Proceedings of The 6th International Conference on Advanced Research in Social Sciences
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Views Of the Role Players on The Relevance of Administrative Justice in Disciplinary Proceedings in The Eastern Cape Department of Education in South Africa
M.A.A. Macanda
ABSTRACT:
In South Africa, everyone has a right to administrative justice that is enshrined in section 33 of the Constitution. Section 33(1) states that everyone has a right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair. Administrative justice is largely an unknown ideal beyond the domain of Administrative Law in South Africa, which is largely retrospective in nature. On the other hand, international literature offers a broader conception of administrative justice that goes beyond the South African legalistic meaning. This paper aims to examine different conceptions of administrative justice and report findings on the views of role players on the meaning and relevance of administrative justice in disciplinary proceedings in the Eastern Cape Department of Education. Roles players were asked to provide their own understanding of justice and administrative justice and to suggest whether, in their view, administrative justice was relevant in disciplinary proceedings. Semi-structured and in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with the key role players in disciplinary proceedings. Policy documents of the disciplinary cases were collected and analysed. Although largely legalistic, the findings suggest a nuanced conceptualization of justice and administrative justice. Most role players believed that administrative justice was relevant in disciplinary proceedings, even though they differed in their justifications. Few role players believed that disciplinary proceedings are a labour matter that should not be looked at from an administrative justice point of view. This paper argued that the principles of administrative justice are generally not contradictory to the notion of fairness in the domain of labour law and that the management of disciplinary proceedings is likely to be enriched by international literature on administrative justice and the principles flowing from the two sections of the Constitution (23 & 33).
keywords: Justice, administrative justice, administrative action, fairness, disciplinary proceedings, public service, department of education