On 27 March 2020, the last of the three major ratings agencies announced its downgrade of South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to ‘Ba1’. This downgrade rendered South Africa’s sovereign credit rating as non-investment grade. On 3 April 2020, two of the three major ratings agencies downgraded the major South African banks’ credit ratings to ‘BB’
The declaration of a state of national disaster due to COVID-19 and the resulting nationwide lockdown has left employers and employees in a precarious situation. The lockdown has had a devastating impact on employment throughout the country, with many employees feeling the financial pinch of not having worked throughout the lockdown. What is clear is
From time to time liability insurers may agree to begin defending a claim for an insured while reserving their rights to deny coverage because investigations are not yet complete.
Sometimes the policy wording provides expressly for that situation. Or insurers may reserve their rights on an ad hoc basis
While there is no South African
Since the declaration of a national state of disaster in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africans have been presented almost daily with announcements, as well as regulations and directions issued in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA). Regulations and directions are formal law, but a regulator does not have the legal authority to
Secondment agreements allow for an employer to assign an employee to another organisation for a specified duration, for purposes of developing good business relationships; enhancing an employee’s particular skill set or for sharing the particular expertise of that employee with the host company.
The employer and host company are required to enter into a secondment
A term sheet (sometimes referred to as a memorandum of understanding, heads of agreement or letter of intent) is an important document which sets out the commercial terms upon which persons or entities agree to transact with one another. The term sheet is often the first recordal of a proposed transaction and is the document
An Australian court refused to postpone a six-week trial, and ordered the parties to work out the details of how the trial can proceed electronically. The parties have to decide on an electronic platform, how documents are to be exchanged, and how experts will confer prior to the trial.
In light of COVID-19, the
On 23 April 2020, the President of South Africa announced that the lockdown would be relaxed, with some industries being permitted to return to work, subject to extreme precautions being taken to limit community transmission and outbreaks of the infection. Specified business will be permitted to operate under strict parameters, including:
The claimant failed in her damages claim against the organisers of her overseas holiday for an injury to her elbow suffered on a ‘White Knuckle Jet Boat Thrill Ride’ excursion that she had signed up for whilst on a cruise. She failed in her allegations of negligence that, despite the fact that she was aware
A plaintiff who suffers damage usually has 3 years within which to sue the defendant. But a claim against the State must be notified within 6 months of an incident occurring. This notification comes before the summons is served. If a claim is not notified within this time period (set out in the Institution of