Christian Education South Africa v Minister of Education

Christian Education South Africa v Minister of Education is an important case in South African law. It was heard in the Constitutional Court, by Chaskalson P, Langa DP, Goldstone J, Madala J, Mokgoro J, Ngcobo J, O'Regan J, Sachs J, Yacoob J and Cameron AJ, on 4 May 2000, with judgment handed down on 18 August. FG Richings SC (with him AM Achtzehn) appeared for the appellant, and MNS Sithole SC (with him BJ Pienaar) for the respondent.

Facts

The central question to be answered in the present appeal, from a decision in a Local Division, was whether, when Parliament enacted the South African Schools Act (wherein it prohibited corporal punishment in schools), it had violated the rights of parents of children at independent schools who, in line with their religious convictions, had consented to its use.

The appellant averred that corporal correction was an integral part of the active Christian ethos which it sought to provide its learners and that the blanket prohibition of its use in its schools invaded individual and parental and community rights to practise religion freely. Having been unsuccessful in the court a quo, the appellant was granted leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the blanket prohibition contained in section 10 of the Act infringed the provisions in the Constitution relating to

privacy;

freedom of religion, belief and opinion;

education;

language and culture; and

cultural, religious and linguistic communities.

The respondent contended that it was the infliction of corporal punishment, not its prohibition, which infringed constitutional rights. He argued that the appellant's claim to be entitled to special exemption was inconsistent with the constitutional provisions relating to

equality;

human dignity;

freedom and security of the person; and

children.

The respondent contended further that section 31(1) rights could not, in terms of the provisions of section 31(2), be exercised in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights, and that the trend in democratic countries was to ban corporal punishment in schools, and finally that South Africa's obligations as signatory to various conventions required the abolition of corporal punishment in schools, since it involved subjecting children to violence and degrading punishment. Inasmuch as the outlawing of corporal punishment limited other rights, such limitation was reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.