Provinces rejects the Traditional Courts Bill

We also heard from Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi - Senior Researcher at the Rural Women’s Action Research programme at UCT’s Centre for Law and Society. We were talking about the latest development regarding the Traditional Courts Bill. The Traditional Courts Bill was introduced by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in March 2008 on the basis that it would improve “access to justice” by giving proper recognition to the traditional justice system in a manner consistent with values in customary law and the Constitution. But activists objected to the Bill saying it is unconstitutional and should not be passed into law. It is reported that majority of provincial delegations opposed the Traditional Courts Bill but the National Council of Provinces’ Select Committee for Security and Constitutional Development decided to refer the Bill to the provincial legislatures for a third time. For further information on the Bill you can visit www.lrg.uct.ac.za