UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

May/June 2024

CSL2601

Constitutional Law

100 Marks
Duration 4 (four) Hours

First examiner: Prof L Stone

Second examiner: Mr P Mudau
INSTRUCTIONS FOR A TAKE-HOME EXAM ON MYEXAMS

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE ANSWERING

THE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS.

1. The examination question paper counts 100 marks. Answer all of the questions.
2. This examination question paper consists of six (6) pages.
3. The duration of the examination is four (4) hours.
4. In addition to the duration of the examination indicated on the timetable, you are given
30 minutes to FINALISE the uploading of your exam file. Your exam file must be
uploaded via the myExams platform on 15 May 2024 BEFORE 12:30 (South African
Standard Time).
5. This is an open-book examination. You may consult your prescribed study material
during the examination. However, you may not simply copy and paste answers.
6. This examination is proctored via the Invigilator App. You are required to activate (or
log in to) the Invigilator app between 07:45 and 08:30 (South African Standard Time).
The QR code is below:

7. When ready to submit, open the Take-Home (Assignment) assessment again and click
on the Add Submission button.
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7.1 Note: You only get 15 minutes after the due time to submit your script on the
Invigilator App and 30 minutes on the myExams portal.

7.2. Note the file requirements such as:

a. File size limit; b. Number of files that can be submitted; c. File formats allowed.
7.3. Check the acknowledgment checkbox and upload your answers document and then
click on the Save changes button.

7.4. Review your submission information regarding the status and click on your submission
file link to check if it is correct.

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7.5. If you need to resubmit a file, you can click on the Edit Submission button. Note: You
will need to delete any existing files.

7.6 Use proper PDF conversion software to create the final file for upload. Free PDF
conversion software is available on the Internet.
7.7 Add your student number and the module code in the file name. That will assist you to
select the correct document to upload during submission.
7.8 You are advised to preview your submission (answer script) to ensure legibility and that
the correct answer script file has been uploaded.
8. It is preferred that your take-home exam is typed. However, handwritten submissions
will also be accepted.
9. Whether your answers are typed or handwritten, your submission on the myExams
platform on Moodle must be made in the form of one PDF document. Only the last file
uploaded and submitted will be marked.
9.1 Your examination answer file will not be marked if:
9.1.1 you send your examination answer file via email.
9.1.2 you submit the incorrect examination answer file. A mark of 0% will be awarded.
9.1.3 you submit your exam answer file on an unofficial examination site.
9.1.4 you submit your examination answer file in the incorrect file format.
9.1.5 you submit a password-protected or “read only” document.
9.1.6 you submit your examination answer file late
9.1.7 you submit your answer file from a registered student account that is not your own.
10. The mark awarded for an illegible examination answer file submission will be your final
mark. You will not be allowed to resubmit after the closing date and time of the exam.
11. If your answers are typed, ensure that the following requirements are adhered to. Items
11.3-11.5 applies to written assignments as well.
11.1 The text must be typed in Arial font, size 12.
11.2 The text must be justified.
11.3 All of the pages must be numbered in the right-hand corner at the bottom of the page.

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11.4 South African English and not American English should be used. For example, the
correct spelling is “Labour”; not “Labor”. Do not use abbreviations or SMS language.
11.5 All quotes that are two lines long (or less), must form part of the main text, and be
placed in quotation marks. Where a quotation is longer than two lines, it must be typed
in a separate paragraph in in size 11 font and must be indented by 1 cm. No quotation
marks are required when the quotations stand alone. Use quotations very sparingly. In
this take-home exam, a maximum of 5% of the text may be quoted.
12. When answering the take-home exam questions, remember that an open-book exam
is a test at a higher level than the usual type of exam, where memory is tested as much
as insight. In an open-book exam, you need not memorise any information. You are
expected to prove that you can use information, rather than merely repeat it. In brief,
what is being tested is factual knowledge, understanding and the correct application
thereof, not memory skills. For this reason, you do not earn marks by merely detailing
a list of all the information that you think might be relevant to a particular question. This
gives no indication that you know what statutory or other provisions are applicable in
a specific context. You are expected to identify precisely what information applies, and
then explain why you think so.
12.1 Also, because you have the study material available when answering questions, we
do not give marks for direct quotations from the study material. You are therefore
assessed on your level of understanding of the legal principles by looking at how well
you convey the principles.
12.2 PLEASE DO NOT CUT AND PASTE ANSWERS FROM THE STUDY GUIDE (OR
ANY OTHER SOURCE).
13. You must complete the online declaration of own work when submitting.
13.1 By ticking the Honesty Declaration, you confirm that you have read (i) the
University’s Policy on Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism and the Student
Disciplinary Code, which are both available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/unisarules,
and (ii) the information relating to student values and plagiarism that is found at
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-
rules
13.2 Students suspected of dishonest conduct during the examinations will be subjected to
disciplinary processes. Students may not communicate with other students, or request
assistance from other students during examinations. Plagiarism is a violation of
academic integrity, and students who do plagiarise or copy verbatim from published
work will be in violation of the Policy on Academic Integrity and the Student Disciplinary
Code and may be referred to disciplinary hearing. Unisa has a zero tolerance for
plagiarism and/or any other forms of academic dishonesty.
13.3 Unless a student is exempted because of disability or incarceration, students who have
not utilised invigilation or proctoring tools will be deemed to have transgressed Unisa’s
examination rules and will have their marks withheld.

PLEASE NOTE:
If you experience challenges with the Invigilator app, please WhatsApp the technical
helpdesk on 073 505 8273. Do not contact the lecturers.
For all other exam-related challenges, you may contact the SCSC on 080 000 1870 or e-mail
[email protected] or refer to Get-Help for the list of additional contact numbers.

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Below is a draft academic article that you are writing with a class-mate. You must
complete the article by answering the questions numbered 1 to 5 beneath the
article. Your answers must use the same style as in the article. In other words, you
must use footnotes to reference your work and you need to write in an academically
acceptable manner, with properly constructed sentences and paragraphs.

In the early 1990s when South Africa was contemplating transition to democracy, Wiechers
advanced the case for the establishment of a constitutional court. He argued that this court would
be able to protect and enforce human rights and liberties [and] to provide expert knowledge and the
political as well as socio-economic understanding which is needed to judge intricate constitutional
processes and issues.1

This view echoes the contemporary view that the Constitution2 that was designed to
revolutionise the South African state reflects the needs and interests of all South Africans.3

In its articulation of a unique form of the separation of powers doctrine4 and in pursuit of ensuring
a modern, robust constitutional democracy, the judiciary has viewed its role as complementary
to (as opposed to distinct from) the legislative and executive branches of the state. As Corder
remarks, in its first 15 years, the Constitutional Court’s judgments were ‘careful, wide, fair and
at time courageous commitment to constitutional principle and practice’.5 So determined is the
judiciary to uphold constitutional principle and practice that it has recently admonished the
executive, with a court declaring that a particular government department was ‘grossly non-
compliant’ and its representatives had shown up late for the court hearing.6

Some important developments in South African constitutional law are set out below. First, the
National Assembly has adopted a transformative amendment to the House’s Rules and
Guidelines for Petitions.7 A petition may be: a single petition (a personal submission regarding
a specific issue); a collective petition (a joint submission with multiple signatures on a common
issue); a multiple or mass petition (submissions from individuals or groups on the same matter);
and an associated petition (submissions from an association or its representative on a particular
issue). Second, for the first time in South Africa’s history, two judges and the Public Protector
were impeached. Looking to the future, elections will be taking place in South Africa on 29 May.

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1 Marinus Wiechers ‘A constitutional court for South Africa’ in DJ van Vuuren et al South Africa in the Nineties (1991)
HSRC Publishers 290.
2 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
3 Pierre de Vos & Warren Freedman (eds) et al South African Constitutional Law in Context (2 ed Oxford University
Press 2021) 26-27.
4 de Lange v Smuts NO 1998 (3) SA 785 (CC) para 60.
5 Hugh Corder ‘South Africa’s Constitutional Court at 30: a solid foundation but cracks are showing’ The Conversation
(14 April 2024) <https://theconversation.com/south-africas-constitutional-court-at-30-a-solid-foundation-but-
cracks-are-showing-227570>.
6 National Department of Public Works v Fani and 77 Others [Collectively referred to as ‘Residents of Farm
Greydel (Airport Park)] and Another [2024] ZASCA 43 (8 April 2024) para 5.
7 These petitions should seek action within the ambit of the House, national government, or a Cabinet Minister.

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Question 1
To provide context to the article, you need to set out the definition of South African
constitutional law. In your own words, and in a compelling style, with reference to
provisions of the Constitution, case law and examples, clearly explain what
constitutional law is. (30)

Question 2
What concept is implied by the court’s phrase “gross non-compliance” and mention
of legal representatives showing up late to court in the Residents of Farm Greydel
case? Explain this fully with detailed reference to appropriate theory, provisions of
the Constitution and relevant case law. (15)

Question 3
What two features of constitutional law are applicable with respect to the petitions
described above? Which cases serve as precedent on the matter? Discuss these
cases as well as the relevant provisions of the Constitution to explain. (25)

Question 4
Explain impeachment as it relates to the President; judges; and the Public Protector.
In particular, is there a similarity in terms of the consequences of impeachment? To
answer this question, you are required to give a substantiated opinion as to whether
the impeached Public Protector is still entitled to the gratuity of R10 million ‘on vacation
of office’ (as per point 3 of the Public Protector Service Conditions). (15)

Question 5
Explain how the May 2024 general (national and provincial) elections will be different
from previous years. Specifically, write a summary of the New Nation Movement case
and explain how this case (and any other aspects of the 29 May 2024 elections)
advances the notion of representative democracy in South Africa. (15)
{100}

UNISA 2024