NGCOBO J
appropriate for this Court not to consider whether the High Court was wrong in
coming to the conclusion that a legislative provision is constitutionally invalid. If this
were to be so, this Court might refuse to confirm the High Court declaration of
invalidity without more, and simply on the basis that the High Court ought not to have
decided the invalidity issue. This is not a matter that has to be decided in this case.
[69] For all these reasons, it is in the interests of justice to consider the constitutional
validity of the invalidated provisions.
The constitutionality of the invalidated provisions
[70] The question of whether the invalidated provisions provide protection to child
complainants of sexual offences consistently with section 28(2) of the Constitution,
turns upon their proper construction. They must be understood in the context of the
Constitution, the Sexual Offences Amendment Act and the CPA. The exercise is
essentially one of statutory interpretation. The starting point is section 28(2), which
provides the constitutional context within which the invalidated provisions must be
understood and construed.60
The constitutional context – section 28(2) of the Constitution
[71] Section 28(2) proclaims:
“A child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the
child.”
60
Above n 27 at para 45.
37
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