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The long-awaited judgment with regards to expired firearm licenses in the Constitutional Court has finally been handed down on the 21st of May 2022.
The litigation started in the Pretoria High Court where Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd launched an application seeking the Respondents to, amongst others, accept late renewal applications, or the new applications for licenses of some 700 firearms that they have not timeously renewed.1 The Pretoria High Court then dismissed the application with costs whereafter the Applicants applied for leave to appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal.2 Leave to appeal was subsequently granted. The Supreme Court of Appeal then decided that the Appeal is upheld and that the Pretoria High Court’s Order is set aside and replaced with an order stating that Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd may apply for new licenses for their firearms and that the rest of the application is dismissed with costs.3 The Respondent’s then applied for leave to appeal in the Constitutional Court. The leave was granted, and the appeal dismissed with costs.4
What does this mean for individual firearm owners?
The Supreme Court of Appeal, in its judgment, held that neither the Firearms Control Act nor the Firearms Control Regulations suggests that a person who has not renewed their firearm license will forever be prohibited to do so.5 Furthermore, the Court held that the interpretation of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 to force firearm owners with expired licenses to buy new firearms and use the same application process is neither sensible nor business-like.6
The Constitutional Court also added that, even though a person with an expired firearm license may not apply for a firearm license in terms of Section 24 of the Act, there is still sections 13 to 20 in terms of which application can be made. The Act,
specifically Section 24, does not prohibit this application.7 The Court also held that there can be no implied terms to this effect as words can only be read into the Act by implication if it is necessary for them to give effect to the Act.8
Essentially then, the Constitutional Court clarified that the Act does not prohibit a firearm owner to re-apply for a license and therefore, by implication, any person whose firearm license expired can apply for a new license under sections 13 to 20 of The Act.
There are two legs to this determination, namely possession of a firearm and ownership of the firearm. Once one acquires the firearm, or any other form of property for that matter, you become the lawful owner of the firearm. Possession however relies on the license to possess a firearm in terms of the Act.
The Court therefore determined that, if your firearm license has expired, you are essentially in unlawful possession of the firearm as the license to possess same has expired. The counterpart to the argument is that you are still the lawful owner of the firearm. Therefore, the Constitutional Court’s interpretation entails that a new application for a license be handed in and that the firearm then be surrendered to the South African Police Service (SAPS) to terminate the unlawful possession of the firearm.
In a nutshell the judgment handed down on the 27th of May 2022 by the Constitutional Court provides for firearm owners with expired license cards to apply for a new license under sections 13 to 20 of the Act. Furthermore, the possession aspect of the judgment implies that the firearm must be surrendered to the SAPS pending the new license application.
We are still eagerly awaiting new directives as to the implementation of the court order and what it will entail on a practical note for firearm owners with expired license cards.
References:
1. Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police and Others (45537/16) [2019] ZAGPPHC 234.
2. Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police and Others (45537/16) [2019] ZAGPPHC 1098.
3. Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police and Others (1349/2019) [2021] ZASCA 51.
4. Minister of Police and Others v Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Limited [2022] ZACC 16.
5. Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police and Others (1349/2019) [2021] ZASCA 51 par 33.
6. Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police and Others (1349/2019) [2021] ZASCA par 34.
7. Minister of Police and Others v Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Limited [2022] ZACC 16 par 44.
8. Minister of Police and Others v Fidelity Security Services (Pty) Limited [2022] ZACC 16 par 54.
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