View source for Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development

{{Short description|Committee in the National Assembly of South Africa}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development
| image                    = 
| size                     = 
| abbreviation             = 
| formation                = 1994 (as Portfolio Committee on Justice)
| formerly                 = 
| purpose                  = Oversight of the [[Department of Justice and Constitutional Development]]
| leader_name              = [[Xola Nqola]] (ANC)
| leader_title             = Chairperson
| parent_organisation      = [[National Assembly of South Africa]]
}}

The '''Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development''' is a [[List of committees of the Parliament of South Africa|portfolio committee]] of the [[National Assembly of South Africa]]. It is responsible for oversight of the agencies managed by the [[Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development]], including the [[Department of Justice and Constitutional Development]].

The committee was established during the [[22nd South African Parliament|first post-apartheid Parliament]] as the '''Portfolio Committee on Justice''', chaired for two terms by [[Johnny de Lange]]. It was renamed as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development after the Department of Justice was renamed accordingly. Between 2014 and 2024, it oversaw an enlarged portfolio as the '''Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services'''; the enlarged committee was created in a merger between the justice committee and [[Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services]], precipitated by the corresponding ministerial merger that created the [[Minister of Justice and Correctional Services|Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services]].

In addition to overseeing the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the committee oversees a long list of statutory entities related to justice and [[Law enforcement in South Africa|law enforcement]]: the Council for Debt Collectors, Legal Aid South Africa, the [[National Prosecuting Authority]], the [[Chief Justice of South Africa|Office of the Chief Justice]], the [[Public Protector]], the Rules Board for Courts of Law, the South African Board for Sheriffs, the [[South African Human Rights Commission]], and the [[Special Investigating Unit]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Justice and Constitutional Development |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee/38/ |access-date=11 July 2024 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>

== List of chairpersons ==
To date, all chairpersons of the Committee have been members of the [[African National Congress]] (ANC), the national governing party.

=== 2024–present: Justice and Constitutional Development ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development
!Session
!Chairperson
! colspan="2" |Party
!Election date
!Citation
|-
![[28th South African Parliament|7th Parliament]]
|[[Xola Nqola]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|9 July 2024
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 July 2024 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/38984/ |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|}

=== 2014–2024: Justice and Correctional Services ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice and Correctional Services
!Session
!Chairperson
! colspan="2" |Party
!Election date
!Citation
|-
![[27th South African Parliament|6th Parliament]]
|[[Gratitude Magwanishe]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|2 July 2019
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 July 2019 |title=Election of Chairperson; Draft Committee Programme |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/28441/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[26th South African Parliament|5th Parliament]]
|[[Refiloe Mothapo]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|9 October 2018
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 October 2018 |title=Department of Correctional Services & JICS 2017/18 Annual Reports, with AGSA input and Deputy Ministers present |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/27164/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[Mathole Motshekga]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|24 June 2014
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2014 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/17156/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|}

=== 1994–2014: Justice and Constitutional Development ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Chairpersons of the Committee on Justice
!Session
!Chairperson
! colspan="2" |Party
!Election date
!Citation
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[25th South African Parliament|4th Parliament]]
|[[Luwellyn Landers]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|November 2010
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-11-19 |title=Surprise demotions in parly reshuffle |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2010-11-19-surprise-demotions-in-parly-reshuffle/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
|-
|[[Ngoako Ramatlhodi]] 
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|1 June 2009
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 2009 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/10417/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|-
![[24th South African Parliament|3rd Parliament]]
|[[Fatima Chohan|Fatima Chohan-Kota]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|11 May 2004
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 2004 |title=Chairperson election; Committee Programme: adoption |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3514/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2004 |title=Chairperson Election |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3726/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|-
![[23rd South African Parliament|2nd Parliament]]
|[[Johnny de Lange]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|16 August 1999
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 1999 |title=Election of Chairperson |url=https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/3663/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Parliamentary Monitoring Group |language=en}}</ref>
|-
![[22nd South African Parliament|1st Parliament]]
|[[Johnny de Lange]]
|[[African National Congress|ANC]]
|{{party color cell|African National Congress}}
|1994
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-08-26 |title=The People Are No Longer Strangers |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1994-08-26-the-people-are-no-longer-strangers/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.parliament.gov.za/committee-details/266 Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development] at Parliament of South Africa
* [https://pmg.org.za/committee/38/ Justice and Constitutional Development] at Parliamentary Monitoring Group
{{RSAParliamentCommittees|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Committees of the National Assembly of South Africa]]