Case name:
 Booysen v The Minister of Safety and Security and Others [2011] 1 BLLR 83 (LAC)

Area of law:                 
Labour Law: Jurisdiction of the Courts vis-à-vis disciplinary hearings

Brief facts/summary:  
Booysen, a director of the South African Police Service, was charged with fraud, corruption and perjury. Given the seriousness of the allegations, Booysen was suspended without pay.

Following numerous postponements, the disciplinary hearing was set down for hearing on 13 February 2011. Booysen then launched an urgent interdict application in the Labour Court to postpone the hearing further. This was to prevent the hearing from being heard before judgment was reached in a review application Booysen had initiated after he was deemed fit and capable by the chairperson to attend his hearing.

The Labour Court ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to interfere in an internal disciplinary hearing and dismissed the application. Booysen then instituted proceedings in the High Court, which came to the same conclusion.

A final appeal to the Labour Appeal Court yielded a different result. The LAC held that the Labour Court does indeed have the jurisdiction to interdict unfair conduct, and that this includes unfair disciplinary action, and referred the matter back to the Labour Court to make a judgment (as the merits of the case had already been canvassed before it).

Importance/value:    
Such intervention by the Courts in internal disciplinary proceedings is always in the Courts’ discretion, however should only be permitted in exceptional cases. It is apparent that the most important factor to consider is whether failure to intervene would lead to grave injustice.       

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