South Africa and global insurance, financial institutions, banking and general law know–how
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…
On 9 October 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the executor of a deceased estate and ordered a medical scheme to honour the contractual obligations it owed to the deceased.
One of the issues dealt with in the judgment is whether the decision of the Medical Schemes Appeal Board, in upholding the…
In a July 2022 blog, we highlighted the tendency of our courts to invoke the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) and the principle of legality interchangeably in cases where review grounds exist under both. We explained that, despite the considerable overlap between PAJA and the principle of legality, everyone dealing with government and…
On 22 October 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld an appeal by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which challenged the regulatory approval of genetically modified maize. The SCA applied the precautionary principle, which requires decision-makers to adopt a cautious approach where evidence of possible environmental harm exists.
The matter arose from the approval granted…
On 14 October 2024, the Durban High Court dismissed a review application brought by a trading entity against a ruling by the Ports Regulator that it had jurisdiction to determine the validity of administrative action exercised by Transnet.
The matter arose from a lease agreement between the applicant lessee and Transnet in respect of…
On 2 October 2024, the Constitutional Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal brought by a municipality against an order directing it to pay compensation for security services rendered pursuant to an unlawful tender process.
The municipality had extended a contract with a security services provider without following a lawful tender process. Despite…
In a previous blog, we illustrated that an applicant needs to meet all the legal requirements for urgent interim relief before a court will grant such relief. On 17 September 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down a judgment which reaffirmed this point.
The matter arose from a dispute between the…
On 10 September 2024, the High Court dismissed an application for urgent interim relief brought against the City of Cape Town by an incumbent waste management services provider to prevent the award of a new contract to another services provider.
The matter arose from the cancellation by the City of a contract it had…
On 22 July 2024 the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) to reconsider certain fees it had charged to auditors in 2019 and 2020. In doing so, the court reaffirmed that administrative action must be exercised in a lawful, rational and procedurally fair manner.
A voluntary association of registered…
