Parliament’s surrendering of power to bureaucrats jeopardises democracy

Author: Martin van Staden

Date: 14 November 2017

Did you know that when you drive 140 in a 120 km/h zone, you are not ‘breaking the law’, at least not directly?  The same applies when you ‘illegally’ park your car on the sidewalk, or when you sell or sublet your RDP house without permission. How can this be?

What you are doing is falling foul of a regulation, determination, notice, directive, or whatever else they decide to call it on that particular day; and none of these things are law. We have to obey these regulations because the law says we must, but our acquiescence to them does not render them democratically legitimate.

(Read the rest of the article at the Free Market Foundation…)

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Martin van Staden

Martin van Staden LL.M. (cum laude) (UP) is a Member of the Rule of Law Board of Advisors and of the Executive Committee of the Free Market Foundation. He is pursuing an LL.D. at the University of Pretoria.

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