[1] This application arises out of the events that took place during the joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament, being the National Assembly (“NA”) and National Council Of Provinces (“NCOP”), on 12 February 2015 when the State President delivered his State of the Nation address. The Speaker of the NA (“the Speaker”), along with the Chairperson of the NCOP (“the Chairperson”), invoked s 11 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act 4 of 2004 (“the Act”) and called upon staff of Parliament and the security forces (as referred to in s 199 of the Constitution, be it the police, army and or intelligence services), to forcefully remove members of the Economic Freedom Front (“EFF”) from the joint sitting as a result of the disturbances that were caused.

[2] The Applicant, the Democratic Alliance, being a registered political party (“the DA”) and the main opposition party in Parliament, is aggrieved that the Speaker and Chairperson used security forces to remove legitimate parliamentary members from a sitting of Parliament, and is now challenging the constitutionality and meaning of s11 of the Act. The relevant section allows the Speaker and or the Chairperson to order the staff of Parliament or the security services as envisaged by s 199 of the Constitution to arrest and remove any person who creates or joins a disturbance during a sitting of Parliament or a House or a Committee.