Solidariteit Helpende Hand NPC and Others v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs declared a national state of disaster under the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 and promulgated regulations that, inter alia, imposed a temporary and later indefinite ban on all faith-based and religious gatherings. In January 2021, Solidariteit Helpende Hand NPC, the South African National Christian Forum, the Muslim Lawyers Association, and another organisation launched applications in the Gauteng Division of the High Court challenging the lawfulness and constitutionality of these regulations, seeking interim relief and their review and setting aside under PAJA. Before the matter was heard, the impugned regulations were amended and the blanket ban on religious gatherings was lifted, subject to numerical limits and health protocols. The High Court dismissed the application on the basis that the matter was moot. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal, contending that the High Court should nonetheless have determined the merits and that it was in the interests of justice for the appeal court to rule on the constitutionality of the repealed regulations.

The appeal was dismissed, with no order as to costs.

The case clarifies the doctrine of mootness in South African law, particularly in the context of challenges to repealed COVID-19 disaster regulations. It reaffirms that courts of first instance have no jurisdiction to decide matters that are moot and that only appellate courts have a limited discretion to entertain moot issues in the interests of justice. The judgment underscores judicial restraint and the avoidance of advisory opinions in constitutional and administrative litigation.