Section Nine of the
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...
guarantees
equality before the law
Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic ru ...
and
freedom from discrimination The right to freedom from discrimination is internationally recognised as a human right and enshrines the principle of egalitarianism. The right to freedom from discrimination is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enshrined ...
to the people of South Africa. This
equality right
Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and s ...
is the first right listed in the
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
. It prohibits both discrimination by the government and discrimination by private persons; however, it also allows for
affirmative action to be taken to redress past unfair discrimination.
Text
Under the heading "Equality", the section states:
Notable cases
* ''
President of the Republic of South Africa and Another v Hugo'' (1997) — a presidential decision to remit the sentences of imprisoned mothers with young children is not unfair discrimination against similarly-situated fathers.
* ''
Prinsloo v Van der Linde and Another Prinsloo is an Afrikaans surname. The name is derived from the Dutch word Prins (meaning prince), and a Loo suffix meaning ''clearing in a forest''. Variant spellings include Prinzloo and Prinslo.
It can refer to:
* Behati Prinsloo (born 1989), ...
'' (1997) — a law which imposes a different
onus of proof in civil cases involving forest fires does not deny equal protection of the law or amount to unfair discrimination.
* ''
Larbi-Odam and Others v MEC for Education (North-West Province) and Another'' (1997) — a government policy prohibiting the employment of non-citizens as school teachers is unfair discrimination.
* ''
City Council of Pretoria v Walker'' (1998) — a municipality's policy of charging a metered rate for water and electricity in formerly white areas but a flat rate per household in formerly black areas, with the effect that the residents of the white area pay higher rates on average, is not unfair discrimination, as the facilities provided to different areas are significantly different. However, the policy of suing to collect payments in arrears from residents of the white areas, but not suing similarly-situated residents of the black areas, is unfair discrimination.
* ''
'' (1998) — the criminalisation of male same-sex sexual relations is unfair discrimination on the grounds of gender and sexual orientation.
* ''
'' (1999) — an immigration law which provides benefits to married couples discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation and must be extended to provide the same benefits to same-sex life partners.
* ''
Hoffmann v South African Airways
''Hoffmann v South African Airways'' is an important case, heard by the Constitutional Court, in South African labour and constitutional law.
Hoffmann argued that he had been unfairly discriminated against on the ground of disability, due to ...
'' (2000) — a government-owned airline's policy of refusing to hire
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
-positive people as flight attendants violates the right to equality.
* ''
'' (2002) — pension and retirement benefits provided to the spouses of judges must be equally provided to the same-sex life partners of judges.
* ''
S v Jordan and Others
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
History ...
'' (2002) — the gender-neutral criminalisation of prostitution does not discriminate unfairly against women.
* ''
Khosa and Others v Minister of Social Development and Others Khosa may refer to:
People with the surname Khosa
* Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 31 December 2016
* Baldev Khosa, Indian film actor and politician
* Sardar Muhammad Muqeem Khan Khoso,former MNA in 1 ...
'' (2003) — social welfare grants provided to South African citizens must also be provided to non-citizen permanent residents; to do otherwise is unfair discrimination.
* ''
Bhe and Others v Magistrate, Khayelitsha, and Others
''Bhe and Others v Magistrate, Khayelitsha and Others; Shibi v Sithole and Others; SA Human Rights Commission and Another v President of the RSA and Another'' was an important case in South African customary law.
The case was heard in the Cons ...
'' (2004) — the rule of
male primogeniture
Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
in the
African customary law of inheritance discriminates unfairly against women and against younger children.
* ''
Minister of Home Affairs and Another v Fourie and Another
''Minister of Home Affairs and Another v Fourie and Another; Lesbian and Gay Equality Project and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others'', 005ZACC 19, is a landmark decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in which the court r ...
'' (2005) — the denial of marriage to same-sex couples is unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. (See
same-sex marriage in South Africa
Same-sex marriage in South Africa has been legal since the '' Civil Union Act, 2006'' came into force on 30 November 2006. The decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of '' Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie'' on 1 December 2005 extended ...
.)
See also
*
External links
Bill of Rights – Government of South Africa
{{LGBT in South Africa
Constitution of South Africa
Anti-discrimination law in South Africa
Equality rights
Human rights in South Africa