of harmful acts to protect public interest. A Legislature empowered to make laws on a
wide range of subjects must of necessity have the power of making special laws to attain particular
objectives. Such a law would have a specific objective and be aimed only at a section of people
who would commit the prohibited conduct. For the reason of the specific objective and the nature
of the prohibited acts, such a law would be based upon a creation of a class of people to which it
applies. By exclusion, it would create a different class of people to which it does not apply.
The Legislature has undoubtedly a wide field of choice in determining and classifying the
subject matter of its laws. It must be presumed that a Legislature understands and correctly
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