Bekker, Chrisna Jooste2024-06-242024-06-242022Bekker, Chrisna Jooste. (2022). The evolution of the test for rationality under the legality principle in South African administrative law [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38737https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38737A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws by coursework and research reportto the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accountancy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022The principle of legality was confirmed early in South Africa’s constitutional era as a product of the rule of law and the minimum standard to which the exercise of public power must be held to account. It has become an indispensable tool and ‘safety net’ to review administrative decisions where the action which it reviews does not constitute administrative action as it is defined in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000. Rationality has emerged as the test applied in such reviews of whether the means applied to reach a decision are rationally related to the ends (the decision). Rationality has however come to comprise elements such as procedural fairness and -rationality that are not always consistently defined or applied by the courts. This variability and unpredictability lead to uncertainty in administrative law review which has the effect of causing the ‘safety net’ to stretch too far – by undermining the rule of law, the principle of legality itself and constitutional democracyen© 2022 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.The principle of legalityRule of lawAdministrative lawUCTDSDG-17: Partnerships for the goalsDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg