{"id":98697,"date":"2025-06-26T18:44:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98697"},"modified":"2025-06-26T18:44:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:44:33","slug":"concourt-at-30-a-beacon-of-democracy-amid-rising-global-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/concourt-at-30-a-beacon-of-democracy-amid-rising-global-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Concourt at 30: A Beacon of Democracy Amid Rising Global Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 26 June 2025 | 14:00 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

South Africa marks three decades of judicial resilience and constitutional guardianship. \ud83d\udcf7 @GovernmentZA\/X.<\/p><\/div>\n

As South Africa reflects on 30 years since the establishment of its Constitutional Court (Concourt), President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the institution as a \u201cbeacon of hope\u201d in a global climate of democratic erosion. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa warned that \u201cthe world is facing a moment of profound instability,\u201d citing trends such as right-wing populism, judicial attacks, and democratic backsliding, particularly in the U.S. and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

In conversation with Radio Islam International,<\/a><\/em> Naledi Kuali, Executive Director of Defend Our Democracy, reiterated the critical role played by the Concourt since its inception. \u201cIt has remained committed to interpreting legislation in line with the values of the Constitution, values like the right to land, primary healthcare, electricity, and basic services,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of the court\u2019s most iconic rulings, she added, was its abolition of the death penalty, which \u201cdisproportionately affects the poor and unrepresented.\u201d This foundational judgment helped set the tone for a legal system grounded in dignity and equality.<\/p>\n

Kuali emphasized that the Concourt\u2019s significance lies not only in its decisions but also in its unwavering commitment to principle, even amid public pressure or political noise. \u201cIts job is to keep our base grounded in what we committed to in 1996,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if the popular opinion sways, the Court must stay the course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Importantly, the court’s composition has evolved to mirror the country\u2019s diversity. Kuali noted: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen strides in ensuring that judges come from various walks of life, gender, race, and legal experience, bringing a nuanced understanding of the South African context to jurisprudence.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the road ahead isn’t without challenges. Kuali warned of \u201cattacks on the judiciary\u2019s independence\u201d and increasing calls to alter or even discard the Constitution. \u201cThis is not in favour of democratic principles,\u201d she said firmly. \u201cThe court must not make permanent decisions based on temporary political waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

While criticisms exist, particularly on matters of moral interpretation the Concourt remains a critical guardian of rights, especially religious freedoms and constitutional protections. As Kuali concluded, its sustainability depends on its steadfastness: \u201cRemaining unwavering is how we protect our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Naledi Kuali.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 26 June 2025 | 14:00 CAT As South Africa reflects on 30 years since the establishment of its Constitutional Court (Concourt), President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the institution as a \u201cbeacon of hope\u201d in a global climate of democratic erosion. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa warned that \u201cthe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/whatsapp-image-2025-06-20-at-165238-1.jpeg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pFT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-17 17:18:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}