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The Office of the ANC Chief Whip is pleased with the judgement of the
Western Cape High Court, delivered by Judge Dennis Davies, which
dismissed the application by the DA and 8 other opposition parties to
force the National Assembly to debate the motion of no confidence in the
President today.

In his judgement, Judge Davies concurred with our view that, in the
spirit of the principle of separation of powers, the judiciary cannot be
expected to adjudicate on matters falling under the authority of
Parliament. We are concerned with the growing tendency by some parties
to abuse the judiciary, in which courts are called upon to resolve the
inter-party disagreements which should be resolved within Parliament. It
is irrational to expect Courts to micromanage Parliament. The role of
the Courts is to ensure that institutions function within the boundaries
of the constitution – a fact that these parties are clearly ignorant of.

We accept the Judge’s view that the current gap in the National Assembly
rules, which makes it difficult for Parliament to deal with the failure
to reach consensus in the Programming Committee, should be dealt with by
Parliament, not the courts. As the ANC, we will be ready to address this
matter.

We are still firm in our view that the motion by these parties is thick
on generalised allegations and hogwash but thin on fact, which makes it
frivolous and not worthy of urgent consideration by Parliament.
Similarly, their application was vexatious and a waste of the court’s
time.

We remain committed to robust, open and free multiparty debates, which
are an important feature of our parliamentary participatory democracy.
We have no qualms about debating any motion in the House, including the
motion of no confidence in the President – hence our assurance to debate
this matter during the week of February 26, 2013.

This movement will never shy away from debate. It is for this reason
that we have agreed to allocate more speaking time in the House to
smaller parties. This will enhance the culture of vigorous debate on
matters of national importance in Parliament.

It is ironic that, while these parties have cited the ‘politicisation of
the judiciary’ as a basis for this Motion, Judge Davies today sternly
warned them against politicising the judiciary.

We trust that Judge Davies’s judgment will send a strong message to
these parties that courts cannot be abused to further narrow political
ends. We also hope this will serve as a lesson on the doctrine of
separation of powers and the rule of law.

We have been vindicated by this judgement.