Covid-19: Lamola announces retired ConCourt judge Kate O’Regan as Covid-19 judge
While government officials work to trace those who might be infected with the coronavirus, Justice Kate O'Regan will work to safeguard the privacy and personal information of persons during the tracing process.
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola has appointed Justice Catherine (Kate) O’Regan, as the Covid-19 Designate Judge.
New regulations in the Disaster Management Act, published on 2 April make provision for contact tracing and for a national database to enable the tracing of persons who are known or reasonably suspected to have come into contact with any person known or reasonably suspected to have contracted the virus.
Regulation 11H empowers the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to designate a judge who has been discharged from active service as the Covid-19 Designated Judge.
The regulations provide that the Director-General of Health may direct an electronic communications service provider to provide him or her with information regarding the location or movements of any person known or reasonably suspected, to have contracted Covid-19 or any person known, or reasonably suspected, to have come into contact with such a person. The requested information would be for inclusion in the Covid-19 Tracing Database.
While government does all it can to implement measures to fight the spread of the virus, the designated judge has an important role to play to safeguard the privacy and personal information of persons during this process.
The Director-General of Health must file a weekly report with the Covid-19 Designated Judge setting out the names and details of all persons whose location or movements were so obtained. The Covid-19 Designated Judge may also make such recommendations to cabinet members responsible for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, health and justice and correctional services as she deems fit. These recommendations could be regarding the amendment or enforcement of this regulation in order to safeguard the right to privacy whilst ensuring the ability of the Department of Health to engage in urgent and effective contact tracing to address, prevent and combat the spread of Covid-19.
Justice O’Regan is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, having served for 15 years from 1994 to 2009. She acted as Deputy Chief Justice in the absence of Justice Dikgang Moseneke during 2008. Since 2010, she served as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia.
Lamola said, “Justice O’Regan is a highly respected former judge of our Constitutional Court and is known for her unwavering commitment to human rights, social justice and the rule of law. I am grateful to Justice O’Regan for availing herself for this role so as to ensure that whilst we fight Covid-19, people’s rights to privacy are not compromised.”
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