Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - March 27, 2002
"We will implement all of them, even those court judgements that cause us some concerns," he said at the official opening of the revamped magistrate's court in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town.
Maduna was referring to the furore surrounding Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's comment on Sunday that government would not abide by a recent court ruling on the provision of Aids drugs.
The Pretoria High Court this week granted an application by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) that nevirapine be provided to pregnant women by state hospitals with the capacity to do so, despite an appeal by the state against an earlier similar ruling.
On Wednesday Maduna said a strong and well-resourced judiciary was in the best interests of any democracy and the state would always provide the necessary support.
However, this did not mean that government would not criticise when it felt criticism was due.
"But as I say so, as human beings and as people, we shall never desist from criticising when criticism is legitimate and we know that the judges will appreciate that."
Maduna said government was, after all, a person of the law and would reserve the right to all remedies available to litigants in terms of the law.
"We owe it to the people of South Africa to do so, so that indeed there is clarity on all the contentious and controversial matters."
The judiciary was the only constitutionally established institution that could say with certainty "which way things ought to go".
It was the only institution that could say what the law was, even when there were problems of interpretation, Maduna said.
The Mitchell's Plain Magistrate's Court has just undergone a R4,2-million refurbishment -- sponsored by the Danish government -- to make it more accessible to the public.
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