Page:Fourie v Minister of Home Affairs (SCA).djvu/79

Rh ‘If one accepts that the courts work through the voluntary acceptance of their authority by the community, the relationship between the courts and public must be reciprocal. This does not mean that the courts will decide cases by reference to every shift in public opinion. The courts and the judiciary must have the confidence of the community in order to maintain their authority. Apart from acting in accordance with their ethical obligations, the judiciary must also keep a “weather eye” on community values in order to retain the relevance of their decisions to that community.’

Counsel for the respondent submitted that, if this Court were to be of the opinion that the definition of marriage should be extended to cover same-sex unions, it should suspend whatever relief it was minded to grant to the appellants for 24 months so as to give the legislature time to consider the matter and pass such legislation as it considered necessary to deal with the problem.

Counsel for the appellants attached to his heads of argument Discussion Paper 104 published by the South African Law Reform Commission in connection with its Project 118, which is devoted to the topic of Domestic Partnerships. Discussion Paper 104 contains proposals prepared by the Commission aimed at harmonizing family law with the provisions of the Bill of Rights and the constitutional values of equality and dignity. The Commission considers ‘as unconstitutional the fact that there is currently no legal recognition of same-sex relationships’. It proposes that same- sex