The Minister of Health and Another v Maliszewski and Others

The respondents were foreign-trained medical doctors who qualified at universities in Europe and later immigrated to South Africa. They were granted limited registration by the South African Medical and Dental Council (later the National Interim Medical and Dental Council), allowing them to practise only in public hospitals. After years of service, and after acquiring South African citizenship (all after 31 December 1991), they applied for full registration, which would allow private practice. The Council refused full registration because the respondents had not passed the Examination for Full Registration (EFR) required under the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act 56 of 1974. The respondents relied on a special dispensation introduced in 1991, under which certain foreign-qualified doctors who became South African citizens before the end of 1991 were exempted from the EFR. The High Court ordered the Council to grant the respondents full registration without the EFR. The Minister and the Council appealed.

The appeal was upheld. The order of the Transvaal Provincial Division compelling the appellants to grant full registration and awarding costs to the respondents was set aside. The respondents’ claim for full registration without passing the EFR was dismissed.

The case clarifies that temporary or exceptional administrative dispensations do not create ongoing rights, legitimate expectations, or binding policies beyond their express scope. It affirms the principle that equality does not require the extension of past, time-limited benefits to later applicants. The judgment reinforces adherence to statutory requirements in professional registration and limits judicial intervention in regulatory discretion.