The Department of Home Affairs has secured a significant victory in its battle against abuse of the asylum system after the Constitutional Court ruled that repeat asylum applications are not permitted once an original application has been finally determined.

In its majority ruling handed down on Tuesday, the apex court upheld the department’s appeal against an earlier Supreme Court of Appeal decision in the case of Director-General, Department of Home Affairs and Others v Irankunda and Another.

The department said the judgment marks another major step in its efforts to clamp down on abuse of the asylum system and restore the rule of law in the broader management of immigration and refugee matters.

The ruling prohibits endless repeat applications by asylum seekers whose original applications have been rejected. It comes just weeks after Cabinet approved the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection.

The policy introduces the first-safe-country principle aimed at ending the practice of asylum seekers “picking and choosing” South Africa as their preferred destination in the region.

According to the department, the recent breakthroughs demonstrate that it is making rapid progress in rebuilding these systems from the ground up to better serve South Africa’s interests.

“This judgment from the highest court in the land is an affirmation of the unprecedented progress we are making in restoring the rule of law and clamping down on abuse in the migration and asylum systems,” Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said.

“It further demonstrates that our commitment to systemic reform – not in opposition to but anchored in our Constitution – is rapidly resolving problems that once seemed insurmountable.”

The Constitutional Court’s decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for how asylum applications are processed and managed in South Africa, potentially reducing the backlog of cases in the system.