As Constitutional Court turns 30, Ramaphosa vows support for judicial independence

When former President Nelson Mandela opened the doors of the Constitutional Court for the first time on 14 February 1995, he reminded the founding bench of their duty, saying: “Yours is the most noble task that could fall to any legal person. In the last resort, the guarantee of the fundamental rights and freedoms for which we have fought so hard lies in your hands. We look to you to honour the Constitution and the people it represents.’’

On Friday, 20 June 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa, members of the government, former and current chief justices, and dignitaries from around the world, gathered at Constitutional Hill. To commemorate 30 years since the establishment of the apex court and each landmark judgment which pushed SA closer to turning the Constitution into a living document.

Delivering his keynote address, Ramaphosa said that since ConCourt was established, it has handed down judgments that have had a profound impact on the law in SA, including the abolishment of the death penalty in 1995, the 2002 right to health care and access to HIV/Aids treatment, the 2004 right of access to social security by permanent residents, among many others.

While Ramaphosa praised the  ConCourt for its meaningful work over the last 30 years, remaining unshaken when embroiled in political pressure and controversies, the president acknowledged that “the advancement of socio-economic rights is not as far as we wish it to be, particularly with respect to housing and basic services”.

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Referencing the landmark Grootboom judgment, in which Irene Grootboom and her family’s right to access adequate housing was affirmed by the  ConCourt, Ramaphosa said it was a blight on SA’s hard-won democracy that Grootboom died without her dream of a decent house being fulfilled.

“Deepening respect for constitutionalism across all sectors must start with the state.

“We must acknowledge the troubling irony of lauding the Constitutional Court’s progressive judgments on one hand, especially on socio-economic rights, with the reality that the state apparatus has in many of these cases had to be compelled by this very court to fulfil its obligations,” said the president.

“Our people should not have to resort to litigation to have their rights realised, and this is the paramount consideration.”

More support 

Ramaphosa said the state had on many occasions failed to support the court adequately and vowed that this would change.

To this end, Ramaphosa vowed that the government would increase its support to the judiciary to ensure that it could execute its duties independently, effectively and with dignity.

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“Government must and will provide a range of institutional, infrastructure, financial, administrative, and legal support. The support is crucial to maintaining judicial independence, which is a cornerstone of democracy and the rule of law,” he said.

The challenges faced by ConCourt are well documented, especially concerning finalising matters against targets. The Constitutional Court Review found that over the years, the court’s workload had increased significantly, which has led to longer processing times for judgments. 

The government is working to solve this. Ramaphosa said that funding for the ConCourt was mentioned for the first time in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s recent Budget speech, with money being allocated to enhance access to justice and improve court services.

“We reaffirm our commitment to providing all the necessary support to our courts as they administer justice. At our meeting with the judiciary recently, we committed to taking steps to advance the independence of the judiciary and the future of our courts’ administration,” he said.

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Speaking to journalists at the sidelines of the commemoration, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, who is leading the commemoration, said Ramaphosa’s announcement was a long time coming.

“We are quite happy, naturally, about this development,” said Maya.

“It was understood that the rendering of the judiciary to be fully independent would happen in two stages, the first one starting in 2013. It was anticipated that the finalisation of the process would be put into place soon thereafter, but it has dragged and dragged for well over a decade. It’s never too late to do the right thing, here we are now, and moves are afoot,” Chief Justice Maya said.

Targeting full judicial independence

Maya said that the judiciary is in a hurry to finally obtain full judicial independence, jokingly adding that they would not allow the president and his team to delay the process any further.

Standing next to Maya, Ramaphosa said that a joint committee had been appointed to work on the modalities, and everything that needs to be in place to ensure that the judiciary can execute its role without any hindrance.

“Its own independence as an entity has always been secured, it’s just been the support that it needs from government that we are now putting in place,” Ramaphosa said. DM