JUDICIAL REVIEW OF DECISIONS OF DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNALS OF VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION: THE POST-1994 INTERPRETATION

Abstract

The relationship between a voluntary association and its members is founded on a contract. The constitution of the association regulates the acquisition and termination of the membership of the association. The courts have always had the jurisdiction to hear disputes between members of the association, and they can also interfere with its decision if it has acted ultra vires, or in an instance where its decision was vitiated by bias. After the dawn of the new constitutional democracy, the Constitution became the supreme law of the Republic, and it enshrined the transformative clauses. Thus, the process of transforming the adjudication of disputes in the private sector has to be aligned with the values embedded in the Constitution. This article explains the review of the decisions of a disciplinary tribunal prior to and after the 1994 constitutional dispensation. This it does by discussing the effect of transformative constitutionalism on the review of disputes in the private sector. The relevant transformative clauses in the Constitution are discussed. More particularly, the article concentrates on the effect of the just administrative clause in the Constitution and the Promotion of Just Administrative Act (PAJA) in transforming the rules of natural justice. Furthermore, instances where the PAJA is applicable with regard to the decision of a tribunal of voluntary association, are explained. Finally, a conclusion is drawn on the post-1994 courts’ reviews of decisions of disciplinary tribunals of voluntary associations.