FACTSHEET 1: SHORTCUTS AND SHORTCOMINGS

[Parliament’s] public involvement process must give the public a meaningful opportunity to influence Parliament, and Parliament must take account of the public’s views. – Constitutional Court, Mogale & Others vs Speaker of the National Assembly & Others, May 2023

Public participation is the centerpiece of South African policy-making and democratic law-making. It is enshrined in the Constitution, and the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court have both emphasised – in several court judgments – the importance of meaningful public involvement in the process of crafting new laws, whether in written submissions or verbal presentations at public hearings.

When holding public hearings, Parliament is expected to follow a number of crucial steps – including educational briefings, translation of legislation and giving proper advance warning of public hearings – to make sure this happens. And a failure to do so has resulted, on more than one occasion, in legislation being declared invalid.

But despite these prescripts and legal precedents, the process of engendering public participation in the Tobacco Products Control Bill (TPCB) has been deeply flawed from as far back as 2018.