NGCOBO J condonation in respect of the late filing of the notice of appeal against the orders of invalidity, this too should be condoned. The orders of invalidity are, in any event, before this Court for confirmation. In addition, the delay was only eight days. There is no prejudice to the other parties. These special circumstances weigh in favour of granting condonation. What must be stressed, however, is that this should not be viewed as condoning what has become common practice for litigants demonstrating a blatant disregard for the rules of this Court. [30] And now to the questions presented. Questions presented [31] The questions presented in these cases are the following: (a) May a court raise, of its own accord, a constitutional issue? (b) If so, was it appropriate for it to do so in these cases? (c) If it was inappropriate for the High Court to raise any of the constitutional issues, should this Court nevertheless proceed to consider whether or not to confirm the orders of invalidity? (d) Should we confirm the order of invalidity in relation to: i) Section 153(3); ii) Section 153(5); iii) Section 158(5); iv) Section 164(1); v) Section 170A(1); and 16