Decision by Mokgoro | End date November 26, 1997 | |
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Full case name Larbi-Odam and Others v the Member of the Executive Council for Education (North-West Province) and Another Decided 26 November 1997 (1997-11-26) Citation(s) [1997] ZACC 16, 1997 (12) BCLR 1655, 1998 (1) SA 745 Appealed from Bophuthatswana Division Judges sitting Chaskalson P, Langa DP, Ackermann, Didcott, Goldstone, Kriegler, Madala, Mokgoro, O'Regan & Sachs JJ Ruling court Constitutional Court of South Africa Judge sittings Laurie Ackermann, John Didcott, Richard Goldstone, Johann Kriegler, Tholie Madala, Yvonne Mokgoro | ||
Larbi-Odam v MEC for Education (North-West Province) is a 1997 judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which held that a government policy forbidding the employment of non-citizens (including permanent residents) in permanent teaching positions, was unconstitutional. Although citizenship is not one of the prohibited grounds for discrimination listed in the equality clause of South Africa's Constitution, the court found unanimously that in this case discrimination against non-citizens was unfair. It came to this decision because non-citizens are necessarily a minority with little political power, and because citizenship is a personal attribute which is difficult to change.
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