Supreme Court nominee Justice Hafisata Amaleboba has clarified that students who choose to attend faith-based schools do so willingly and, by enrolling, accept the institution’s code of conduct.

She argued that this voluntary decision does not amount to a violation of constitutional rights.

Appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Justice Amaleboba addressed concerns surrounding the balance between individual religious freedoms and the disciplinary or religious expectations within public faith-based schools.

“Rights are not absolute. Every right has its limitation, including being limited by the rights of others and the public interest,” she said.

Responding to questions specifically about Catholic schools and similar institutions, she stated that students are usually made aware of the religious orientation and expectations prior to enrollment, and therefore, cannot claim coercion after the fact.
“If you are in a Catholic school, having chosen a Catholic school, knowing it is a Catholic school and the code of conduct requires that you do certain things, and you were informed prior to it and you still chose to attend, then to me it will mean that is not compulsion,” she said.

Justice Amaleboba stressed that decisions made with full knowledge and consent do not amount to compulsion or constitutional breach.


“It is not a compulsion, it is a voluntary act,” she reiterated. “Before you came to the school you were told that this is a Catholic school, we’ll expect you to go to church on Sundays, we’ll expect you to do this  and you took that voluntary decision to attend the school. And so I do not see that it is compulsion," she stated.