The Constitutional Court consists of eleven judges who are appointed by the President of South Africa from a list drawn up by the Judicial Service Commission.

The movement for the establishment of a constitutional court in South Africa was begun in 1920 by the African National Congress (ANC).

According to South African History Online Mandela said, "The last time I appeared in court was to hear whether or not I was going to be sentenced to death.

The Constitution Hill precinct is located at 11 Kotze Street in Braamfontein, Johannesburg near the western end of the suburb of Hillbrow.

The Hill overlooks downtown Johannesburg to the South and the wealthy northern suburbs of Houghton, Parktown and Sandton to the north.

Most of the prison was demolished to make way for the new court, but the stairwells were kept and incorporated into the new building as a reminder of the Constitution's transformative aspirations.

One of the stairwells from the old awaiting-trial block with the Portuguese words A luta continua (the struggle continues) written in lights, has been retained.

To select judges the Judicial Service Commission first draws up a list of candidates, which must have at least three more names than the number of vacancies.

Then the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice and the leaders of political parties represented in the National Assembly, chooses the judges from this list.

The effect is that judges who had served more than 3 years before their appointment to the Constitutional Court retain a 12-year term limit; those who did not, have a longer tenure.

They are binding on all organs of government, including the parliament, the presidency, the police force, the army, the public service and all courts.

This means that the Court has the power to declare an Act of Parliament null and void if it conflicts with the Constitution and to control executive action in the same way.

Bad or incorrect conduct by state officials can be reported to the Office of the Public Protector, formerly called the Ombudsman.

[9] The statement stated further that the complaint related to four matters in which either Thint (Pty) Ltd or the Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, was involved.

Judge Hlophe was reported to have rejected the allegations as "utter rubbish" and as "another ploy" to damage his reputation.

Six years later, however, when the misconduct enquiry against Hlophe was pending, Jafta and Nkabinde brought a court challenge to the tribunal's jurisdiction, saying their own complaint was not legally valid.