NAMIBIA - The NGO Report to the UN Human Rights Committee for its 3rd

In its arguments before both the High Court and the Supreme Court, the Namibian Government, represented by the Office of the Attorney-General, argued that its “opposition to the above application and appeals was based on its legal position that the recognition of a spouse to same-sex marriages is incompatible with the values, aspirations and provisions of the Namibian Constitution especially Artic. [...] According to the Society of Advocates of Namibia, the attacks on the Supreme Court, and by extension the entire judiciary, amounted to “an impermissible and unjustifiable attack on the independence of the Judiciary and to an attempt to intimidate the Judiciary and undermine its integrity”30. [...] According to the agreement, the Minister of Education should withdraw and replace specific sections of the regulations of the law that the applicants had flagged as unconstitutional within six months of the agreement becoming an order of the court. [...] The three applicants had argued that the law and regulations were “in conflict with the Constitution’s protection of the right to free speech and expression and the freedom of the press, and infringes on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief and the freedom to practise any profession, occupation or trade”89. [...] On the question of constitutionality, the LAC noted: “It is not clear that all of the restrictions contained in the law are reasonable or necessary for the purposes listed in the Constitution, but the law has not yet been challenged on constitutional grounds in any court case.” The Office of the Ombudsman has also called for the Proclamation to be amended94.