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PAJA
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act 3 of 2000)
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ABOUT - Terms l Introduction l Administrative Action l Procedural Fairness l Reasons l Judicial Review
What is the PAJA Act?
The PAJA is an Act of Parliament, passed to give effect to the constitutional rights to lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair administrative action, and to the right to be given reasons for administrative action. That is, it:
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Is the Act of Parliament mentioned in section 33 of the Constitution;
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Requires administrators to follow fair procedures when making decisions;
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Requires administrators to give adequate reasons, when asked to do so, for the decisions that they have taken;
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Requires administrators to inform people about their rights to review or appeal and to request reasons;
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Gives members of the public the right to challenge administrative decisions in court on a number of grounds; and
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It lays down the procedures that must be followed by people seeking judicial review.
b. If the rights to administrative justice are already in the Bill of Rights, why is there also an Act?
As we have seen, section 33 of the Constitution required Parliament to pass such an Act. The PAJA was passed to "give effect" to the rights in the Constitution - that is, to make them work in practice. The rights in section 33 are very briefly and simply worded. The PAJA gives more detail to this right and sets out specific procedures to be followed.
Before the PAJA was passed, administrators were only guided by the Constitution. Now, the Constitution has been supplemented by the Act. This means that administrators must first look to the PAJA to find out what their general legal obligations are in relation to the powers that they have by law.
But, if administrators are not sure about how to interpret something in the PAJA, they should remember that:
- The PAJA is there to give effect to the right to just administrative action in the Constitution; and
- The PAJA is there to help ensure the government is democratic, accountable, open and transparent.