The Du Plessis Case
1996
Du Plessis and Others v De Klerk and Another
Horizontal and Vertical Application of the Constitution
A hot issue in this case was: Does the Bill of Rights apply only vertically to relationships between the State and private persons, or does it also apply horizontally to relationships between private persons? In his judgment, Justice Sachs contends that it applies diagonally, that is, to relations indirectly between private persons through its influence on the interpretation of statutes and the development by the courts of the common law.
