In its judgement handed down in the

In its judgement handed down in the matter
between the South African Minister of Health and a
range of bodies and persons representing the
pharmaceutical industry in South Africa, the CCSA
supported the professed intent of new regulations to
facilitate provision of affordable medicines to a
wider cross-section of the population (CCSA, 2005,
pp. 340–341). However, the Court ruled that on the
grounds of administrative justice (specifically the
failure of the Minister of Health to give due
consideration to the evidence presented by community
pharmacists) the state must reconsider the
aspects of the new pricing regulation pertaining to
the pharmacists’ dispensing fee, and take the
concerns of the community pharmacy industry
more seriously (CCSA, 2005, pp. 22–26; 348 para.
666). While agreeing that there is a need to
restructure the provision of pharmaceutical services
in the South African context, the Constitutional
Court judgement provides a firm basis for the
recognition of pharmacy as ‘an ethical profession’
(CCSA, 2005, p. 20) and a ‘legitimate and respected
profession, y [which plays] y an important social
role in providing access to health care’ (CCSA,
2005, p. 346 para.633). In a separate opinion
included in the judgement Judge Sachs provides a
sympathetic, yet demanding, narrative-like portrayal
of professional pharmacy: