It comes after the DG Murray Trust (DGMT) secured a partial High Court victory in April against the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, which passed a law extending liquor trading hours in the province without meaningful public participation.
The Northern Cape Gambling and Liquor Act of 2024 made it easier to buy alcohol later at night. Bars, taverns and other venues are allowed to sell alcohol until 2 a.m., seven days a week, stores can now sell liquor on Sundays, and nightclubs can sell liquor until 6 a.m. from Monday to Saturday and midnight on Sundays. These changes were made without the public being given a meaningful chance to comment.
The Northern Cape High Court agreed with DGMT that the legislature failed in its constitutional duty to facilitate public involvement, particularly for vulnerable communities. The Constitutional Court was asked to confirm the High Court’s ruling.
But the case has wider implications. It could clarify government’s constitutional duty to prevent alcohol-related harm across provinces.
Wider implications of this case
DGMT argues that the state has a constitutional duty to take reasonable and effective steps to protect people from alcohol-related harm, including harm caused by other people’s drinking. This harm contributes to violence, road injuries, pressure on health services, and affects children’s wellbeing.
"This case is about preventing alcohol-related violence, injuries and lifelong harm to children, especially in communities already carrying the heaviest burden," says David Harrison, DGMT CEO.
"Communities deserve liquor laws that are evidence-informed and responsive to the realities of alcohol harm. It cannot be acceptable to make an already serious public health problem worse."
Nationally, a modelling study estimated that approximately 62 300 deaths in South Africa in 2015 were attributable to alcohol, equivalent to roughly one in ten deaths that year.
DGMT's case draws on expert evidence from Professor Charles Parry of the South African Medical Research Council and economist Samantha Filby of the University of Cape Town, linking extended late-night alcohol availability to greater risks of heavy drinking, violence, injuries and pressure on healthcare services.
Research conducted by Filby and colleagues for DGMT estimated that introducing a midnight closing time for on-consumption liquor retailers in the Western Cape could prevent between 163 800 and 453 000 cases of at least six alcohol-related health conditions over 20 years, with corresponding hospital cost savings of between R326 million and R890 million in the Western Cape, illustrating the potential health and economic benefits of restricting alcohol availability.
"When the consequences of harmful drinking are already so severe, decisions to extend alcohol availability must be subjected to serious scrutiny," says Harrison.
What DGMT is asking for
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The Constitutional Court must confirm the invalidity of the challenged provisions of the Northern Cape Gambling and Liquor Act, rather than the entire Act.
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DGMT proposes giving the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature 24 months to remedy the defects in the Act, with midnight closing for on-consumption sales and no Sunday off-consumption sales in the Northern Cape while it does so.
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DGMT wants the Constitutional Court to uphold its constitutional rights challenge that the state has a duty to prevent alcohol-related harm in South Africa.