In a significant ruling, the Constitutional Court of South Africa has upheld a decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal, confirming that directives issued by the South African Human Rights Commission are not legally binding. While the Commission retains its powers to investigate complaints and make findings on human rights violations, the judgment makes it clear that it cannot enforce compliance through its directives. The ruling raises important questions about the powers of Chapter 9 institutions and what this means for accountability and human rights protection in South Africa. To unpack this for us we spoke to legal expert, Mpumelelo Zikalala