Chapter Two of The Constitution of South Africa - Application

Application

The extent of the jurisdiction and application of the Bill of Rights is defined by sections seven and eight, entitled "Rights" and "Application" respectively. Section seven provides that the rights apply to "all people in our country" (although certain rights are limited to citizens) and requires the state (by which is meant government at all levels) to "respect, protect, promote and fulfil" the Bill of Rights. It also notes that the rights in the Bill are subject to the limitations provided for in section thirty-six and elsewhere in the Bill; see Limitations below.

Although section two already provides for the supremacy of the Constitution over all laws and government actions, section eight explicitly states that the Bill of Rights applies to all law and binds all branches and organs of government. It further states that the provisions of the Bill also bind private parties to the extent that they are applicable, given the nature of the rights in question, and requires the courts to develop the common law to this effect. Finally, section eight extends the benefits of the Bill of Rights to juristic persons, taking into account the nature of the rights and the juristic persons in question. Thus, for example, the right to human dignity and the right to health care clearly only apply to actual human beings, while the right to freedom of expression and the right to property apply also to corporations.