MINORITY RULE
STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Why judges’ overreach is threat to democracy
If you want to place the courts in great danger, ask them to fight your political battles by taking over the job of democratic politics. One of the more remarkable political stories here is the way courts have become key players. They have forced the president to account for Nkandla, rescued social grant beneficiaries from public and private power and protected the people from being policed by a senior officer who was labelled dishonest by a court. Their judgments have been accepted by the government, making this country one of the world’s strongest constitutional democracies. All this is now under threat — "judicial overreach" has become a buzz phrase as voices warn the courts are being asked to take the place of democratic politics. Since many of these belong to the president’s supporters, this could be mistaken for a sign the courts are doing their job so well the government is running out of patience with them. But the problem lies with parties and NGOs that have become so excit...
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