Synopsis:
Application for direct access, following the Court’s decision in Wiese v Government Employees Pension Fund, to declare constitutionally invalid those provisions of the Post Office Act that prevented the pension interest of a pension contributor’s spouse from vesting upon the date of divorce from the contributor. The Court found that because spouses of contributors under the Pension Funds Act and the Government Employees Pension Law Amendment Act enjoyed this benefit while spouses of contributors under the Post Office Act did not, the right to equality under section 9(1) of the Constitution had been unjustifiably infringed. The Court suspended the declaration of invalidity for eight months to allow Parliament to cure the defect, and ordered that if the unconstitutionality was not remedied by that time, section 24A of the Government Employees Pension Law would be read into the Post Office Act.
Judgment: Van der Westhuizen J (unanimous).
