Langa assures pharmacists
2005-08-09 21:38
Johannesburg - "I can assure the roleplayers and the public that the Constitutional Court judges are working non-stop to prepare their ruling with regards to the regulation of medicine prices," said chief justice Pius Langa on Tuesday.
This followed after "unease and concern" were expressed by the pharmacy industry about the ruling, which has been awaited for five months.
Langa said he and the other judges preparing the ruling - among them former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson - had to pay minute attention to and prepare very well for the ruling, especially since it was so important and would have such a broad impact.
"It is not as if we are ignorant about the urgency of the matter.
"The whole pharmacy industry will be influenced.
"Five months might sound like a long time, but the judges even sacrificed their recess to work on this ruling," Langa said.
The dispute went through several sensational twists after the Cape Town High Court first approved Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's contentious rules for the regulation of medicine prices, only to have it overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal on urgent grounds shortly afterwards.
Langa said people should keep in mind that the Constitutional Court was the highest court to decide on constitutional issues in the country and that it could not rush any rulings.