ATC110316: Report on Mr L Greyling Legislative proposal to regulate private funding of political parties

Private Members' Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions

Report of the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions on the legislative proposal to regulate private funding of political parties (Honourable L Greyling), dated 16 March 2011:

 

The Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions, having considered the legislative proposal to regulate private funding of political parties and consulted with the Presidency and the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests, recommends that permission not be granted to the member to proceed with the proposed legislation.

 

The committee, having taken parliamentary legal advice, wishes to make the following observations with regard to its recommendation:

 

1.                   the legislative proposal has the potential to negatively impact on the promotion of the constitutional values that underlie a multi-party system of democratic government, as reflected in section 1(d) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;

2.                   in terms of section 8(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, a juristic person (such as a political party) is “entitled to the rights in the Bill of Rights to the extent required by the nature of the rights and the nature of that juristic person”;

3.                   the proposal, if allowed to proceed, carries the potential to limit the constitutional right to privacy (section 14), freedom of expression (section 16), freedom of association (section 18) and political rights (section 19) of both individuals and juristic persons; and

4.                   the legislative proposal does not indicate to what extent the potential limitations can be reasonably justified in a democratic society in terms of the requirements contained in section 36 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and thus does not sufficiently illustrate that affected rights can be balanced in a manner that still gives sufficient expression to the spirit, purport and object of the Constitution.

 

In light of the above, the committee is of the view that the legislative proposal of Honourable L Greyling is not feasible and should not be proceeded with. [Honourable L Greyling (Independent Democrats) dissenting.]

 

Report to be considered.