Case Law[2022] ZAWCHC 43South Africa
Breukel and Another v Department of Home Affairs and Another (21836/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 43; [2022] 2 All SA 787 (WCC); 2023 (4) SA 583 (WCC) (23 March 2022)
Judgment
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# South Africa: Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
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## Breukel and Another v Department of Home Affairs and Another (21836/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 43; [2022] 2 All SA 787 (WCC); 2023 (4) SA 583 (WCC) (23 March 2022)
Breukel and Another v Department of Home Affairs and Another (21836/2021) [2022] ZAWCHC 43; [2022] 2 All SA 787 (WCC); 2023 (4) SA 583 (WCC) (23 March 2022)
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sino date 23 March 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
SOUTH AFRICA
WESTERN CAPE DIVISION,
CAPE TOWN
CASE
NO: 21836/2021
In the matter between:
CLAIRE
BREUKEL
First
Applicant
ELISA
SOFIA SAIN
SERRANO
Second
Applicant
and
DEPARTMENT
OF HOME AFFAIRS
First
Respondent
MINISTER
OF HOME
AFFAIRS
Second
Respondent
JUDGMENT
FRANCIS, J
INTRODUCTION
[1]
The first applicant (“Ms Breukel”) is a South African
citizen who is in
a permanent life partnership with the second
applicant (“Ms Serrano”), a citizen of Venezuela.
[2]
The first respondent is the Department of Home Affairs (“the
department”)
and the second respondent is the Minister of Home
Affairs (“the Minister”), the executive authority of the
department.
[3]
Both applicants are based overseas. They intended to visit Cape Town
to spend 3 months
together with Ms Breukel’s family over the
festive season. Ms Serrano was to stay in South Africa until 24 March
2022 and
she has a ticket booked with American Airlines to leave
South Africa for Madrid, Spain on that day. The applicants also
planned
to get married by entering a civil union during their 3 month
stay in South Africa.
[4]
Both Ms Serrano and Ms Breukel travelled separately to South Africa.
[5]
Ms Serrano travelled on Ethiopian Airlines (ET 847) and arrived in
Cape Town at around
14h00 on 24 December 2021. When she attempted to
formally enter the country through immigration at Cape Town
International Airport
(“CTIA”), she was denied entry. The
reason provided was “Manual Extended Passport”.
[6]
In their founding affidavit, the applicants explain that the
Venezuelan government
has for several years not issued new passports
to replace expired passports. Instead, in order to save costs, it
renews passports
by inserting an extension document into the expiring
passport. The extension document serves to extend the validity of the
passport.
These extension documents are called “prorroga”
in Spanish. This explanation is taken from the official website of
the Venezuelan government and an extract from the website, in
Spanish, was annexed to the founding affidavit.
[7]
A statement was subsequently filed by an immigration lawyer
practising in Venezuela,
Mr Hernândez of the firm
BellorinGuzman & Associados, who confirmed the position regarding
the extension of passports
as outlined by the applicants. He
explained that the extension of passports is carried out
electronically. Applicants for an extension
must register on the
Venezuelan government’s official web page. The system will
indicate when the extension of the passport
is approved. The
applicant must then attend the office of the Administrative Service
for Immigration Identification (SAMIE) where
the applicant’s
existing passport is stamped on a page with a sticker leaving the
passport with an extension and ready to
be used.
[8]
Mr Hernândez stated that he had reviewed the web page
submission of Ms Serrano.
His investigation revealed that Ms
Serrano’s extension of her passport was authentic and that the
extension was issued in
accordance with the laws of Venezuela.
[9]
A copy of Ms Serrano’s passport was annexed to the founding
affidavit from which
it is apparent that her passport, which would
have expired on 9 June 2019, was renewed on 2 occasions through the
insertion of
an extension document. On the face of it, then, Ms
Serrano’s passport is validly extended to 7 April 2023 by way
of an official
extension document.
[10]
According to the applicants, prior to Ms Serrano booking her flight
to Cape Town, she called the South
African embassy in the United
States and enquired whether there were any additional requirements
for Venezuelans to enter South
Africa. She also enquired whether the
South African government would recognise her passport as valid, given
the extension document.
The embassy said she was clear to enter South
Africa and could do so as a tourist for 90 days. The tourist visa
referred to by
the applicants is a visa issued in terms of section
11(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 (“the
Immigration
Act&rdquo
;) and is valid for a period of 3 months.
[11]
Since Ms Serrano intended to book her flight to Cape Town with
Ethiopian Airlines, she also checked
with this airline if she could
travel to South Africa using her current passport and extension
document. Ethiopian Airlines informed
her that she would be able to
enter South Africa with her current passport.
[12]
The applicants stated that they had contacted the South African
Embassy and Ethiopian Airlines because
they understood that normally
passports are renewed by issuing a new passport – not by an
extension document. Had they known
that South Africa would not
recognise an extension document, they would not have travelled to
this country. They further aver that
before Ms Serrano boarded the
plane to South Africa, Ethiopian Airlines called the department in
order to ensure that the department
would recognise Ms Serrano’s
“extended” passport upon her arrival in Cape Town. The
department confirmed that
it would recognise the extension. Ms
Serrano was then allowed to board the plane. The applicants submitted
that Ethiopian Airlines
would not have allowed Ms Serrano to board
the plane if it was not certain that she could lawfully arrive in
South Africa as the
airline would be responsible for all costs
associated with her removal from the Republic if she was refused
entry.
[13]
The applicants stated that Ms Serrano had previously travelled to the
United States on the basis of
the extension document and her passport
was recognised by the United States as being valid.
[14]
When Ms Serrano was denied entry, she was issued with a document,
form 37. This document is issued
pursuant to
inter alia
section
35(10)
of the
Immigration Act and
stated that Ms Serrano was an
“illegal foreigner” and that Ethiopian Airlines (ET 847)
was responsible for her removal
from the Republic. Ms Serrano was
handed over to representatives of the airline and they accompanied
her to the inadmissible facility
situated at CTIA.
[15]
The inadmissible facility is a facility established in terms of
“Annex 9 – Facilitation”
of the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO). It embodies,
inter alia
, the
Standards and Recommended Practices and guidance material pertaining
specifically to the facilitation of landside formalities
for
clearance of aircraft and passengers. Annex 9 provides a frame of
reference for planners and managers of International Airport
operations, describing the obligations of the industry as well as
minimum facilities to be provided by governments.
[16]
The ICAO was established in terms of article 43 of the Convention on
International Civil Aviation drawn
up in Chicago on 7 December 1944,
as set out in Schedule 3, and includes any amendments and additions
ratified and proclaimed in
accordance with
section 3(1)(b)
(“
the
Convention
”
commonly known as
“
the
Chicago Convention
”
)
[1]
.
The Convention has been given effect by Chapter 2 of the
Civil
Aviation Act 13 of 2009
which came into operation on 31 March 2010.
[17]
The inadmissible facility is thus established in terms of
international law. It serves as a transit
facility utilised by
airlines to accommodate passengers who are destined to be removed
from the Republic for various reasons, including
instances pertinent
to Ms Serrano’s situation.
[18]
CTIA is a public premises that is administered, operated, and managed
on a day-to-day basis by the
Airport Company of South Africa
(“ACSA”).
[19]
According to the applicants, when Ms Serrano was taken into the
inadmissible facility, she was kept
in what she describes as “a
holding cell” in which she spent the entire night of 24
December 2021.
[20]
By the following morning, on 25 December 2021, Ms Breukel had arrived
in South Africa and she and the
applicants’ attorney, Mr
Schneider, went to the airport.
[21]
Ms Serrano was summoned by immigration officials and allowed to
consult with Mr Schneider.
[22]
After consulting with Ms Schneider, Ms Serrano lodged an application
in terms of
section 8
of the
Immigration Act to
review the
department’s decision denying her entry into the Republic. The
relevant parts of
section 8
states as follows:
“
(1)
An immigration officer who refuses entry to any person or finds any
person to be an illegal foreigner
shall inform that person on the
prescribed form that he or she may in writing request the Minister to
review that decision and
-
(a)
If he or she arrived by means of a conveyance which is on the
point of departing and is not to call at any other port of entry in
the Republic, that request shall without delay be submitted to the
Minister, or
(b)
In any other case than the one provided for in paragraph (a), that
request shall be submitted to the Minister within three days after
that decision.
(2)
A person who was refused entry or was found to be an illegal
foreigner and who has
requested a review of such a decision –
(a)
in a case contemplated in subsection (1) (a), and who has not
received an answer to his or her request by the time the relevant
conveyance departs, shall depart on that conveyance and shall await
the outcome of the review outside the Republic; or
(b)
in a case contemplated in subsection (1) (b), shall not be
removed from the Republic before the Minister has confirmed the
relevant
decision.
”
[23]
It is common cause that Ms Serrano did not fall under
section 8(1)(a)
because the aircraft on which she arrived in South Africa –
Ethiopian Airlines (ET 847) – was not at the point of
departure. Her position was thus governed by
section 8(1)(b)
read
with
section 8(2)(b).
Having filed a review, Ms Serrano could not be
removed from the Republic until such time as her request for her
review had been
dealt with by the Minister. Ms Serrano was advised by
immigration officials that she would not be released pending the
finalisation
of the Minister’s decision and would, instead, be
kept in the inadmissible facility.
THE MAIN
APPLICATION
[24]
The applicants then launched an application on an urgent basis to
have Ms serrano released from custody,
and for her to be allowed into
South Africa pending the Minister’s decision (“the main
application”). According
to the applicants, the immigration
officials at the airport told Ms Breukel and her attorney that they
could serve the papers
via
e-mail and provided the email
addresses of Mr Goeieman (an immigration officer employed at the
CTIA), Mr Kemp (the Deputy Director:
Immigration at CTIA and the most
senior immigration official at CTIA), Mr Fester (an immigration
official employed at CTIA), and
the Minister. In addition, the
applicants’ junior counsel attempted to contact the State
Attorney’s office
via
all the numbers publicly
advertised. No one answered the calls.
[25]
Mr Goeieman delivered an affidavit in which he confirmed that either
him or another immigration official,
Mr Grobbelaar, provided the
e-mail addresses to Mr Schneider. However, according to him, the
e-mail addresses provided were for
the purposes of lodging the
section 8
review and not the court application papers. Thus, there is
some dispute as to the purpose for which the e-mail addresses were
provided. The fact remains, however, that these e-mail addresses were
provided by immigration officials and it was at these addresses
that
the papers in the main application were served.
[26]
The
section 8
review application was served on the respondents at
about 12h15 on 25 December 2021. They were also forewarned that the
applicants
intended lodging the main application. The papers in the
main application were served on the respondents on 25 December 2021
at
around 14h35.
[27]
The matter was set down for hearing before this court at “
16h00
or soon thereafter on Saturday, 25 December 2021
”. The
application was heard at approximately 18h30 on 25 December 2021. Mr
Cohen, a pupil at the Cape Bar, appeared on behalf
of the applicants.
At the commencement of the hearing, he advised the court that his
leader, Mr Katz SC, had assisted with drafting
the papers but was
unavailable due to family commitments. Given the exigencies of the
situation, I had no difficulty permitting
Mr Cohen to represent the
applicants. There was no appearance for the respondents.
[28]
The relief requested by the applicants is framed in the notice of
motion, in part, as follows:
“
2.
Pending the finalisation of the second applicant’s review under
section 8(1)
of the
Immigration Act 13 of 2002
, the second applicant
must be released from custody and allowed interim entry into the
Republic of South Africa.
3.
the second applicant must report to the respondent on Wednesday 29
December 2021,
failing which she must leave the Republic.
”
[29]
The issue before the court was whether Ms Serrano should be allowed
into South Africa to reside with
her life partner while she waited
for the Minister’s decision. The issue was not whether Ms
Serrano’s passport was
valid which is an issue that would have
to be determined by the Minister. Of course, at the time the main
application was launched,
the Minister had not yet made his decision.
[30]
The court granted the interim order. It was satisfied that adequate
attempts had been made to serve
the papers on the respondents. It was
also satisfied that a case had been made out for the interim relief
sought. The court was
persuaded
inter alia
by the averments
contained in the founding affidavit that Ms Serrano was denied entry
into the Republic and was being held in a
holding cell in
circumstances where, on the face of it, her passport appeared to be
valid. The immigration officials did not even
make the most basic of
enquiries to ascertain the status of her passport and the extension
thereof. They did not have any regard
to, or for, Ms Serrano’s
personal circumstances and her constitutionally guaranteed right to
dignity and freedom. If relief
was not granted to the applicants,
there was a real possibility of imminent harm. The court was
satisfied that the balance of convenience
favoured the applicants and
that adequate arrangements had been made for Ms Serrano’s stay
in South Africa pending the decision
of the Minister. Ms Breukel
stated in the founding affidavit to the main application that Ms
Serrano could be released into her
care and reside with her and her
family in Cape Town. Ms Breukel also undertook to personally ensure
that Ms Serrano followed any
court decisions relating to the latter’s
ongoing stay in South Africa.
[31]
Having been satisfied that a case was made out for the relief sought,
I granted an order in the following
terms:
“
1.
The rules relating to forms and service are dispensed with and this
application is
heard as a matter of urgency.
2.
The second applicant is immediately released from custody.
3.
The second applicant is permitted to enter South Africa and reside
with the first
applicant in Cape Town pending the finalisation of her
review under
section 8(1)
of the
Immigration Act 13 of 2002
and any
further appeals or reviews in respect of that decision.
4.
The Respondents are called upon to show cause on 17 January 2022 why
the order
set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 should not be made a final
order of the above Honourable Court.
5.
The respondents are entitled to anticipate the return date on
seventy-two hours’
notice.
6.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall serve as an interim order against the
respondents until
the return date.
7.
The applicants shall effect service of this order on the State
Attorney on behalf
of the respondents.
8.
Costs to stand over for later determination on the return date.
”
THE CONTEMPT
APPLICATION
[32]
Ms Breukel returned to the airport with the order at around 20h00 on
25 December 2021. She presented
the order to an immigration official
who refused to accept it or to release Ms Serrano. The applicants
were then forced to bring
a contempt application.
[33]
At 23h00 on 25 December 2021, I heard the contempt application
brought by the applicants. This application
was opposed by the
respondents who were represented by Ms Shireen Karjiker (“Ms
Karjiker”), a State Attorney. Mr Kemp
was also in attendance at
the hearing. It transpired that he first became aware of the main
application after 17h00 on 25 December
2021. He immediately contacted
Ms Karjiker to alert her of the application and the application
papers were sent to her
via
WhatsApp. According to Mr Kemp, Ms
Karjiker only saw the WhatsApp message after 19h00 that evening.
Until then, she was unaware
of the application. Mr Kemp became aware
of the court order at approximately 20h18 and he immediately
forwarded it
via
WhatsApp to Ms Karjiker. She then contacted
Mr Schneider to inform him that the department would take the
necessary steps to deliver
a reconsideration application that same
night.
[34]
The order was not effected when it came to the attention of Mr Kemp
and/or Ms Karjiker. Mr Kemp stated
in an affidavit filed in support
of the respondents’ reconsideration application that Ms Serrano
was not released immediately
“
given that Ms Karjiker was
trying to appoint counsel to have the order set aside and to have the
matter reconsidered
”. At the hearing of the contempt
application, Ms Karjiker continued with her stance that the order was
unlawful and, in effect,
could not be implemented.
[35]
Ms Breukel was called to give oral evidence with regard to the
contempt application. During her testimony,
she also gave evidence on
the conditions under which Ms Serrano was being held in the
inadmissible facility.
[36]
Ms Breukel’s uncontested testimony, based on cellphone and
WhatsApp messages exchanged between
herself and Ms Serrano, was that
Ms Serrano was kept in custody in a locked room. Ms Serrano had to
request permission to leave
the room. At some point, the guard
monitoring her did not respond to her calls to when she wanted to use
the bathroom. Ms Serrano
was effectively forced to urinate in a
Zip-lock bag because she was not allowed out. She was also kept in a
facility housing males,
with her being the only woman.
[37]
During her oral testimony, Ms Breukel shared some of the WhatsApp
texts Ms Serrano sent to her, which
include the following:
“
There’s a guy in a
cell next to me who won’t stop trying to send me photographs
over AirDrop. He wanted to talk to me
and keeps on asking me my phone
number. I keep on saying no and now he’s tried to AirDrop me
six times.”
“
I don’t want to worry
you, but I’m really scared. Today they put me in a cell which
was compared to – which was
not the same as where I was. It’s
an actual cell and I’m the only woman there. I’m so
sorry. I wouldn’t
say anything if I wasn’t really
scared.”
“
I’m so sorry, I can’t
keep going. I just don’t know what to do.
”
[38]
One of the difficulties with the contempt application was that the
order was not served on an appropriate
immigration official, such as
Mr Kemp or Mr Fester. Nor was it served in terms of the court order
which provided that the order
must be served “
on the State
Attorney on behalf of the respondents
”. Mr Cohen indicated
that their efforts to contact the State Attorney had been futile. In
the circumstances, and given that
a representative of the office of
the State Attorney and Mr Kemp were present in court, I suggested
that the order be served on
Mr Kemp. The order was subsequently
served by Mr Schneider on Mr Kemp. Notwithstanding the service of the
order on Mr Kemp, Ms
Karjiker continued to register her strong
objection with regard to the legality of the order and stated that Mr
Kemp would still
have to take instructions from the respondents on
what to do with the order.
[39]
I found the response of the State Attorney to be totally at odds with
what one would expect of an officer
of the court and of an official
of the State when directed to implement an order. As Pillay AJ stated
in the Constitutional Court
judgment of
Municipal
Manager O.R. Tambo District Municipality and Another v Ndabeni
[2]
,
court orders must be respected and “
no
one should be left with the impression that court orders –
including flawed court orders – are not binding, or that
they
can be flouted with impunity
”
.
The attitude of Ms Karjiker and the department to court orders is not
unique. Various courts have on occasion had cause to decry
the
attitude of the department with regard to the enforcement of court
orders in immigration matters
[3]
.
[40]
Suffice to say, as a consequence of Ms Karjiker’s somewhat
dismissive attitude to the court order,
Ms Serrano was kept a further
six hours in the holding cell under very difficult conditions –
she left the airport the following
morning at approximately 02h00.
THE RECONSIDERATION
APPLICATION
[41]
As noted, the interim order was granted in the absence of the
respondents. Having been alerted to the
order, the respondents lodged
a reconsideration application in terms of rule 6(12)(c) of the
Uniform Rules of Court. This sub-rule
provides that a person against
whom an order was granted in his or her absence in an urgent
application may set the matter down
on notice for reconsideration.
The sub-rule does not prescribe how an application for consideration
is to be pursued. The absence
of prescription was intentional and, as
the Supreme Court of Appeal (“the SCA”) observed in
Afgri
[4]
,
“
the
procedure will vary depending on the basis on which the party
applying for a reconsideration seeks relief against the order
granted
ex parte and in its absence
”
.
[42]
There are various options open to a party who wishes to have an order
set aside. In this regard, the
SCA in
Afgri
set out
what options are available to a party wishing to have an order
reconsidered as well as the options available to the other
party
depending on the course of action adopted by the party lodging the
reconsideration application. Thus,
“
[12]
…(A) party wishing to have the order set aside, on the ground
that the papers did not make a
case for that relief, may deliver a
notice to this effect and set the matter down, for argument and
reconsideration, on those papers.
It may do the same if it merely
wishes certain provisions in the order to be amended, or qualified,
or supplemented. The matter
is then argued on the original papers. It
is not open to the original applicant, save possibly in the most
exceptional circumstances,
or where the need to do this has been
foreshadowed in the original founding affidavit, to bolster its
original application by filing
a supplementary founding affidavit.
[13]
The party seeking reconsideration is not confined to this route. It
may file an answering affidavit,
either traversing the entire case
against it, or restricted to certain issues relevant to the
reconsideration. In many instances
such an affidavit will be
desirable. Even if an affidavit is filed, however, it does not
preclude the party seeking reconsideration
arguing at the outset, on
the basis of the application papers alone, that the applicant has not
made out a case for relief. That
is a well-established entitlement in
application proceedings and there is no reason why it should not be
adopted in reconsideration
applications.
[14]
If an affidavit is filed in support of the application for
reconsideration then the party that
obtained the order is entitled to
deliver a reply thereto, subject to the usual limitations applicable
to replying affidavits.
When that is done, and the party seeking
reconsideration does not argue a preliminary point at the outset that
the founding affidavit
did not make out a case for relief, the case
must be argued on all the factual material before the judge dealing
with the reconsideration
proceedings. That material may be
significantly more extensive and the nature of the issues may have
changed as a result of the
execution of the original ex parte order.
”
(footnotes omitted).
[43]
In this matter, the respondents have chosen to deliver additional
affidavits. The applicants were thus
entitled to deliver a response,
which they did. The respondents’ approach to the
reconsideration application, however, led
to a somewhat anomalous and
confusing situation. Instead of filing an answering affidavit, the
respondents asserted that they were
“
dominis litis
”.
The affidavits filed by them in support of the reconsideration
application, accordingly, took the place and the form of
a founding
affidavit. The applicants then filed supplementary affidavits in
answer to the reconsideration application and the respondents,
thereafter, filed a replying affidavit together with a supplementary
affidavit. In addition, the respondents also lodged an application
for condonation as well as an application to strike out.
[44]
Given the trajectory which the reconsideration application took, the
affidavits delivered canvassed
issues that were more extensive than
the issues addressed in the founding affidavit in the main
application. In addition, by the
time all the papers were finally
delivered, the Minister had made his decision on the section 8 review
application. This decision
was adverse to Ms Serrano and the
applicants then lodged a separate application in this court to review
the Minister’s decision
under case number 21843/21 (“the
constitutional review application”).
[45]
The contents of the affidavits are largely relevant to the issues
relating to the main application.
None of the parties opposed the
manner in which the matter proceeded or the admission of the
affidavits. In my view, the admission
of these affidavits will not
prejudice any of the parties. Accordingly, all the affidavits are
admitted. I will consider the factual
material placed before me as
well as those events that occurred subsequent to the interim order
being granted, provided that the
factual material and issues to be
considered are germane to the relief sought and the case made out by
the applicants in the main
application. It is not the remit of this
court to consider issues that fall within the purview of the court
hearing the constitutional
review application. Nor, strictly
speaking, should this court consider any new issues of substance
raised by the applicants that
were not part of the main application.
Nonetheless, it is difficult to ignore issues that may, at the very
least, have an impact
on the order to be granted.
[46]
Whether one considers this matter through the prism of the
reconsideration application or the return
date of the rule
nisi
,
the issues that the court is ultimately faced with are the same -
whether the applicants have made out a proper case for the relief
sought in the main application and whether the interim order granted
was appropriate in the circumstances.
[47]
Before considering the substantive merits of the main application, it
is necessary to consider some
of the technical issues raised by the
respondents in their reconsideration application. In this regard, the
respondents submitted
that the main application was not urgent; that
it was materially defective in that the applicants did not comply
with the provisions
of section 35 of the General Law Amendment Act 62
of 1955 by not providing the respondents with at least 72 hours’
notice
of the proceedings to be instituted; that service was not
effected at all or, alternatively, was so defective that the
application
was in effect an
ex parte
application; that the
main application was defective in that Ethiopian Airlines was not
joined as an interested party; and that
the application was lodged
prematurely because the Minister had not yet decided on Ms
Serrano’s section 8 review application
when the main
application was lodged and that this review provided alternative
relief in the context of interim interdictory relief.
[48]
All the foregoing issues raised by the respondents in the
reconsideration application are inter-related:
[48.1]
I am satisfied that the matter was indeed urgent,
involving as it did
the liberty of one of the applicants. Ms Serrano was held in a
holding cell under guard and under conditions
that were extremely
unpleasant. The only response in this regard from the respondents was
that if there was any urgency, it was
self-created because Ms
Serrano’s passport had expired in 2019. Objectively, this is
not the case in terms of Venezuelan
law and Ms Serrano had taken all
reasonable steps, as outlined above, to ensure that she could enter
South Africa legally. Mr Kemp
testified that he had only seen the
application at around 17h00 and that he thought that the matter was
over by then. If Mr Kemp
perused the notice of motion properly, he
would have seen that this matter was set down for “
16h00
or so soon thereafter
”
.
He could quite easily have contacted Mr Schneider, whose details were
provided in the notice of motion, in order to enquire about
the
status of the application. While there might have been difficulties
with the notice period given, the respondents were obliged
to act
within the time periods set by the applicants and then take issue
with the notice period during the course of opposing the
application,
if necessary.
[5]
[48.2]
While section 35 of the General Law Amendment
Act is peremptory, a
court is given the discretion to allow a lesser period of notice
depending on the circumstances
[6]
.
In this case, the papers in the main application were served on the
respondents on the afternoon at around 14h35 which provided
the
respondents with about 4 hours’ notice. The applicants were
also forewarned at around midday, when the section 8 review
application was filed, that this application would be launched. Ms
Serrano was held in a holding cell under guard and, as it
subsequently
transpired, the conditions were extremely unpleasant.
Given the urgency which I found to have existed, I consider the
period of
notice given to the respondents to have been reasonable in
the circumstances.
[48.3]
The respondents submitted that the order was
effectively obtained
ex
parte
given the short notice and the fact that it was not served
on the Office of the State Attorney, particularly Ms Karjiker. I have
set out in paragraphs [24] and [26] above the steps taken to serve
the papers on the respondents. I am satisfied with the attempts
made.
The fact that Ms Karjiker was not personally served with the papers,
in my view, is of no consequence. In this regard, it
is noteworthy
that Mr Goeieman, in his affidavit in support of the reconsideration
application, did not mention Ms Karjiker when
describing the
procedure, and the persons to be contacted, when the department
receives an urgent court application. Indeed, none
of the officials
with whom Mr Schneider interacted indicated that Ms Karjiker was the
respondents’ representative and ought
to be contacted. I,
therefore, find no substance in the submission that the order should
be treated as having been obtained
ex parte
.
[48.4]
The respondents have also submitted that the
main application was
defective because of the non-joinder of Ethiopian Airlines which was
an essential interested party to the
proceedings as Ms Serrano was in
the care and custody of this conveyance. However, as the applicants
have noted, by the time the
main application was launched, Ethiopian
Airlines (ET 847) had departed. In any event, at the stage when the
main application was
launched, in my view, Ms Serrano was in the
custody and under the control of the Department. I will return to
this issue later
in the judgment.
[48.5]
The respondents further stated that the application
was premature as
the Minister had not yet made a decision on the section 8 review at
the time the application was launched, and
that the application
provided an alternative remedy in the context of interim interdictory
relief. The short answer is that the
relief sought and granted was
temporary in nature and did not finally dispose of any factual or
legal issues. The validity or otherwise
of Ms Serrano’s
passport still had to be determined by the Minister. All that was
sought was temporary relief pending the
Minister’s decision.
The relief sought was directed solely at Ms Serrano and, at that
stage, there was no challenge to any
provision of the
Immigration Act
or
regulations which may have affected the general operation of these
statutory enactments.
[7]
RELEVANT LEGAL
PRINCIPLES
[49]
Before turning to the main application, I set out hereunder some of
the relevant provisions of the
Immigration Act and
regulations which
provides context to the discussion that follows.
[50]
The
Immigration Act provides
for the regulation of the admission of
persons to, their residence in, and their departure from, the
Republic, and for matters
connected therewith. The
Immigration Act,
like
all legislative enactments in South Africa, must be read against
the backdrop of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The Bill
of
Rights enshrines the rights of all people in the Republic and affirms
the democratic values of human dignity, equality, and
freedom. It
applies to foreigners as well unless the contrary emerges from the
Bill of Rights.
[8]
[51]
According to its preamble, the
Immigration Act aims
at putting in
place a new system of immigration control and ensures
inter alia
that the security considerations of the State are fully
satisfied; that the State retains control over the immigration of
foreigners
to the Republic; that immigration laws are efficiently and
effectively enforced; that immigration control is performed with the
highest possible standards of human rights protection; that
xenophobia is prevented and countered; that a human rights based
culture
of enforcement is promoted; and that the international
obligations of the Republic are complied with.
[52]
Section 9
of the
Immigration Act deals
with the admission to and
departure of persons from the Republic. In terms of
section 9(3)
, no
person shall enter or depart from the Republic –
“
(a)
unless he or she is in possession of a valid passport;
(b)
except at a port of entry, unless exempted in the prescribed manner
by the Minister;
(c)
unless the entry or departure as recorded by an immigration officer
in the prescribed
manner; and
(d)
unless his or her interest admission documents have been examined in
the prescribed
manner and he or she has been interviewed in the
prescribed manner by an immigration officer.
”
[53]
When a person is refused entry at a port of entry, the review
procedure set out in
section 8
is available. In essence, as already
noted, the
section 8
procedure involves a review of the refusal of
entry. The person requesting a review must submit the request without
delay or within
three days, depending on whether it is a situation
contemplated in
section 8(1)(a)
or
section 8(1)(b).
In the latter
instance, which applies to Ms Serrano, the person may not be removed
until the Minister has conveyed his decision.
[54]
When Ms Serrano was refused entry into the country, she was provided
with a form 37 which is headed
“
NOTIFICATION TO A PERSON AT
A PORT OF ENTRY THAT HE OR SHE IS AN ILLEGAL FOREIGNER AND IS REFUSED
ADMISSION
”. This form is issued in terms of
section 7(1)(g)
read with
sections 34(8)
and
35
(10), and
regulations 33(10)
and (14).
[55]
Section 7(1)(g)
is merely an enabling provision which states that the
Minister may make regulations. The reference to
regulation 33(14)
is
a mistake as there is no such regulation.
[56]
Section 34(8)
and
regulation 33(10)
should be read together as they
cross-reference each other. These provisions, in the main, refer to
persons who are classified
as “illegal foreigners” and
who are to be deported. An “illegal foreigner” is defined
as “a foreigner
who is in the Republic in contravention of”
the
Immigration Act. By
definition, then, an illegal foreigner must
be a person who is in the Republic
[9]
in contravention of the
Immigration Act and
cannot refer to someone
who is yet to be formally admitted into the Republic. Accordingly,
section 34(8)
and
regulation 33(10)
have no application to Ms
Serrano.
[57]
Form 37 is clearly a generic form which is meant for people
classified as illegal foreigners as well
as for persons such as Ms
Serrano who are not illegal foreigners but who have been refused
formal admission into the Republic.
[58]
The section of the
Immigration Act that
is directly applicable to Ms
Serrano is
section 35
and, more particularly,
section 35(10).
I quote
hereunder the relevant provisions of this section which apply
directly to Ms Serrano’s situation:
“
35
Duties with regard to conveyances
[10]
(1)
Save for
exceptional circumstances necessitating otherwise, no person in
charge of a conveyance shall cause that conveyance to enter
the
Republic at any place other than at a port of entry.
”
(2)
…
(3)
(a)
The owner or person in charge of a conveyance entering into,
departing from or in transit through the Republic by air
or conveying
persons on domestic flights within the Republic, shall comply with
the provisions of this section by enabling electronic
transmission of
the prescribed passenger name record information in respect of all
persons booked to travel on his or her conveyance
to the
Director-General in the prescribed manner.
(b) The owner or person
contemplated in paragraph (a) shall, within the prescribed period
prior to the scheduled time of departure
of his or her conveyance,
electronically transmit the prescribed passenger name record
information to the Director-General in the
prescribed manner.
(
4) – (9) ….
(10) A person in charge of a
conveyance shall be responsible for the detention and removal of a
person conveyed if such person is
refused admission in the prescribed
manner, as
well as for any costs related to such
detention and removal incurred by the Department
.
”
(Own emphasis).
[59]
If one conducts a textual and contextual analysis of
section 35
read
with
section 8
, the following is evident:
[59.1]
A distinction is made between the owner of a
conveyance and the
person in charge of the conveyance. In some instances, there are
certain duties which a person in charge of
a conveyance has to
perform whilst in other instances, either the owner or the person in
charge of the conveyance may perform the
duty;
[59.2]
Either an owner or the person in charge of a
conveyance is
responsible for ensuring that the prescribed passenger information is
conveyed to the Director-General before the
conveyance concerned
departs for the Republic and before it leaves the Republic;
[59.3]
The person in charge of the conveyance is responsible
for the
detention and removal of any person who was on the conveyance but is
refused admission into the Republic, and for any costs
associated
with the detention and removal of the foreigner concerned;
[59.4]
The person in charge of the conveyance is also
responsible for any
costs of detention and removal that might be incurred by the
department. This assumes that at some stage the
foreigner must be in
the custody and control of the department. This surely must happen
once the conveyance has left and the foreigner
remains behind whilst
the Minister is seized with the review application;
[59.5]
If the foreigner exercises a right to review
in terms of
section
8(1)(a)
and the conveyance is about to depart from the Republic, the
airline concerned is responsible for such a person until the flight
departs. The review initiated by the foreigner can then be pursued
from outside the Republic; and
[59.6]
If
section 8(2)(a)
applies, the foreigner cannot be removed from the
Republic and once the airline departs, the department assumes
responsibility
for the person concerned but at the cost of the
conveyance which brought the passenger to the Republic.
[60]
In the matter at hand, when Ms Serrano was denied formal entry into
the Republic, she was placed in
the custody of the person in charge
of Ethiopian Airlines (ET 847) to be held until escorted out of the
country. At some point
in time, the aircraft departed from the
Republic and the immigration officials of the department then
formally took control and
custody of Ms Serrano. On the facts before
this court, Ms Serrano was removed from the custody of the person
Ethiopian Airlines
(ET 847) when she was summoned by the immigration
officials to consult with Mr Schneider. Thereafter, according to
WhatsApp messages
sent to Ms Breukel, Ms Serrano was placed in
another cell and her conditions changed quite dramatically from then
onwards.
[61]
There was some suggestion that ACSA controls the inadmissible
facility but, in my view, this does not
take the matter further. In
terms of
section 35(10)
, it is either the person in charge of the
aircraft or the department that had custody and control over Ms
Serrano; it is they who
are responsible for the conditions under
which she was held,
albeit
during different time periods.
[62]
Ms Golden, who appeared for the respondents, argued strongly that a
person who is refused entry into
South Africa and who is not an
illegal foreigner, such as Ms Serrano, becomes the responsibility of
the conveyance and may not
leave the inadmissible facility until the
decision of the Minister is made. Support for this position can be
found, for example,
in cases such as
Zong
Fei Ye v The Department of Immigration/Home Affairs
[11]
,
Arslan
v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
[12]
,
Mahlekwa
v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
[13]
(“
Mahlekwa
”
),
Fenuka
Khan v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
[14]
(“
Fenuka
Khan
”
),
and
Louise
and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
[15]
.
[63]
Indeed, Ms Golden argued that I was bound by the judgment in this
division of Savage AJ in
Mahlekwa
. This case involved a
Mr Khan, a Pakistani national in South Africa on a spousal visa who
undertook a trip to Pakistan. On his
return to South Africa, he was
denied entry at CTIA. It was discovered that he had obtained his
spousal visa by misrepresenting
to immigration officials that he was
in a permanent relationship with a South African national (Ms
Mahlekwa) when in fact he was
also married to a Pakistani national
who resided in Pakistan.
[64]
Mr Khan lodged an application in terms of
section 8(1)
with the
Minister challenging the decision to deny him entry into the
Republic. He also instituted legal proceedings for an order
preventing the department from deporting him, and an order that he be
released from custody.
[65]
Savage AJ in
Mahlekwa
held that Mr Khan had instituted
a ministerial review under
section 8
and was expressly advised that
he would remain in the inadmissible facility pending the finalisation
of his review. Therefore,
it was not necessary for the court to grant
the order preventing his deportation.
[66]
The court also refused to order Mr Khan’s release from custody.
In essence, the court held that
Mr Khan was not being detained
because he was free to leave the facility and return to his country
of origin or some other country
where he could continue to pursue his
ministerial review; this aspect of the judgment was endorsed by
Rogers J in an
obiter
dictum
in
Fenuka
Khan
[16]
.
According to Savage AJ, persons such as Mr Khan, exercise an election
to remain in the inadmissible facility as they are free
to return to
their country of origin or some other country. With respect, I differ
with the view that a person held in an inadmissible
facility is not
“detained” for the purposes of
section 8.
[67]
The word “detention” is used in
section 35(10).
As Savage
AJ stated in
Mahlekwa
,
“
detention
implies that the person is held in custody, restricted in their
physical ability to leave such custody
”
[17]
.
This mirrors the reality of foreigners held in an inadmissible
facility. They do not have freedom of movement and are restricted
to
a confined area, under guard, until they are ready to depart from the
Republic. This was certainly the position which
Ms Serrano
found herself in; a position that is not unique
[18]
.
[68]
I also respectfully disagree with the finding of Savage AJ in
Mahlekwa
that foreigners
are not “detained” in the inadmissible facility because
they have the freedom to leave if they so wish.
Firstly, this
approach undermines an aggrieved person’s right not to be
removed from the Republic pending the finalisation
of the Minister’s
decision. The prohibition against removing an affected person from
the country, as provided for in
section 8(2)(b)
, is a procedural
safeguard which operates to diminish any possible deleterious effects
of the actions taken by the immigration
officer
[19]
.
Secondly, the logical corollary of Savage AJ’s finding is that
foreigners in the inadmissible facility are faced with a
Hobson’s
choice, a choice where both alternatives may be equally objectionable
– either leave the Republic or endure
the conditions of
detention. Thirdly, by placing a foreigner in the invidious position
of having to “choose” to leave
the country may operate to
his or her prejudice. If a foreigner left the Republic and continued
with his or her review outside
the country, it would mean that he or
she would be liable for the costs of travelling out of the country
and then, if the review
was successful, travelling back to the
Republic. The foreigner would also be deprived of the advantage of
direct consultation with
his or her South African legal
representatives.
[69]
Whilst the courts have generally confirmed that there is no automatic
right to liberty while a foreigner
awaits a decision on the
section 8
review, the applicants concerned in those cases were either
prohibited persons or persons “detained” for the purpose
of
section 34(2)
of the
Immigration Act
[20
];
the conditions under which these foreigners were kept in the
inadmissible facility, and the effect of the detention on their right
to dignity and family life, and their right to freedom and security
of the person, were not explored or considered.
[70]
On the other hand, there are cases decided in this division which
supports the grant of interim relief
permitting entry into the
country by a foreigner pending the ministerial review. In
Johnson
[21]
,
Yekiso J granted interim relief to the applicants who were foreign
spouses of South African citizens. They were declared undesirable
persons for overstaying their respective visas. On the particular
facts of that matter, the court granted an interim order to the
effect that the applicants could enter the Republic pending
finalisation of the ministerial review. The court ruled that it had
jurisdiction to grant the foreigners entry in South Africa in
circumstances where the right to dignity and the right to a family
life was at stake while the
section 8
review was being processed.
This judgment was endorsed by the Constitutional Court.
[22]
[71]
A similar position was adopted by Riley AJ in
Chen
and Another
.
In
casu
the applicants
were granted an order permitting Chen to enter and remain in the
Republic of South Africa, subject to reasonable
terms and conditions
prescribed by the Director-General: Home Affairs, pending the final
determination of Chen’s application
for the judicial review of
the decision to refuse her entry into the Republic. The learned
Judge’s decision was primarily
based on the conditions faced by
Chen whilst being held in the inadmissible facility at CTIA.
[23]
[72]
I do not consider myself bound by the decision of Savage AJ in
Mahlekwa
because, in my view, it is distinguishable
from the facts of the matter before this court. In addition, in my
respectful view, the
decision in
Mahlekwa
is clearly
wrong with regard to the finding that a foreigner held in an
inadmissible facility is not detained. The other cases cited
in
support of the respondents are distinguishable in that those cases
dealt either with
section 34(2)
illegal foreigners, or persons who
were declared as undesirable or prohibited persons. None of the cases
cited by the respondents
considered the issue of the detention of a
foreigner by the department in terms of
section 35(10).
Nonetheless,
I agree with the general proposition that a person being held in an
inadmissible facility at an airport pending the
determination of a
ministerial review is not necessarily entitled, without more, to be
released into the Republic pending the Minister’s
decision.
However, this is not a fixed and immutable principle, and the
application of this principle depends on factors such as
the
conditions of detention and the personal circumstances of the
foreigner concerned.
DISCUSSION
[73]
It is against the foregoing discussion of the applicable legal
principles that I now address the issue
of whether there was, and is,
legal justification for permitting Ms Serrano to enter the Republic
while she persists with her
section 8
review.
[74]
The order granted by the court was interim in nature. While the order
had an immediate and substantial
effect in that Ms Serrano was
allowed to enter the country, it was not final in effect and it could
still be altered by the court
which granted it. The order was not
definitive of the rights of the parties. Nor was the order
dispositive of the issue of Ms Serrano’s
status as a foreigner
who sought entry into this country.
[75]
The test for the grant of an interim interdict is trite. The
applicant must establish:
(a)
a
prima facie
right
even if it is open to some doubt;
(b)
a reasonable apprehension of irregular, irreparable and
imminent harm to the right if the interdict is not granted;
(c)
the balance of convenience must favour the grant of the
interdict; and
(d)
the applicant must
have no other available remedy.
[24]
[76]
Because the relief in this matter is sought against the exercise of
statutory power, a court may only
grant it in the clearest of cases
where a strong case for that relief has been made out.
[25]
[77]
The applicants relied essentially on two
prima
facie
rights
in the main application: the constitutional right to dignity
[26]
and the right to freedom and security of person
[27]
.
They asserted that if Ms Serrano was unlawfully detained over the
festive season, and perhaps for an indeterminate period, pending
the
finalisation of the review, Ms Breukel would be separated from her
life partner and Ms Serrano from her intended family. The
applicants
submitted that, in these circumstances, their respective rights to
dignity will be unjustifiably limited. The applicants
further
submitted that detention is an invasive, forceful measure taken by
the State and if these measures were effected unlawfully,
then Ms
Serrano’s rights to freedom and security of the person would be
unjustifiably limited.
[78]
The respondents, on the other hand, submitted that Ms Serrano was
denied entry into the Republic for
good cause because her passport
was not machine readable and South Africa does not recognise the
extension document inserted in
her passport. It was also submitted
that at all material times, Ms Serrano was under the custody and
control of Ethiopian Airlines
and was not detained. As a consequence,
the applicants could not legitimately assert any rights.
[79]
Given the undisputed fact that Ms Breukel and Ms Serrano are life
partners, that they have chosen a
family life together and given the
undisputed conditions under which Ms Serrano was held by the
department in the inadmissible
facility, it is difficult not to agree
with the applicants’ that their right to dignity, which
includes the right to a family
life
[28]
,
was infringed and that Ms Serrano’s freedom and security was
severely compromised. In addition, given the conditions in
the
inadmissible facility which Ms serrano had to endure, there was more
than a reasonable apprehension of harm if she was not
released. The
violations to the applicants’ right to dignity and Ms Serrano’s
freedom and security could not be redeemed
if Ms Serrano was
continued to be detained and it subsequently turned out that the
decision of the respondents was unlawful
[80]
The applicants averred that the balance of convenience favoured the
granting of interim relief. Mr
Katz, on behalf of the applicants,
submitted that the prospects of success were high on review since the
department’s decision,
and subsequently that of the Minister,
not to recognise the validity of Ms Serrano’s passport was
irrational, unlawful, and
unreasonable. Although it is not for this
court to adjudicate the merits of the review application, it seems to
me that there is
some substance in the applicants’ submissions
in this regard. For example, it was not disputed that Ms Serrano’s
passport
was officially extended by the Venezuelan government which
had been renewing passports in this fashion for several years.
Indeed,
various other countries have recognised this form of
extension. As Mr Katz argued, there is nothing in the
Immigration Act
or
regulations that prevented immigration officials from recognising
Ms Serrano’s passport as valid given the extension document.
It
was certainly not disputed by the department that the extension
document in Ms Serrano’s passport was extended electronically
and that all the information that one would expect in a passport was
not altered in any way; the passport is machine readable.
[81]
The decision to deny Ms Serrano entry into the Republic and to detain
her appears to be unreasonable.
Even if there was some doubt about
the validity of Ms Serrano’s passport, the reasonable
decision-maker would not have automatically
denied her entry and
detained her but would have instead made enquiries from the
Venezuelan embassy or more senior Home Affairs
officials with regard
to the validity of the passport by virtue of the extension document.
Ms Serrano provided exacting details
on the lengths that she went
through to ensure that her document would be acceptable when she
arrived in South Africa. The enquiries
were made personally by her as
well as by Ethiopian Airlines directly to the department. There was
no serious objection by the
respondents to Ms Serrano’s
submissions in this regard. Clearly, there is some confusion on the
status of Ms Serrano’s
passport and the extension thereof. A
simple enquiry by the immigration officials at the port of entry may
well have cleared up
this confusion in favour of Ms Serrano.
[82]
While the applicants will suffer significant harm if no interim
relief is granted, the respondents,
on the other hand, would suffer
no harm at all if Ms Serrano remained in South Africa until the
review is finalised. As Mr Katz
argued, the power exercised by the
department, and subsequently the Minister, in refusing Ms Serrano
entry into the Republic was
“a-run-of-the-mill”
administered power. It is not a polycentric executive or legislative
power. The separation of powers,
in this matter, would not be unduly
affected. The interim order granted affected a single individual and
is based on Ms Serrano’s
particular circumstances. Ms Serrano
poses no discernible threat to the public or to any individual. From
the outset, she has taken
every possible step to ensure compliance
with the department’s requirements.
[83]
Although I am of the view that the interim order was correctly
granted, the initial order was perhaps
defective in that it was far
wider than what was requested by the applicants in the main
application. In the notice of motion,
the applicants requested
that Ms Serrano be released from custody and allowed interim entry
into the Republic pending the finalisation
of her review under
section 8(1).
At that stage, the Minister’s decision was still
pending. Ms Serrano had also indicated in her founding papers that
she would
in any event leave South Africa by 24 March 2022, which is
the date of her return ticket. The order granted was thus
impermissibly
wider than the relief sought. However, the relief
sought was overtaken by events. The Minister made his decision which
was adverse
to Ms Serrano and this decision is now the subject of a
review in this court. This change in circumstances simply cannot be
ignored
but will have to be taken into account when an order is
fashioned in relation to any relief granted in this matter.
[84]
On a conspectus of the evidence before me, I am satisfied that a case
has been made out for Ms Serrano’s
release from the
inadmissible facility and her entry into South Africa pending the
finalisation of the court proceedings in relation
to the
section 8
review application.
CONDONATION
APPLICATION AND APPLICATION TO STRIKE OUT
[85]
The respondents lodged an interlocutory application to condone the
late filing of the service affidavit
of Mr Goeieman and the late
delivery of the respondents’ supplementary note. The applicants
filed an affidavit by Mr Schneider
in response to the condonation
application wherein the applicants indicated that they did not oppose
the grant of the condonation
application. However, the response went
much further by canvassing issues that were not entirely relevant to
the condonation application.
The respondents then brought an
application to strike out the entire affidavit of Mr Schneider on the
grounds that the affidavit
constituted frivolous and vexatious
material that was irrelevant and inadmissible. The respondents also
requested that the applicants
pay the costs of the application on an
attorney-client-scale.
[86]
The application was to strike out the entire affidavit and not only
certain portions thereof. Quite
clearly, the affidavit contains
uncontentious material, such as the submission by the applicants that
they did not oppose the application.
Ms Golden was requested to
address the court on this issue. She persisted with the argument that
the respondents sought an order
that the entire affidavit of Mr
Schneider be struck out.
[87]
An application to strike out any matter from an affidavit is
regulated by rule 6(15) of the Uniform
Rules of Court, which reads as
follows:
“
The court may on application
order to be struck out from any affidavit in any matter which is
scandalous, vexatious or irrelevant,
with an appropriate order as to
costs, including costs as between attorney and client. The court may
not grant the application
unless it is satisfied that the applicant
was prejudiced in his case if it be not granted.
”
[88]
It is necessary for an applicant to, firstly, identify those
paragraphs which ought to be struck out
as scandalous, vexatious or
irrelevant and, secondly, the applicant must satisfy the court that
he or she will be prejudiced if
the matter is not struck out. The
respondents have failed to overcome the first hurdle in that they
have not specified which paragraphs
ought to be struck out and what
prejudice they would suffer if the specified paragraphs were not
struck out. As indicated, there
were clearly paragraphs which were
uncontentious and, therefore, did not fall to be struck out. This
much appears to have been
conceded by Ms Golden. In the
circumstances, I ruled that the application to strike out could not
succeed. Given that the applicants
sought an indulgence with regard
to the condonation application and were unsuccessful with the
application to strike out, I see
no reason why they should not be
ordered to pay the applicants’ costs in respect of both
applications.
COSTS
[89]
The applicants have been substantially successful in the main
application, notwithstanding the difficulties
with regard to the
scope of the original interim order. In my view, there is no good
reason why costs should not follow the result.
[90]
Both parties urged the court to consider a punitive costs order
against the other. The court seriously
considered imposing a punitive
costs order on the respondents, alternatively Ms Karjiker personally,
to mark its displeasure with
regard to their conduct in this matter.
However, Ms Karjiker emphasized that she was always acting on the
instructions of the respondents.
I have no reason to disbelieve her
assertions in this regard. In the circumstances, to mulct the
respondents with a punitive costs
order would impose an unnecessary
burden on the taxpayers. It is nonetheless hoped that the Minister
will seriously reflect on
the behaviour of his officials, and those
instructed to represent his department, when it comes to the
treatment of foreigners
such as Ms Serrano and the implementation of
court orders.
ORDER
I make the following
order:
1.
Condonation is granted to the respondents for the late filing of the
affidavit
of Mr Jack
Goeieman
and
the respondents’ supplementary note.
2.
The respondents’ application to strike out is dismissed.
3.
Pending the final determination of the second applicant’s
application for
judicial review under case number 21843/21, the first
and second respondents are directed to permit the second applicant to
enter
and remain in the Republic of South Africa, subject to such
reasonable terms and conditions, as may be prescribed by the first
respondent.
4.
Any of the parties may approach this court for further directions on
the same
papers, supplemented in so far as may needs be, in the event
that agreement cannot be reached on reasonable terms and conditions
if the second respondent wishes to continue to stay in the Republic
after 24 March 2022 while she awaits the outcome of the court
proceedings under case number 21843/21.
5.
The respondents are directed, jointly and severally, to pay the
applicants’
costs, including those costs relating to the
applications referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, and such costs
shall include
the costs of two counsel where so employed.
FRANCIS J
JUDGE OF THE HIGH
COURT
CASE INFORMATION
Dated
23 March 2022 and transmitted electronically to the Legal
Representatives for service on all the relevant parties.
Date
of hearing
:
02
March 2022
Date of
judgment
: 23
March 2022
Counsel
for the Applicant
:
Advocate Anton Katz SC
Advocate
Eshed Cohen
antzkatz@za.legal
eshed.cohen@gmail.com
Instructed
by
Craig Schneider Associates
3 De
Lorentz Street
Gardens
Tel:
021 424 8884
Email:
craiglaw@iafrica.co
m
Counsel
for the Respondent
:
Advocate Tanya Golden SC
Advocate
Adiel
Nacerodien
tanyagolden@capebar.co.za
Instructed
by
S Karjiker
4
th
Floor
22
Long Street
Cape
Town
Tel:
021 441 9200
Email:
skarjiker@justice.gov.za
[1]
See,
Havard
and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
(case
number: 33431/2011 SGHC) at paras [11] – [13].
[2]
[2022]
ZACC 3
at para
[23]
. See also,
Department
of Transport v Tasima (Pty) Ltd
2017
(2) SA 622
(CC)
.
[3]
See, for example,
Mukhamadiva
v Director General of Home Affairs and Another
(case
number: 22621/11 WCHC), and
Lin
Gui Lan v
OR
Tambo International Airport and Others
(case
number 70261/2009 NGHC).
[4]
Afgri
Grain Marketing (Pty) Ltd[4]
v
Trustees for the time being of Copenship Bulkers A/S (in
liquidation) and Others
[2019]
All SA 321
(SCA)
at
para [12].
[5]
Cf.
Cathay
Pacific Airways Ltd and another v HL and another
[2017]
2 All SA 722
(SCA)
.
[6]
See,
Maharaj
Brothers v Pieterse Bros Construction (Pty) Ltd & Another
1961
(2) SA 232
(N)
.
[7]
Cf.
Minister
of Home Affairs v Johnson
;
Minister
of Home Affairs v Delorie
[2015]
(6) BCLR 707
(CC)
at para 7.
[8]
Lawyers
for Human Rights & another v Minister of Home Affairs &
another
[2004] ZACC 12
;
2004
(4) SA 125
(CC)
at
para 25 and 26.
[9]
See the comments of Ponnan JA in the minority judgment in
Jeebhai
v Minister of Home Affairs and Another
[2009]
3 ALL SA 103
(SCA)
at
para [59].
[10]
A
“conveyance” is defined in the
Immigration Act as
“
any
ship, boat, aircraft or vehicle, or any other means of transport
”
.
[11]
Case number: 3056/14 WCHC.
[12]
Case number: 4551/2015 WCHC.
[13]
Case number: 9798/14 WCHC.
[14]
Case number: 8231/2014 WCHC.
[15]
Case number: 8326/216 WCHC.
[16]
Fenuka
Khan v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
at
para [64].
[17]
At para [23].
[18]
See, for example,
Chen
and Another v Director-General, Home Affairs and Others
2014
[ZAWCH] 181
.
[19]
See,
Patel
and One Other v Chief Immigration Officer, OR Tambo International
Airport and others
(case
number: 26953/09 NGHC), at para [41].
[20]
See, for example,
Director-General,
Department of Home Affairs and Another v Islam and Others
(459/2017)
[2018] ZASCA 48
.
[21]
Johnson
and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
;
Delori
and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another
(case
numbers 103/10/2014 and 10452/2014 WCHC).
[22]
Minister
of Home Affairs v Johnson and Others
;
Minister
of Home Affairs and Another v
Delori
and Others
[2015]
ZACC 8.
[23]
Chen
and Another
at
para [55].
[24]
Setlogelo
v Setlogelo
1914 AD
221
; Webster v Mitchell
1948 (1) SA 1186
(W)
.
[25]
Good
v Minister of Justice & Another
1955
(2) SA 682
(C);
National
Treasury & Others v Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance
2012
(6) SA 223
(CC)
,
at paras 44 and 45.
[26]
Section 10 of the Constitution.
[27]
Section 12 of the Constitution.
[28]
See,
Dawood
v Minister of Home Affairs
;
Shalabi
v Minister of Home Affairs
;
Thomas
v Minister of Home Affairs
[2000] ZACC 8
;
2000
(3) SA 936
at para 37.
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