Question

What are the implications that the lockdown regulations for level 4 and 3 unconstitutional and therefore invalid could hold for the government?

Answer 1

A South African High Court has declared the government’s lockdown regulations unconstitutional and, therefore, invalid, driving a coach and horses through its COVID-19 strategy.

Justice Norman Davis found that both the level 3 and level 4 regulations are “irrational”. The government has five COVID-19 alert levels, from level 5 down to level 1, when most normal activity can resume.

After two months of enduring one of the most stringent lockdowns of any country, there have been signs of restlessness in some communities. As the government added greater detail to the regulations, when the country moved from level 5 to level 3, the credibility of restrictions has been stretched.

But the legal and governance impact of this week’s judgment is far-reaching. It will heap further unwelcome pressure onto a government that is already under intense pressure as it tries to navigate a complex, wholly unfamiliar and ever-changing decision-making terrain.