Questions About Interpreting and Applying the Constitution | The Sidumo Case

Was unfair dismissal of a public employee a matter for proceedings under labour law processes, or something to be reviewed by the courts under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA)? The judges of the Constitutional Court all agreed on what the outcome of the case should be, but were split down the middle with regard to the legal route that should be followed to get there. In his concurring judgment, Justice Sachs held that, given the value system underpinning the whole of the Bill of Rights, the outcome should be the same whichever route was followed. Text and values work together in integral fashion to provide the protections promised by the Constitution. And by their nature, values resist compartmentalisation.