Almost R2m emolument attachment orders could be affected by a Constitutional Court judgment due to be delivered today, says a Business Day report. It adds the ground-breaking case was originally heard in the Western Cape High Court in February 2015, and it challenges the constitutionality of the process of granting emolument attachment orders in the context of unsecured lending.

The case was brought to court by the University of Stellenbosch’s Legal Aid Clinic and others against the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and others. In March 2015, the Constitutional Court heard an appeal against the judgment during which it was urged to declare sections of the Magistrates’ Act unconstitutional. The Legal Aid Clinic also urged the Constitutional Court to set aside all emolument attachment orders issued in the wrong jurisdiction or signed off by a clerk of the court instead of a magistrate.

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