NGCOBO J it would be constitutionally appropriate to leave that uncertainty in place, simply because the High Court should not have dealt with the issue. [65] There are further considerations which weigh in favour of us considering the orders of invalidity. First, the issues raised by the High Court are issues that affect child complainants of sexual offences who are not parties to criminal proceedings but who nonetheless possess constitutional rights. The fact that they are not parties to the proceedings limits their ability to vindicate their constitutional rights in court proceedings in which they are called as witnesses. There is a need, therefore, to protect the rights of the complainants of crime, in particular, child complainants in sexual offence cases. And in the case of children, section 28(2) of the Constitution requires that their best interests should be “of paramount importance” in every matter concerning them. A criminal trial in which a child complainant testifies, is indeed a matter concerning that child. It concerns the violation of the dignity of the child. Moreover, children are regularly called upon to give evidence in our courts on a daily basis. While any order we make may not have any practical effect on the accused and the complainants in these two cases, it will nevertheless have a practical effect on future criminal proceedings involving child witnesses. [66] Second, there is an appeal by the Minister against both the orders of invalidity and the declaratory and supervisory orders granted by the High Court. This appeal highlights the dispute between the Minister and the DPP. Apart from this, a number of non-governmental bodies that specialise in the area of child abuse have challenged 35