File
The Constitutional Court has confirmed a High Court decision declaring the Executive Ethics Code to be unconstitutional.
The application to the court was brought by the investigative journalism group, Amabhungane, following a ruling in the High Court last year.
The Concourt on Tuesday held that section 19 of the Constitution and the Ethics Act fell short of the standards of transparency and openness and undermines the Ethics Act, and is therefore unconstitutional
It found the Act to be unconstitutional because it does not require members of the executive to disclose donations they receive for internal party political campaigns.
The Concourt found, in its 37-page judgment that the Executive Ethics Code "falls short of Constitutional and statutory dictates of transparency, accountability, and openness."
"This Court is duty bound by section 172(1)(a) of the Constitution to declare any law or conduct unconstitutional and invalid to the extent of its inconsistency," said Justice Steven Majiedt who delivered the unanimous judgment.
The apex court suspended the order for 12 months to enable the respondents to remedy the defect.
The case arose from litigation concerning Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report on a donation to Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidential campaign in 2017.
This relates to the case of President Cyril Ramaphosa versus Public Protector Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane in the so-called CR17 report.
Mkhwebane had found that Ramphosa breached the code by not disclosing a half-a-million rand donation from the late former Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson.
The year-long suspension of the order means CR17 bank statements will not be unsealed and donations made for the upcoming ANC presidential contestation will also be kept secret.
