Access to Justice

Mrs. Dobson was a community nurse employed by North Cumbria Integrated Care working two days a week. As a mother of three children, two of whom have disabilities, Mrs. Dobson relied on the ability to have a fixed work schedule. From 2008 to 2016 Mrs. Dobson maintained a 15-hour work week over a period of two fixed days without issue. In 2013 Mrs. Dobson’s employer first asked Mrs. Dobson to work the occasional weekend, but after explaining her family dynamic and work that she needed to complete at home the issue was dropped.

In 2003, seven-year-old Andrea was murdered by her father, who subsequently committed suicide, during a court-approved parental visitation. Andrea’s mother, Andrea González, had reported over forty-seven (47) instances of physical abuse to the police and sought restraining orders against him to protect herself and her daughter – but the father had refused to accept supervised visitations and a court of law eventually allowed for the unsupervised visits that led to the death of Andrea. After the murder, Ms.

On 10 September, 2013, the High Court granted an eviction order “by agreement” of 184 unauthorized occupiers from a block of flats where they had been living for periods of up to 26 years. Only four of the 184 occupiers were present at the initial Court proceeding, accompanied by their unofficial ward committee representative, Mr. Skhulu Ngubane. The High Court both ordered the eviction of the occupiers, and, in parallel proceedings, refused to grant a rescission of this judgment. The case before the Constitutional Court was the rescission application.