O’REGAN J and SACHS J
property, the seizure of private possessions or the violation of private
communications.”
“26.
Economic activity
(1)
Every person shall have the right to freely engage in economic activity
and to pursue a livelihood anywhere in the national territory.
(2)
Subsection (1) shall not preclude measures designed to promote the
protection or the improvement of the quality of life, economic growth,
human development, social justice, basic conditions of employment, fair
labour practices or equal opportunity for all, provided such measures
are justifiable in an open and democratic society based on freedom and
equality.”
[52]
There was considerable overlap in the challenges. Thus, counsel for the appellants
argued that the structure of the Constitution makes it necessary to cluster the rights to dignity,
privacy, and freedom of the person under the global concept of autonomy. In the first place, he
argued, it is a matter of extreme significance for all persons to be able to determine how to live
their lives. It is the experience of autonomy that matters, the right to make decisions rather than
the content of these decisions. Secondly, the state should not be empowered to make judgments
concerning the good or bad life, provided that the conduct in question does not harm others.
Such conduct might be unworthy or risky, but if it is not harmful to others then the state can not
interfere.
[53]
While we accept that there is manifest overlap between the rights to dignity, freedom and
privacy, and each reinforces the other, we do not believe that it is useful for the purposes of
constitutional analysis to posit an independent right to autonomy. There can be no doubt that the
ambit of each of the protected rights is to be determined in part by the underlying purport and
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