South Africa: High Court Ruling Says Some Lockdown Restrictions Unconstitutional, Invalid

South Africa’s cabinet on Tuesday said it had taken note of a High Court judgment that declared the level 4 and 3 lockdown regulations as unconstitutional and invalid, reported Reuters.

The ruling delivered by the North Gauteng Division of the High Court ordered a review of the current regulations of the Level 3 and Level 4 national lockdowns. It suspended the declaration of invalidity for a period of 14 days.

“Government has taken note of the judgment delivered by the Gauteng division of the high court today, June 2, declaring the alert ‘Level 4’ and alert ‘Level 3’ lockdown regulations unconstitutional and invalid,” the government said in a statement. “The court suspended the declaration of invalidity for a period of 14 days. This means that the alert ‘Level 3’ regulations remain in operation for now.”

The high court’s ruling came after Liberty Fighters, a Pretoria-based human-rights group, challenged the regulations when it received complaints from property tenants who were unable to pay their rent because of their lack of employment.

The court has directed Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to amend and republish the regulations. It said the regulations should guarantee the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said the cabinet would comment further once the high court’s judgment has been fully studied.

South Africa is currently gradually trying to come out of a strict lockdown imposed by the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In March, the government had shut down everything except for essential services like hospitals and food shops, under regulations known as alert level 5. It has gradually relaxed the measures, with the country moving to level 3 as of Monday.

South Africa has so far reported 35,812 cases of coronavirus and 705 deaths. The number of recoveries currently stands at 18,313.