Tag: litigation

South Africa is continuously suffering from the effects of corruption and drainage of resources, some of which were highlighted in the state capture saga. Optimistically, significant changes have occurred in the public and private spheres to ensure that the industrial-scale corruption perpetrated does not continue to repeat itself. One such change is the recent signing of the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 3 April 2024.

President Ramaphosa has promulgated the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act. The NHI, in its bill form, has been controversial since its introduction and has attracted significant critique from various stakeholders. It is therefore likely that the Act will be the subject of fierce litigation, sooner or later.

In the dynamic world of business, unexpected events can strike at any moment, threatening the stability of even the most well-established enterprises. From property damage caused by natural disasters to lawsuits from disgruntled customers, the need for comprehensive business insurance cannot be overstated.

Mitigating contractual disputes by exploring alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and arbitration in resolving supply chain disputes. The mining industry relies heavily on a complex network of suppliers, logistics partners, and transporters to ensure the efficient movement of raw materials.

The Western (including South African) judiciary is a peculiar thing. To defy a judge is to commit an offence to society so great that most people do not even consider the merits of the defiance, and rush immediately to demand punishment. The recent controversy around Judge Mandlenkosi Motha is a case in point.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) could be used to improve access to justice in South Africa for socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Access to courts is a constitutional right, but access to justice is a concept which goes beyond the availability of the court process. It refers to different methods by which an individual may obtain legal assistance.

Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising levels of cybercrime are encouraging insurers to revisit their policy wording to exclude certain events. Over the past three years, the world has suffered serious humanitarian and financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and catastrophic weather, political unrest and wars in central Africa, Europe and more recently, the Middle East.

The South African courts have by and large, consistently upheld an employer’s right to restrain an employee form unfairly competing with a former employer where certain conditions have been met. These include the employer being able to show a protectable interest and a properly drafted restraint.

A claim  in the case of Joubert and Others v Louw (CIV APP RC 08/2022) [2023] ZANWHC 102 (22 June 2023) 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 now well-known Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) has a longstanding history since it was initially implemented by the Republic of South Africa as the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) in 2009. The objectives of the DZP were to provide Zimbabwean nationals who were in possession of fraudulently obtained immigration documents with amnesty, and to curb their deportation.