CSL2601-mcq_csl2601_ VERIFIED ANS. CSL2601/101
19CSL2601 – Questions
Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE by marking 1 for TRUE or 2
for FALSE:
1.In Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others 2006 (12)
BCLR 1399 (CC), the Court determined that the stage of legislation making at which it can
intervene in order to enforce Parliament’s obligation to facilitate public involvement is
before the legislative process is complete in order to prevent irreversible and material
harm. (1)
2.In June 2015, the Marikana informal settlement community held a protest which resulted in
property damages worth R20 million. The leader of the Marikana community, Joseph
Makeleni, told News24 that “they want and need basic services”. However, Joseph
Makaleni’s pleas on national radio are futile because the national government is never
authorised to intervene and assist municipalities when it fails to fulfil an executive
obligation. (1)
3.There is no difference between the effect of the term “sphere” and the term “level” of
government when referring to the institutional status of local government in terms of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. (1)
4.It is a privilege of Members of Parliament to say anything in Parliament without fear of
being held liable in a court of law, and it serves to protect Parliament from outside
interference. This means that parliamentary privileges are not subject to judicial review
under the new constitutional dispensation. (1)
5.The President may not serve more than two full terms in office, which is ten years, and
there is no exception to this rule. (1) CSL2601/101
236.The recommendations of the commission of inquiry established by the President in terms
of section 84(2) of the 1996 Constitution are binding. Therefore, the President is bound to
follow and implement the recommendations made by the Marikana Commission of Inquiry
he appointed on 23 August 2012. (1)
7.The constitutional recognition of customary law as a legitimate system of law alongside
other legal systems in South Africa means that customary law enjoys equal recognition as
a source of law. (1)
8.In President of the Republic of South Africa v South African Football Rugby Union 1999
(10) BCLR 1059 (CC), it was held that under no circumstances at all can the President
be called upon to give evidence in court because of the special dignity of the President, his
busy schedule and the importance of his work. (1)
9.It would be accurate to state that a country is democratic if elections are held every five
years, even if only one political party is allowed to stand in the election. (1)
10.In South African Constitutional Law in Context (2014), the authors quote Sujit Choudhry
who describes South Africa as a one-party dominant democracy. Choudhry states that
“one of the pathologies of a dominant party democracy is the ‘capturing’ of independent
institutions meant to check the exercise of political power by the dominant party,
enmeshing them in webs of patronage.” It is therefore accurate to state that an unfortunate
implication of this is that there is virtually no separation of state and party in the present
South African context. This was evidenced, amongst others, on 12 February 2015 during
the State of the Nation Address when Baleka Mbete, the Speaker of Parliament,
conducted herself first and foremost as an ANC official who was acting on unexpressed
instructions to shield President Zuma from having to answer uncomfortable questions
concerning the upgrades to Nkandla. Further evidence is the fact that she ordered EFF
and DA members of Parliament to leave Parliament and even instructed the South African
Police Service, which forms part of the executive, to physically remove EFF and DA
members that evening. (1)
11.In March 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Hawks (the corruption-fighting unit of
the South African Police Service) lacked sufficient operational and structural independence
to enable them to properly combat corruption. The Court therefore declared that the laws
which disbanded the former Scorpions and created the Hawks in their place (the National
Prosecuting Authority Amendment Act and the South African Police Service Amendment
Act) were unconstitutional. In order to rectify this unconstitutionality, the Court drafted a
19CSL2601 – Questions
Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE by marking 1 for TRUE or 2
for FALSE:
1.In Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others 2006 (12)
BCLR 1399 (CC), the Court determined that the stage of legislation making at which it can
intervene in order to enforce Parliament’s obligation to facilitate public involvement is
before the legislative process is complete in order to prevent irreversible and material
harm. (1)
2.In June 2015, the Marikana informal settlement community held a protest which resulted in
property damages worth R20 million. The leader of the Marikana community, Joseph
Makeleni, told News24 that “they want and need basic services”. However, Joseph
Makaleni’s pleas on national radio are futile because the national government is never
authorised to intervene and assist municipalities when it fails to fulfil an executive
obligation. (1)
3.There is no difference between the effect of the term “sphere” and the term “level” of
government when referring to the institutional status of local government in terms of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. (1)
4.It is a privilege of Members of Parliament to say anything in Parliament without fear of
being held liable in a court of law, and it serves to protect Parliament from outside
interference. This means that parliamentary privileges are not subject to judicial review
under the new constitutional dispensation. (1)
5.The President may not serve more than two full terms in office, which is ten years, and
there is no exception to this rule. (1) CSL2601/101
236.The recommendations of the commission of inquiry established by the President in terms
of section 84(2) of the 1996 Constitution are binding. Therefore, the President is bound to
follow and implement the recommendations made by the Marikana Commission of Inquiry
he appointed on 23 August 2012. (1)
7.The constitutional recognition of customary law as a legitimate system of law alongside
other legal systems in South Africa means that customary law enjoys equal recognition as
a source of law. (1)
8.In President of the Republic of South Africa v South African Football Rugby Union 1999
(10) BCLR 1059 (CC), it was held that under no circumstances at all can the President
be called upon to give evidence in court because of the special dignity of the President, his
busy schedule and the importance of his work. (1)
9.It would be accurate to state that a country is democratic if elections are held every five
years, even if only one political party is allowed to stand in the election. (1)
10.In South African Constitutional Law in Context (2014), the authors quote Sujit Choudhry
who describes South Africa as a one-party dominant democracy. Choudhry states that
“one of the pathologies of a dominant party democracy is the ‘capturing’ of independent
institutions meant to check the exercise of political power by the dominant party,
enmeshing them in webs of patronage.” It is therefore accurate to state that an unfortunate
implication of this is that there is virtually no separation of state and party in the present
South African context. This was evidenced, amongst others, on 12 February 2015 during
the State of the Nation Address when Baleka Mbete, the Speaker of Parliament,
conducted herself first and foremost as an ANC official who was acting on unexpressed
instructions to shield President Zuma from having to answer uncomfortable questions
concerning the upgrades to Nkandla. Further evidence is the fact that she ordered EFF
and DA members of Parliament to leave Parliament and even instructed the South African
Police Service, which forms part of the executive, to physically remove EFF and DA
members that evening. (1)
11.In March 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Hawks (the corruption-fighting unit of
the South African Police Service) lacked sufficient operational and structural independence
to enable them to properly combat corruption. The Court therefore declared that the laws
which disbanded the former Scorpions and created the Hawks in their place (the National
Prosecuting Authority Amendment Act and the South African Police Service Amendment
Act) were unconstitutional. In order to rectify this unconstitutionality, the Court drafted a
