THE UNION PARLIAMENT, THE SUPREME COURT, AND THE ENTRENCHED CLAUSES OF THE SOUTH AFRICA ACT

Abstract

The protagonists in the current constitutional crisis in South Africa are judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on one hand, and the Prime Minister and his Nationalist Party Government on the other. This article is concerned primarily with South African jurisprudence bearing similarities to Canadian constitutional theory, particularly the concepts of “Dominion status” and “sovereignty of Parliament at Westminster.” The author examines the South Africa Act, 1909, tracing the evolution of the Dominion status and examining the effect of entrenched clauses on the Union Parliament.