Commentary on the case of Attorney General v His Majesty the King and Others (2015) : notes & comments

• Author: Hoolo 'Nyane
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC185609
• Published date: 01 January 2015
• Date: 01 January 2015
• Pages: 177-188

COMMENTARY ON THE CASE OFATTORNEY GENERAL V

HIS MAJESTY THE KING AND OTHERS (2015)

Hoolo Nyane*

Introduction

Constitutional litigation inLesotho isgenerally very scanty,

particularly the one dealing with interrelations between state

institutions. The few constitutional cases that are litigated in

Lesotho relate to human rights of individuals against the state. The

case ofAttorney General v His Majesty the King and Others1 is one of

the very few occasions when superior courts in Lesotho have to

intervene to redefine powers and limitations ofstateinstitutions.

More importantly, the case is the only decision of the Court of

Appeal of Lesotho under the new constitution2 of Lesotho through

which the Court deals directly with the powers of the controversial

office of the Prime Minister in relation to other institutions.3 The

question of the real nature of the office of the Prime Minister under

the written constitution of Lesotho has largely been presumed than

defined. It has always been assumed that the office has the powers

ofits namesake under the British constitutional design. That

assumption has always been widespread with very little regard

though, to the fact that while indeed the current constitution of

Lesotho bears all the hallmarks of the Westminster constitutional

design,4 itis written. When the constitution of Lesotho was written

* LLB(NUL), LLM(NWU), LLD Candidate (UNISA), Public Law Lecturer,

NUL, hnyane@yahoo.co.uk.

1 CONS/CASE/02/2015; C OF A (CIV) 13/2015 (On Appeal).

2 The Constitution was adopted in1993.

3 The question of the powers of the Prime Minister in re lation for example

to the powers of the King and Cabinet has been very perennial in Lesotho.

4 See Macartney, W.J., ‘African Westminster? The Parliament ofLesotho’.

Parliamentary Affairs, 1970. 121- 140.At121-122.