Shabalala and Five Others v The Attorney-General of the Transvaal; The Commissioner of South African Police

The judgment cites this case for the principle that the right to silence and privilege against self-incrimination are ill-defined and disparate concepts, and…

Cited for the proposition that the Constitution is an emphatic renunciation of South Africa's past in which inequality was systematically entrenched.

Cited for the principle that failure to develop a common law rule in accordance with section 39(2) may constitute a constitutional matter.

Applied for the rule requiring disclosure of witness statements and documents to the defence.

Cited for the interpretive principle that pre-constitutional legislation may be open to reconsideration in light of the Bill of Rights.

Cited in support of the principle that a question of fact cannot be reserved or appealed.

Cited for the principle that once the prosecution has produced evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case, an accused who fails to produce evidence to…

Cited for the historical use of preparatory examinations in criminal law.

Cited regarding the perception that the defence had extensive rights of access to information even at the bail stage.

Cited for the principle that a high court's jurisdiction in criminal matters is determined by statute.

Prosecutor's common law docket privilege held unconstitutional; state reliance on common law subject to Constitution; Supreme Court to develop details of…

Applied for declaring that docket privilege could not survive the Constitution, that disclosure is a fair trial right under section 35(3), that disclosure is…

Cited for the principle that no adverse inference should be drawn from the appellant's failure to give a satisfactory account of possession because such…

Mahomed J commented that the Constitution requires a programme of affirmative action to redress historical inequities in the public service.

Cited as an example of contextual interpretation applied by the Constitutional Court.

Cited as example of contextual interpretation of constitutional rights in light of historical discrimination.

Court applied the principle that the inherent power of this Court to regulate its own process does not extend to the assumption of jurisdiction not conferred…

Cited to note that the court would be wrong to proceed on an interpretation that the respondent would be entitled to information to which the accused in the…

Constitutional Court case that settled the question of access to material in the police docket, illustrating the uncertainty of substantive law and procedure…

Applied in the context of the State's duty to make full disclosure and the accused's right to a fair trial under the Constitution, particularly regarding…

Cited for Mohamed DP's observation that the new South African constitutional order represents a radical and decisive break from the past which was pervaded by…

Cited for the statement that the Constitution represents a radical and decisive break from the past which was pervaded by inequality, authoritarianism and…

Cited for the proposition that equality lies at the very heart of the Constitution.

Cited for the presumption that the legislature does not intend to alter the common law unless clear from the statute.

Applied for the principle that an accused who fails to produce evidence to rebut a prima facie case runs the risk that the prosecution's case may prove the…

Court cites this case for the proposition that the special entry procedure is useful when the irregularity is discovered only after the conclusion of the trial.

Cited for the principle that the right to remain silent is rooted in common law and statutory law and for principles relating to reverse onus.

Cited for context on the significance of section 55(1)(b) and the power to initiate legislation.

The court applies the principle from Sefatsa that the order of the court a quo amounts to a nullity because it misconceived its position.

The court cites Shabalala for the principle that the state is not obliged to show its hand in advance, at least not before the time when the contents of the…

The case is cited for the principle that where there is prima facie evidence implicating an accused, the accused must adduce sufficient evidence to prevent a…

Cited for the principle that the Supreme Court of Appeal's jurisdiction derives from statute and the position remains basically the same as explained in R v…

Applied to hold that the right to a fair trial does not in the abstract entitle an accused to all information in the State's possession; access to the police…

Cited for the principle that once the prosecution has produced evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case, an accused who fails to produce evidence to…

The High Court relied on this case to hold that it was not permissible to apply for a special entry after the appeal procedure had been exhausted.

Applied in footnote to indicate that an accused has access to relevant parts of the docket if discovery is requested.

The Full Court relied on this apartheid-era case to interpret s 48(3); the Supreme Court of Appeal criticised this reliance as contradicting established…

The Court applies Shabalala to delineate the ambit of the duty of the prosecution to disclose documents to an accused, replacing the blanket docket privilege…

Cited for the principle that even where access to witness statements by an accused is justified, it does not follow that copies of witnesses' statements have…

Constitutional Court held that conjectural objections such as witness tailoring must be balanced against other factors and that competent courts can adequately…

The court applied this case for the principle that where evidence calls for an answer and an accused chooses to remain silent, the court may conclude the…

Cited for the meaning of 'just excuse', holding that the term goes beyond matters of privilege, compellability and admissibility.

Shabalala was cited in Walters for the principle that stare decisis applies even in constitutional contexts to ensure uniformity and certainty.

Court cites Osman in support of the principle that failure to call countervailing evidence places an accused at risk.

This court held that the inherent power to protect and regulate its own process does not extend to the assumption of jurisdiction not conferred upon it by…

The Court cites Sefatsa for the principle that once an appeal procedure is exhausted, courts have no power to re-open a concluded case for further evidence.

Cited for the definition of irregularity as a wrongful deviation from the formalities and rules of procedure.

Cited for the principle that the state is not obliged to show its hand in advance before the time when the contents of the docket must be made available to the…

Authority for the inapplicability of the distinction, valid in the pre-Constitutional legal regime, between the right to a fair trial and attacks based on…

Cited for the principle that the choice to remain silent does not suspend the operation of ordinary rational processes.

Cited for the principle that it could not have been the legislature's intention that issues not finally disposed of by the order of this court must be deemed…

Cited to support that restrictions on expression would be incompatible with South Africa's commitment to a constitutionally protected culture of openness,…

The court applies the principle in Tshabalala that the Constitution imported a radical movement away from the previous state of the law in Rudman, and that…

Cited for the principle that inability to account for possession is an essential element of the offence created in s 36 of the Act.

Cited for describing the Constitution as a 'radical and decisive break from that part of the past which is unacceptable' and the importance of interpreting…