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ARTICLE · 02 NOVEMBER 2026

Reflections On The Constitutional Court’s Public Procurement Act Judgment

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
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Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) is one of the largest full-service business law firms in South Africa,...

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The Constitutional Court's recent judgment on the Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024 has created a procedural roadblock to procurement reform in South Africa, invalidating the legislation not on substantive grounds, but due to inadequate public participation during the legislative process. While the ambitious attempt to consolidate procurement law has been struck down, the fragmented regulatory landscape it sought to address persists...

South AfricaGovernment, Public Sector
Jackwell Feris
Jackwell Feris
Imraan Abdullah
Imraan Abdullah
Charles Green
Charles Green
Simlindile Peggy Xolo
Simlindile Peggy Xolo

On 17 September 2026, a significant legislative reform initiative encountered a constitutional procedural hurdle. That may be an overly simplistic way of describing the Constitutional Court’s judgment in Premier of the Western Cape Government and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; City of Cape Town and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2026] ZACC 37, but the judgment nevertheless forms part of what appears to be an increasingly discernible feature of South African public law.

At a glance

  • The Constitutional Court's judgment in Premier of the Western Cape Government and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; City of Cape Town and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2026] ZACC 37 introduced a constitutional procedural hurdle to the legislative reform of the Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024 (Public Procurement Act).

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