Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of SA: In re Ex parte President

The Constitutional Court confirmed that all executive action must comply with the principle of legality, which requires that public power be exercised rationally and in accordance with law. The Court held that the President's power to make regulations must be authorized by legislation and that affected parties have a right to procedural fairness, though this right is subject to constitutional limitations and may be qualified by urgency or other considerations.

The President promulgated regulations under the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act without prior notice to interested parties. The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association challenged the regulations, arguing they were enacted without consultation and affected their rights. The matter came before the Constitutional Court to determine the validity of the executive action and the applicable procedural requirements.

Whether the principle of legality requires executive action to be rational and procedurally fair, and whether the President was obliged to afford interested parties an opportunity to make representations before promulgating regulations.

The Court held that the principle of legality is a foundational constitutional value requiring all public power to be exercised lawfully and rationally. Executive action that affects individuals must generally comply with procedural fairness requirements, though the content of those requirements depends on the statutory and constitutional context.

The exercise of all public power must comply with the Constitution and the principle of legality, which mandates rationality and procedural fairness appropriate to the circumstances, even in the absence of express statutory requirements.

The Court reasoned that the rule of law, entrenched in the Constitution, demands that exercise of public power be authorized by law and rationally connected to the purpose for which the power was conferred. Procedural fairness is an incident of lawful administrative action, though its precise content varies with context. The constitutional supremacy clause requires all law and conduct to be consistent with the Constitution, grounding legality review in constitutional rather than merely common-law principles.

The Court discussed the relationship between the common-law principles of natural justice and constitutional administrative justice, indicating a shift toward constitutional foundations for administrative law doctrine.

This is a foundational case establishing legality and rationality as constitutional grounds for reviewing executive and administrative action in post-apartheid South Africa. It is essential for understanding the constitutional basis of administrative law and the doctrine that all public power must be exercised lawfully, rationally, and with appropriate procedural protections.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of SA: In re Ex parte President 2000 (2) SA 674 (CC) [2000] ZACC 1