Click here to read the full judgment on Saflii

[l] The triumph of democracy in South Africa brought with it a revolution in our legal system. We now live in a constitutional democracy that is underpinned by values including human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. As the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it stands to reason that its foundational values should be reflected in the law. Our courts are constitutionally empowered and mandated to declare all laws or conduct in conflict with the Constitution invalid.

[2] That is not to suggest that laws enacted before the time at which our hard­ fought democracy was won are inherently unconstitutional. Instead, all law, whether enacted prior to 1994 or in the successive democratic years, must yield to the norms, values and letter of the Constitution.