Order! Hon members, on 22 August 2012, during a reply to a question, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development said:
I think the so-called Cope is dancing to the tune of the smear campaign against Adv Nomgcobo Jiba.
Subsequently, hon Kganare rose on a point of order and asked whether it was parliamentary for the hon Minister to refer to Cope, which is a political party elected to this Parliament, as the "so-called" Cope. Having now had an opportunity to study the unrevised Hansard, I wish to rule as follows.
The test of a genuine point of order is whether the Chair can actually rule on it because it relates to the rules and practice of the House. Therefore, in this instance the question is whether the phrase is acceptable parliamentary language, or not. The expression is not unparliamentary as it is a point of debate.