| Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development | |
| Formation: | 1994 (as Portfolio Committee on Justice) |
| Purpose: | Oversight of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development |
| Leader Name: | Xola Nqola (ANC) |
| Leader Title: | Chairperson |
| Parent Organisation: | National Assembly of South Africa |
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development is a portfolio committee of the National Assembly of South Africa. It is responsible for oversight of the agencies managed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
The committee was established during the first post-apartheid Parliament as the Portfolio Committee on Justice, chaired for two terms by Johnny de Lange. It was renamed as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development after the Department of Justice was renamed accordingly. Between 2014 and 2024, it oversaw an enlarged portfolio as the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services; the enlarged committee was created in a merger between the justice committee and Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, precipitated by the corresponding ministerial merger that created the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services.
In addition to overseeing the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the committee oversees a long list of statutory entities related to justice and law enforcement: the Council for Debt Collectors, Legal Aid South Africa, the National Prosecuting Authority, the Office of the Chief Justice, the Public Protector, the Rules Board for Courts of Law, the South African Board for Sheriffs, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Special Investigating Unit.[1]
To date, all chairpersons of the Committee have been members of the African National Congress (ANC), the national governing party.
| 7th Parliament | Xola Nqola | ANC | 9 July 2024 | [2] |
|---|
| 6th Parliament | Gratitude Magwanishe | ANC | 2 July 2019 | [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th Parliament | Refiloe Mothapo | ANC | 9 October 2018 | [4] | |
| Mathole Motshekga | ANC | 24 June 2014 | [5] |
| 4th Parliament | Luwellyn Landers | ANC | November 2010 | [6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANC | 1 June 2009 | [7] | ||||
| 3rd Parliament | Fatima Chohan-Kota | ANC | 11 May 2004 | [8] [9] | ||
| 2nd Parliament | Johnny de Lange | ANC | 16 August 1999 | [10] | ||
| 1st Parliament | Johnny de Lange | ANC | 1994 | [11] |