The respondent, Dominique Liebenberg, a South African citizen, married a Senegalese national who had been residing in South Africa under a temporary permit following an asylum application. After the marriage, her husband lost his passport and the Department of Home Affairs refused to grant him a temporary residence permit unless various fees prescribed by regulations under the Aliens Control Act were paid. Liebenberg launched an urgent application in the Witwatersrand High Court challenging the requirement to pay these fees and the restrictions placed on alien spouses. The High Court, on the basis of an agreed draft order, granted relief that included declaring certain regulatory fees invalid and directing the Minister and Parliament to correct alleged constitutional inconsistencies. The Minister then applied to the Constitutional Court for confirmation of the purported declarations of constitutional invalidity under section 172(2) of the Constitution.