National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and Another v Minister of Justice and Others

The National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and the South African Human Rights Commission challenged the constitutional validity of laws criminalising consensual sexual conduct between adult men. The Witwatersrand High Court declared unconstitutional the common-law offence of sodomy, the related offence of committing an unnatural sexual act between men, section 20A of the Sexual Offences Act 1957, and the inclusion of sodomy in Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1977 and the Security Officers Act 1987. Because some of these declarations concerned Acts of Parliament, they were referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation under section 172(2)(a) of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court confirmed the declarations of constitutional invalidity of section 20A of the Sexual Offences Act 1957, and the inclusion of sodomy in Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1977 and the Security Officers Act 1987. The criminalisation of consensual sodomy between adult men was окончally struck down.

This was a landmark judgment affirming the constitutional protection of sexual orientation and equality in South Africa. It decriminalised consensual same-sex conduct between adult men, dismantled systemic legal discrimination against gay men, and established South Africa as a global leader in LGBTQ+ rights jurisprudence.