S v Bhulwana; S v Gwadiso
South African legal case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In S v Bhulwana; S v Gwadiso, the Constitutional Court of South Africa established the unconstitutionality of a reverse onus provision applying to the offence of drug dealing under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992. Under section 21(1)(a)(i) of the Act, accused persons found in possession of over 150 grams of dagga were presumed guilty of dealing in dagga unless their innocence was proved in court. Handing down a unanimous judgment on 29 November 1995, Justice Kate O'Regan held that this provision violated the presumption of innocence and therefore the constitutional right to a fair trial.
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S v Bhulwana; S v Gwadiso | |
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Court | Constitutional Court of South Africa |
Full case name | State v Bhulwana; State v Gwadiso |
Decided | 29 November 1995 (1995-11-29) |
Docket nos. | CCT12/95; CCT11/95 |
Citation(s) | [1995] ZACC 11, 1996 (1) SA 388; 1995 (12) BCLR 1579 (CC) |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | Referrals from Supreme Court of South Africa, Cape of Good Hope Provincial Division:
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Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Chaskalson P, Ackermann J, Didcott J, Kriegler J, Langa J, Madala J, Mokgoro J, O'Regan J, Sachs J and Ngoepe AJ |
Case opinions | |
Decision by | O'Regan J (unanimous) |
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