The government can implement legislation introducing a demerit system for drivers after a Constitutional Court judgment on Wednesday. The legislation is aimed at making the roads safer, but critics say it's not workable.

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday greenlighted the implementation of the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act into law on Wednesday.

The apex court was initially expected to uphold a Pretoria High Court decision made in January 2022, which ruled that Aarto was unconstitutional and invalid, and should be scrapped in its entirety.

The application to confirm the January 2022 ruling was brought by a civil group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which argued that the legislation was flawed in several ways, was concerned about making money and infringed on the rights of drivers and owners of vehicles.

The organisation further advanced that the act intruded on the functions of local and provincial governments as outlined by the Constitution, preventing local and provincial governments from regulating their own affairs, an argument with which the ConCourt disagreed.

The minister of transport, the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) and the Appeals Tribunal were the respondents in the matter.

In a unanimous judgment penned by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, the court ruled in favour of the transport minister that Aarto was, in fact, lawful and should remain in place, overturning the Pretoria...