 The ANC's application to the Pretoria Provincial Division of the High Court for an interdict to prevent COPE from using the name Congress of the People, cited that the ANC itself was affiliated to the 1955 Congress of the People, held in Kliptown.On 12 December 2008, the court ruled that COPE would not be barred from using its present name.The elevation of Boesak to the COPE leadership, given his record as a convicted malefactor, drew considerable censure from press and public alike.