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Khosa v Minister of Social Development
South African legal case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Khosa and Others v Minister of Social Development and Others, Mahlaule and Another v Minister of Social Development and Others is a decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which established that it is unconstitutional to exclude permanent residents from the social welfare system on the grounds that they lack South African citizenship. The court found that provisions of the Social Assistance Act, 1992 were unconstitutional on that basis.
Khosa v Minister of Social Development | |
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Court | Constitutional Court of South Africa |
Full case name | Khosa and Others v Minister of Social Development and Others; Mahlaule and Another v Minister of Social Development and Others |
Decided | 4 March 2004 |
Docket nos. | CCT 12/03; CCT 13/03 |
Citations | [2004] ZACC 11; 2004 (6) SA 505 (CC); 2004 (6) BCLR 569 (CC) |
Case history | |
Appealed from | High Court of South Africa, Transvaal Provincial Division –Khosa and Others v Minister of Social Development and Others (25455/02) and Mahlaule and Others v Minister of Social Development and Others (25453/02) |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Chaskalson CJ, Langa DCJ, Goldstone J, Madala J, Mokgoro J, Moseneke J, Ngcobo J, O'Regan J and Yacoob J |
Case opinions | |
The Bill of Rights prohibits the exclusion of permanent residents from the social welfare system. Provisions of the Social Assistance Act, 1992 are therefore unconstitutional. | |
Decision by | Mokgoro J (Chaskalson, Langa, Goldstone, Moseneke, O’Regan and Yacoob concurring) |
Dissent | Ngcobo J (Madala concurring) |
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The matter was decided on 4 March 2004, with the court split seven to two; Justice Yvonne Mokgoro wrote the majority judgement. The holding stemmed primarily from the Constitution's section 27 socioeconomic right to access social security and social assistance, as well as from the section 9 right to freedom from unfair discrimination.