On 19 November 2024, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment which reaffirmed that the making of municipal by-laws are subject to the principle of legality, which requires all exercises of public power to be authorised by the law.
The matter arose when two Mpumalanga municipalities enacted by-laws that imposed transfer embargoes on properties.
On 20 November 2024, the high court handed down a judgment which confirmed that if the common approach of the parties to a point of law is based on a wrong perception, a court is not only entitled, but obliged, to raise that point of law of their own accord.
The matter involved an
In February 2025 the high court did not have any difficulty in drawing the controversial line between a testator’s freedom to decide on how their assets are to be distributed after death and the constitutional values which infuse all South African law or conduct. The court declared a provision in a will leaving money to
In a February 2025 judgment, the High Court addressed the issue of liability in a slip and fall case involving the claimant, a 72-year-old pensioner, who sustained serious injuries an open-air retail and dining operation due to a wet and slippery wooden walkway. The court had to determine whether the defendant, breached its duty of
The prescribed rate of interest is 11.00% per annum with effect from 1 March 2025. The previous rate was 11.25% per annum.
According to the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act, interest on debts where no rate is prescribed is calculated at the repo rate plus 3.5%. The prescribed rate of interest applies to all debts
This blog was co-authored by Adrienne Hendricks, Trainee Associate and Adriaan Lourens, Candidate Attorney.
The Supreme Court of Appeal recently reaffirmed the principle that a contracting party exercising unilateral discretion must do so in good faith, with reasonable judgment, and without arbitrariness (the arbitrio boni viri principle).
A major retail franchisor and its franchisee entered
Following the judgment in Mashwayi Projects (Pty) Ltd v Wescoal Mining (Pty) Ltd (previously discussed here), the position is now clear that post-commencement creditors are entitled to vote on a business rescue plan.
The Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision underscored the distinct objectives of business rescue and liquidation proceedings. The differentiation is pivotal to
A February 2025 high-court full bench-appeal judgement examined the legal principles underpinning the defence of voluntary assumption of risk. The case arose from an incident during a student protest at a university campus, where a security guard discharged his firearm, using non‐lethal ammunition in the form of rubber bullets and ceramic paint balls, and injured
In a February 2025 judgment, the high court addressed the issue of prescription in a civil claim involving the appellant, who alleged that the respondent, the Minister of Police, was liable for damages. The court had to determine whether the appellant’s claim had prescribed under the Prescription Act, 1969 and whether the service of summons
In a February 2025 judgment, the High Court addressed the issue of municipal liability in a case involving the claimant, who sustained a knee injury after tripping on an uneven sidewalk in Camps Bay, Cape Town. The court had to determine whether the City of Cape Town breached its duty of care by failing to