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  1. #1

    Default The relationship between civil liberties and fundamental rights

    What use do fundamental rights have if they can't guarantee the protection and advancement of civil liberties?

    Civil liberties or personal freedoms are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may include the freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_liberties


  2. #2

    Default Re: The relationship between civil liberties and fundamental rights

    So, in order to bring greater awareness to the public about the slippery slope that we have fallen into with regards to attack on civil liberties in the context of firearm rights and rights in general, here is an extract from a recent letter by the attorneys that was send to the chairman of the Firearms Appeals Board in response to a letter by the Board to the attorney, asking for "further particulars" in the appeal:

    "....

    2.5 AD the BOARD’S INTRODUCTORY COMMENT TO THE LETTER:
    “As you should be aware, the constitutional court (sic) in the case of Minister of Safety and Security v South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association (2018) ZACC 14 has confirmed what was always known to some which is that owning a firearm is not a fundamental right but a privilege regulated by law.”

    2.5.1 In as much as this introductory paragraph is relevant and as far as it indeed sets the tone for the remainder of the letter from the Board, we wish to respond as follows:

    2.5.1.1 The Constitutional Court made this comment obiter (in passing) and not as part of the ratio decidendi of the judgment. As such, two things stand out, namely:

    a) that firearm ownership per se is not a fundamental right that has been expressly codified in the Bill of Rights. In the case of firearms that are required for self-defense specifically, the citizen however has the fundamental right to life and the protection thereof against unlawful attacks. The right to life then again becomes meaningless if the citizen does not have an adequate means of protecting it without a firearm. There is nothing contained in the judgment of the Constitutional Court, whether by way of ratio decidendi or obiter dicta, that goes against this principle. (The same applies to other reasons for firearm ownership. These rights are accessory to the principal rights and other civil liberties and without these rights, the principal rights and civil liberties become meaningless);

    b) on the other hand, the relevant passage of the quoted text is rather clear on the “regulated by law” part thereof. Writer hereof submits that the SAPS and the Board should first and foremost set an example of compliance with the law and should specifically abstain from acting outside their powers as provided to them in terms of the relevant legislation. Conversely, if the citizen has in every way complied with the relevant legislation as our client has indeed done, the Registrar and this Board should respect the law and should not take every imaginable and unimaginable step to venture outside of its provisions to seemingly try and find ways of not giving effects to the “regulations of the law”.

    2.5.1.2 By now it is common knowledge and indeed also common cause between the parties (in the subsequent case between GOSA and the Commissioner of Police and Others, North Gauteng High Court case 46684/2018 that followed the case to which the Board refers) and indeed also the subject of further litigation that the SAPS:

    a) changed their computer system during or about February 2016 to make it impossible for applicants to submit applications for renewals of licenses have expired, despite the fact that the official forms that were promulgated in terms of the Regulations to the FCA in 2004 make specific provision therefore;

    b) that this step by the SAPS was taken ultra vires the provisions of the FCA;

    c)That, when this matter was debated before the Constitutional Court, leading up to the judgment that the Board has now referred to in its letter, the SAPS did not disclose these very important facts to the highest court in the country.

    2.5.1.3 In the premises, we submit that the entire judgment of the Constitutional Court needs to be viewed in the light of these facts that have subsequently become available and that the judgment that the Board refers to, has for all practical purposes became of very little practical
    value to any of the parties or the community at large and that it is regrettable that the Board relied on this part of the judgment to set the adverse tone for the remainder of its letter from which it appears that the Board has set out on a course to introduce additional requirements
    of its own and in addition to which it states that a substantial portion of the documents that were submitted to both the SAPS and the Board is said to be unavailable to the Board.






    _______________________
    Annette Clark
    "

  3. #3
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    Default Re: The relationship between civil liberties and fundamental rights

    The fact that it must be spelled out to them is rather scary. Why are they so hell bent on acting outside of the law? Might it be that it is inline with a broader disarmament strategy by the tripartheid alliance?

  4. #4

    Default Re: The relationship between civil liberties and fundamental rights

    Quote Originally Posted by KillMurphy911 View Post
    The fact that it must be spelled out to them is rather scary. Why are they so hell bent on acting outside of the law? Might it be that it is inline with a broader disarmament strategy by the tripartheid alliance?
    They are by far not alone in their ignorance of the deep dark hole that they are falling into which they are digging for everyone including themselves. The majority of South Africans are actually happily digging together, and they find themselves in the esteemed company of the judges of the highest court in the land.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: The relationship between civil liberties and fundamental rights

    Quote Originally Posted by MTTSS View Post
    and they find themselves in the esteemed company of the judges of the highest court in the land.
    For me this is the most concerning reality we as FA owners have to deal with in the next few years. If we cannot put our trust in the judicial system to rule on a well presented and logical argument, it will just be a matter of time for the inevitable to be rubber stamped.

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