Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development

{{Short description|Committee in the National Assembly of South Africa}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development

| image =

| size =

| abbreviation =

| formation = 1994 (as Portfolio Committee on Justice)

| formerly =

| purpose = Oversight of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

| leader_name = Xola Nqola (ANC)

| leader_title = Chairperson

| parent_organisation = National Assembly of South Africa

}}

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development is a portfolio committee of the National Assembly of South Africa. It is responsible for oversight of the agencies managed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

The committee was established during the first post-apartheid Parliament as the Portfolio Committee on Justice, chaired for two terms by Johnny de Lange. It was renamed as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development after the Department of Justice was renamed accordingly. Between 2014 and 2024, it oversaw an enlarged portfolio as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services; the enlarged committee was created in a merger between the justice committee and Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, precipitated by the corresponding ministerial merger that created the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services.

In addition to overseeing the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the committee oversees a long list of statutory entities related to justice and law enforcement: the Council for Debt Collectors, Legal Aid South Africa, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Office of the Chief Justice, the Public Protector, the Rules Board for Courts of Law, the South African Board for Sheriffs, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Special Investigating Unit.{{Cite web |title=Justice and Constitutional Development |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee/38/ |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

List of chairpersons

To date, all chairpersons of the Committee have been members of the African National Congress (ANC), the national governing party.

= 2024–present: Justice and Constitutional Development =

class="wikitable"

|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development

!Session

!Chairperson

! colspan="2" |Party

!Election date

!Citation

7th Parliament

|Xola Nqola

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|9 July 2024

|{{Cite web |date=9 July 2024 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/38984/ |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

= 2014–2024: Justice and Correctional Services =

class="wikitable"

|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice and Correctional Services

!Session

!Chairperson

! colspan="2" |Party

!Election date

!Citation

6th Parliament

|Gratitude Magwanishe

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|2 July 2019

|{{Cite web |date=2 July 2019 |title=Election of Chairperson; Draft Committee Programme |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28441/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

rowspan="2" |5th Parliament

|Refiloe Mothapo

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|9 October 2018

|{{Cite web |date=9 October 2018 |title=Department of Correctional Services & JICS 2017/18 Annual Reports, with AGSA input and Deputy Ministers present |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/27164/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

Mathole Motshekga

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|24 June 2014

|{{Cite web |date=24 June 2014 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/17156/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

= 1994–2014: Justice and Constitutional Development =

class="wikitable"

|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice

!Session

!Chairperson

! colspan="2" |Party

!Election date

!Citation

rowspan="2" |4th Parliament

|Luwellyn Landers

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|November 2010

|{{Cite web |date=2010-11-19 |title=Surprise demotions in parly reshuffle |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2010-11-19-surprise-demotions-in-parly-reshuffle/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}

Ngoako Ramatlhodi

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|1 June 2009

|{{Cite web |date=1 June 2009 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/10417/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

3rd Parliament

|Fatima Chohan-Kota

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|11 May 2004

|{{Cite web |date=11 May 2004 |title=Chairperson election; Committee Programme: adoption |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3514/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=24 June 2004 |title=Chairperson Election |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3726/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

2nd Parliament

|Johnny de Lange

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|16 August 1999

|{{Cite web |date=16 August 1999 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3663/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}

1st Parliament

|Johnny de Lange

|ANC

|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}

|1994

|{{Cite web |date=1994-08-26 |title=The People Are No Longer Strangers |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1994-08-26-the-people-are-no-longer-strangers/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}

References

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