This work examines the legal effects of a declaration of a state of emergency under the Public Safety Act 3 of 1953 and the exercise of legislative and administrative powers pursuant thereto. The general basis of judicial control over executive action and the various devices used to limit or oust the court's jurisdiction are set out and explained. Against this background, the courts' performance of their supervisory role under the special circumstances of emergency rule is critically surveyed and assessed. The legal issues raised by the exercise of emergency powers is examined at the various levels of their deployment: first, the declaration of a state of emergency; second, the making of emergency regulations; third, their execution by means of administrative action, including detention, banning, censorship and the use of force. The major cases concerning emergency issues, both reported and unreported, are analysed in their appropriate contexts, and an overview provided of the effects of emergency regulations and orders on such freedoms as South Africans enjoy under the 'ordinary' law. Finally, an attempt is made to assess how these decisions have affected the prospect of judicial review of executive action, both in the emergency context and in the field of administrative law generally. The conclusion is that, however far the Appellate Division may appear to have gone towards eliminating the role of the law in the emergency regime, grounds remain for the courts to exercise a more vigorous supervisory role should they choose to do so in future.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:3674 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Grogan, John |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Law, Law |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | 373 p., pdf |
| Rights | Grogan, John |
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