Topic: General

No COIDA Claim for Assault by Protestors

By Keaoleboga Molefe on September 26, 2023 Posted in General

Protectors over labour issues in the social development department caused injury to non-striking employee who was working as the Chief Director: Policy and Research. The employee instituted proceedings against the employers for the shock, humiliation which resulted in psychiatric injury and physically injuries she suffered at the hands of the protestors. The injuries occurred while … Continue reading

Managing risks in a slip and trip incident

By Deniro Pillay (ZA) and Purnel Gangiah on September 26, 2023 Posted in General

It is common practice for shop owners to outsource their cleaning duties by concluding a service level agreement with a cleaning company. The service level agreement often contains an indemnity clause in terms of which the cleaning company indemnifies the shop owner for any liability of the shop owner resulting from a breach of their … Continue reading

Proposed amendments to the National Ports Act: attempted alignment raises a number of challenges which the ports’ industries need to address

By Malcolm Hartwell on September 22, 2023 Posted in General

The Department of Transport has promulgated a notice calling on parties to make submissions by 28 September 2023 on the proposed amendments to the National Ports Act (NPA). Certain of these amendments mark a fundamental shift from the amendments proposed in 2018. Those shifts take place against a background of the corporatisation of various Transnet … Continue reading

PAJA reviews are limited to the review grounds in PAJA (part 2)

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on September 18, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Candidate Attorney, Felix Le Roux. In a previous blog, we pointed out that the ambit and limitations of PAJA review proceedings are frequently misconstrued, and that PAJA reviews are limited to the review grounds available and raised by the applicant in terms of PAJA. In a September 2023 judgment, the … Continue reading

When can a South African court interdict a foreign respondent

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on September 5, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was authored by Felix Le Roux. In an August 2023 judgment, the Johannesburg High Court struck from the roll an urgent application brought by a South African distributor to interdict a Chinese manufacturer from selling certain of its products to third parties who are known by it to be distributing those products on … Continue reading

How to write a without prejudice settlement offer protected from disclosure

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on September 4, 2023 Posted in General

In a dispute between members of a homeowners association the plaintiff addressed a letter to the defendant stating that “This is an open letter, the purpose of which is to make proposals for the settlement of the matter as contained in paragraph 12 below”. The court held that despite the reference to it being a “open … Continue reading

Transformation vs foreign investment: a balancing act of priorities for South African government

By Amber Kardamilakis on August 30, 2023 Posted in General

For years South Africa has battled the plight of loadshedding. Despite many promises over the years for the issue to be addressed, loadshedding has become part of our daily lives. It was therefore encouraging when, on Wednesday 23 August, South Africa signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in Green Energy, a joint memorandum of cooperation … Continue reading

Broad public interest remedies in market inquiries

By Marianne Wagener (ZA) and Candice Upfold on August 30, 2023 Posted in General

In July 2023, the South African Competition Commission published its final report and decision in relation to its long-ongoing online intermediation platforms market inquiry. This is the first market inquiry to be completed following substantial amendments to the market inquiry provisions of the Competition Act which were aimed at increasing the Commission’s powers when conducting … Continue reading

PAJA reviews are limited to the review grounds in PAJA

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 30, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Felix Le Roux, Candidate Attorney. On 15 August 2023, the Constitutional Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal brought by a financial services provider (FSP) against a judgment of the High Court in review proceedings instituted by the FSP in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 … Continue reading

Loss of SA citizenship when acquiring foreign citizenship is irrational and constitutionally invalid

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 25, 2023 Posted in General

The Supreme Court of Appeal held in June 2023 that section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act, 1995 by which South African citizenship is lost when acquiring citizenship of another country is constitutionally irrational and invalid . The section was declared invalid and citizens who lost their citizenship by operation of section 6(1)(a) are deemed not … Continue reading

No wrongfulness by Education Department for omission as employer to prevent victimisation

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 25, 2023 Posted in General

In June 2023 the Supreme Court of Appeal held, on a number of grounds, that no wrongfulness had been established by a teacher who took early retirement allegedly because she had been victimised, suffered clinical depression and consequently retired early. The plaintiff had failed at the time of the alleged victimisation to pursue the grievance … Continue reading

Draft guidance note for insurers: climate-related risks

By Donald Dinnie on August 17, 2023 Posted in General

Here Climate Guidance_Disclosures_Insurers (resbank.co.za) the Prudential Authority’s draft guidance notes for insurers and climate-related risks and disclosures. The guidance notes adopt the recommendations of the task force on climate-related Financial Disclosures and International Sustainability Standards Board. Deadline for comments is 13 September 2023… Continue reading

South Africa’s consultative democracy requires proper public involvement in law-making

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 10, 2023 Posted in General

An amendment to the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 2008 in the National Environmental Laws Amendment Act 2022 was declared invalid and unconstitutional because the State had failed to comply with its constitutional obligations to facilitate public involvement in the legislation. The legislative process to amend the Waste Act began in 2015. The initial amendment … Continue reading

Energy users and suppliers exempt from some of the provisions of the Competition Act – You can now work with your competitors to help solve supply problems.

By Marianne Wagener (ZA) and Candice Upfold on August 10, 2023 Posted in General

In May 2023, the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (in consultation with the Competition Commission) published Regulations to exempt certain categories of agreements or practices by energy users (Energy User Block Exemption)and energy suppliers (Energy Suppliers Block Exemption) from the application of certain provisions of the Competition Act (Block Exemptions). The purpose of the … Continue reading

Presumption against extraterritorial effect of legislation

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 8, 2023 Posted in General

A June 2023 UK Supreme Court judgment reaffirmed the general principle that, unless the contrary is expressly enacted or so plainly implied that the courts must give effect to it, legislation is applicable only to persons in the country or doing business in the country in a way that subjects the person to local jurisdiction. … Continue reading

Inherent unreliability of witness recollection

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 8, 2023 Posted in General

A July 2023 UK judgment pointed out common factors leading to inherent unreliability of witnesses giving evidence in a commercial case which are worth bearing in mind in all similar situations. All memory of distant events depends on a process of reconstruction which is inevitably influenced, whether consciously or not, by a multitude of factors. … Continue reading

To stand or not to stand – a case of legal standing

By Donald Dinnie on August 4, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Sebenzile Magagula, Candidate Attorney. A claim http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZANWHC/2023/102.html was dismissed by the High Court on the grounds that the respondent lacked the requisite legal standing to litigate on behalf of her husband who was the party to the contract sued on. The claimant sued for delictual damages arising from failure by … Continue reading

A reminder to all Commissioner of Oaths

By Shrivar Chendip on August 3, 2023 Posted in General

In the May 2023 case of Phumelela Local Municipality v Telkom SA SOC Limited, the validity of a founding affidavit submitted to the court in relation to an application for summary judgment was rejected for want of compliance with the commissioner of oaths regulations. The founding affidavit in support of the summary judgement application stated … Continue reading

Defamation damages for disclosing HIV status

By Donald Dinnie on August 3, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Maano Manavhela, Candidate Attorney. In this case (K.A.B v National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) and Others (1438/2021) [2023] ZAFSHC 288 (21 July 2023)) the plaintiff instituted a defamation action against the employer after the employer’s supervisor disclosed the plaintiff’s HIV positive status in a work grievance meeting … Continue reading

Arbitration clause is widely interpreted as to arbitrator’s powers

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 2, 2023 Posted in General

In an arbitration relating to obligations under a written lease agreement, the arbitrator made a ruling that an overpaid amount was recoverable. The lessor contended that the arbitrator was not allowed to make an enrichment claim award. The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the arbitration clause which referred to “any dispute or difference or … Continue reading

Labour Court finds SAPS vicariously liable for false accusations of racism

By Heidi Davis on July 28, 2023 Posted in General

A 10 January 2023 judgment in the Labour Court found the South African Police Services (SAPS) vicariously liable for racial harassment perpetrated against a colonel by two of her subordinate warrant officers. In March 2017, two warrant officers in response to corrective action by the colonel due to absenteeism, accused her of calling them by … Continue reading

PAJA review is the primary remedy against improper administrative action

By Jeffrey Kron on July 26, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Felix Le Roux, Candidate Attorney. On 6 July 2023, the Cape Town High Court dismissed an application brought against the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for the release of funds subject to a blocking order that was issued due to alleged exchange control contraventions from which the applicant gained R60 … Continue reading

A Cautionary Tale: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Legal Research

By Tristan Marot and Patrick Bracher (ZA) on July 12, 2023 Posted in General, Uncategorized

In the rapidly evolving world of legal practice, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to play an instrumental role, offering promising opportunities to streamline research, facilitate case analysis, and improve efficiency. However, a recent magistrates court case, Parker v Forsyth N.O. & Others, serves as a pivotal reminder of the need to use these tools with … Continue reading

Restraining competition from a former director

By Richard de la Harpe on July 6, 2023 Posted in General

This blog was co-authored by Atish Dullabh, Candidate Attorney. The Western Cape High Court judgment of Big Catch Fishing Tackle Proprietary Limited v Kemp dealt with the fiduciary duties of a director after their resignation. Big Catch Fishing Tackle Proprietary Limited (Big Catch) traded as a supplier of fishing equipment. Kemp had been a director … Continue reading