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6
THE PRINCIPLE OF
DEMOCRACY IN
SOUTH AFRICAN
*
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW*
Theunis Roux
1 Introduction
Given the interpretive function assigned to it by the Constitutional
Court in NICRO, 1 the logical place to start in trying to articulate the
principle of democracy in South African constitutional law is the
provision on founding values. FC section 1 reads:
The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign democratic state founded
on the following values: ... (d) Universal adult suffrage, a national
common voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of
democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and
openness.
On its face, the principle of democracy that this provision supports is
one that attributes to the institutions of representative government a
particular purpose, namely, ‘to ensure accountability, responsiveness
and openness’. For this reading, though not for the argument of this
* This chapter is an extract from T Roux ‘Democracy’ in S Woolman et al (eds
Constitutional Law of South Africa (2nd Edition, OS, 2006) Chapter 10, available
at www.westlaw.com.
1 Minister of Home Affairs v National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration
of Offenders (NICRO) & Others 2005 3 SA 280 (CC), 2004 5 BCLR 445
(CC) para 21.
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