LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW — Locus Standi under Section 6(6)(b) and Contractual Rights in Associations
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
When the civil rights and obligations of individuals are affected, they have locus standi to seek judicial determination of such rights, and this constitutional right cannot be detrimentally affected by the common law rule in Foss v. Harbottle.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"Once the civil rights and obligations of the plaintiffs as individuals are affected, as I hold they are here the courts in exercise of their judicial power set out above can look into such rights and obligations, and for that purpose the plaintiffs have a locus standi before them. Such right guaranteed under the Constitution cannot be in any way detrimentally affected by the common law rule in Foss v. Harbottle."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
This principle establishes that constitutional guarantees of access to courts trump restrictive common law standing requirements. The rule in Foss v. Harbottle, which generally prevents individual members from suing for wrongs done to a corporation or association, cannot defeat the constitutional right to have one’s civil rights and obligations determined by courts. When individuals can demonstrate that their personal rights (as distinct from corporate rights) are affected, they possess constitutional standing regardless of common law limitations. This principle is particularly significant in association and trade union contexts where individual members’ contractual and property rights may be affected by collective decisions or actions. The constitutional right of access to justice under section 6(6)(b) prevails over restrictive standing doctrines.