Synopsis:
Application for leave to appeal against decision of Cape High Court. The appellants challenge provisions of the Magistrates' Courts Act 32 of 1944 which provide for execution against the immovable property of judgment debtors, on the basis that the impugned sections constituted an unjustifiable limit on their right of access to adequate housing in s 26 of the Constitution. Mokgoro J, in a unanimous judgment, upheld the appeal against the decision of the High Court. Any measure which removes from people their pre-existing access to adequate housing limits the right to housing in the Constitution. The process of execution against immovable property is unconstitutional to the extent that it allows a person's home to be sold in execution in circumstances where it is unjustifiable. An appropriate remedy would be to provide judicial oversight of the execution process. Words read in to the Act.
