Maintenance obligations, Duty of the state to ensure maintenance orders are adhered to.

The case concerns the obligation on the judiciary to make sure maintenance order are observed. In South Africa, a high Court will have the jurisdiction to impose the order of a lower court where the lower court is unable to enforce its own order for whatever reason, and there is good and sufficient reason for a High Court to enforce the judgement. In child maintenance cases, this reason is the best interest of the child. Children have a right to proper parental care. While the obligation to ensure that all children are properly cared for is an obligation that the Constitution imposes firstly on their parents, there is an obligation on the state to create the necessary environment for parents to do so.
Further, the court has an obligation to ensure that vulnerable children and disempowered women obtain their small but necessary legal entitlements. If court orders are evaded with impunity, the constitutional rights of equality and dignity are violated. When a marriage breaks up, women are often placed in a financially disadvantaged position to men. They often take care of children, which inhibits their ability to earn a living. Failure by the State to ensure maintenance obligations are met necessarily impairs these women’s dignity. Effective mechanisms for the enforcement of maintenance obligations are thus essential for the simultaneous achievement of the rights of the child and the promotion of gender equality.