| National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Constitutional Court of South Africa |
| Full case name | National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and Another v Minister of Justice and Others |
| Decided | 9 October 1998 |
| Citations | [1998] ZACC 15, 1999 (1) SA 6 (CC), 1998 (12) BCLR 1517 (CC) |
| Case history | |
| Prior action | Referral from Witwatersrand Local Division |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Chaskalson P, Langa DP, Ackermann, Goldstone, Kriegler, Mokgoro, O'Regan, Sachs & Yacoob JJ |
| Case opinions | |
| The common-law crime of sodomy and section 20A of the Sexual Offences Act are inconsistent with the Constitution, and therefore invalid, because they infringe the rights to equality, dignity and privacy. (Unanimous.) | |
| Decision by | Ackermann |
| Keywords | |
| LGBT rights, sodomy law | |
National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and Another v Minister of Justice and Others is a decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which struck down the laws prohibiting consensual sexual activities between men. Basing its decision on the Bill of Rights in the Constitution – and in particular its explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation – the court unanimously ruled that the crime of sodomy, as well as various other related provisions of the criminal law, were unconstitutional and therefore invalid.
The case was the first in a series of Constitutional Court rulings advancing LGBT rights in South Africa which culminated in the case Minister of Home Affairs and Another v Fourie and Another, a judgment which led to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in South Africa by the Civil Union Act, 2006. In the interim the court extended to same-sex couples immigration-related rights, pension benefits, the ability to adopt, and parental rights over children conceived by artificial insemination.
Argument in the case was heard on 27 August 1998 before President of the Constitutional Court Arthur Chaskalson, Deputy President Pius Langa, and Justices Ackermann, Goldstone, Kriegler, Mokgoro, O'Regan, Sachs and Yacoob. The decision was handed down on 9 October of the same year; the majority judgment was authored by Justice Ackermann, while Justice Sachs wrote a separate concurring judgment.