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- An appeal against a Gauteng High Court decision to dismiss a case against Covid-19 regulations has been dismissed in the SCA.
- The High Court dismissed the case challenging regulations on religious gatherings.
- The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the case because the regulations were no longer in effect.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed an appeal challenging the Covid-19 regulations on religious gatherings because the regulations no longer existed.
Solidariteit Helpende Hand NPC, SA National Christian Forum, Muslim Lawyers' Association, and Freedom of Religion South Africa NPC brought the appeal against former cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 2021.
At the height of the pandemic, the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 was invoked to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and two adjustments were made for religious gatherings.
On 29 December 2020, the regulations prohibited all faith-based gatherings for two weeks. The regulations changed on 11 January 2021 to a blanket ban on religious gatherings for an indefinite period.
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In January 2021, the religious organisations launched separate applications calling for the regulations to be reviewed and set aside on the basis that it infringed on their constitutional rights.
The applications were consolidated for a case at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.
But before the case could be heard, on 1 February 2021, Dlamini-Zuma lifted the ban on religious gatherings. However, gatherings were still restricted in terms of numbers.
The Gauteng High Court dismissed the application on the basis that the matter was moot, meaning that it had no practical relevance because the regulations no longer existed.
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When the appeal came before the SCA on 14 March 2023, the Covid-19 restrictions had been lifted completely.
According to a notice by the SCA issued on Friday, because the "regulations were long since repealed and no longer in force before the matter came before the High Court, there was nothing to set aside".
It said any SCA decision on the regulations would have no effect "as there were no regulations in place at the present moment".
"Accordingly, the SCA held that the High Court was correct in finding that the matter was moot. Its findings were unassailable (could not be questioned). The SCA held further that there was no real purpose to be served by entertaining the appeal."
