Protector’s decision not binding, says Jeffery

THE decisions taken by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela were not legally binding, Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery said.

“It all boils down to the question of whether or not the public protector's decisions are legally binding or enforceable. We in government argue that they cannot be,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.

When the Constitutional Court certified the text of the constitution, it held that the public protector was an office modelled on the institution of an ombudsman.

“The only reason it was called a public protector and (not) an ombudsman is because the term ombudsman was considered to be gender-insensitive,” he said.

“Ombuds around the world do not make legally enforceable findings, unless their enabling legislation expressly provides them with quasi-judicial powers.”

Jeffery said the power of the public protector was limited and that the constitution referred only to recommendations that she could make.