At the end of 2018, the Western Cape High Court handed down a ground-breaking judgment in the case of Social Justice Coalition and Others v Minister of Police and Others. The court held that the distribution of police personnel in the Western Cape unfairly discriminated against black and poor people on the basis of race and poverty. As the first case in South Africa recognising poverty as a discrete ground of discrimination, the judgment marks a significant development in the country’s equality rights jurisprudence. In addition, the court’s recognition that police distribution in the Western Cape is unfairly discriminatory has profound implications for the system of allocating police resources in that province, and potentially across the country. In this case note I summarise the key issues in the case and offer an analysis of the court’s approach, arguing that while the case is to be lauded for its recognition of poverty as a ground of discrimination there are also some missed opportunities. Most significantly, the practical impact of the judgment has yet to be determined as the court limited its order to declaratory relief, requiring the parties to return to argue on the further practical remedy that should follow.

中文翻译：

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公平分配警察人力资源。社会正义联盟和其他人诉警察部长和其他人

2018 年底，西开普省高等法院在社会正义联盟和其他人诉警察部长和其他人一案中作出了开创性的判决。法院认为，西开普省警察人员的分配不公平地基于种族和贫困歧视黑人和穷人。作为南非第一个承认贫困是歧视的独立理由的案件，该判决标志着该国平等权利法理学的重大发展。此外，法院承认西开普省的警察分配存在不公平的歧视性，这对该省乃至全国的警察资源分配系统产生了深远的影响。在本案例说明中，我总结了案件中的关键问题并分析了法院的做法，认为虽然该案件因承认贫困是歧视的理由而值得称赞，但也有一些错失的机会。最重要的是，该判决的实际影响尚未确定，因为法院将其命令限制为声明性救济，要求当事方返回就应遵循的进一步实际救济进行辩论。