Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
South African legal case
Freedom of Religion South Africa v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others [2019] ZACC 34 is a decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which found that corporal punishment in the home is illegal. The court found that the common law defence of "moderate and reasonable chastisement" is unconstitutional, so that parents are no longer exempt from prosecution or conviction for assault for striking their children. The unanimous judgment was written by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and handed down on 18 September 2019.