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Citation
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Judgment date
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| June 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove unlawful dispossession; he consented to police search and insurer’s possession lacked pleaded mala fides.
* Prescription/Delay – delay in launching spoliation claim and late joinder of insurer. * Property law – mandament van spolie – requirements of peaceful possession and unlawful deprivation. * Criminal Procedure Act s 22 – consent to search and seizure; lawfulness of seizure without warrant where consent or reasonable grounds exist. * National Road Traffic Act – provision on tampered VIN does not automatically oust spoliation remedy. * Joinder – insurer’s possession and lack of pleaded mala fides or nexus precludes relief against it.
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21 June 2022 |
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The accused were convicted of murder and imputing witchcraft; arson not proven; section 204 witnesses found credible.
Criminal law — murder — group assault and common purpose; imputation of witchcraft — s182 Act 9 of 1983; arson — insufficient proof; section 204 witnesses and video evidence — credibility and indemnity; medico‑legal cause of death — blunt force trauma and extensive burns.
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17 June 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused: rescission justified by procedural/affidavit defects; SIU’s appeal notice failed Rule 49(1)(b).
* Civil procedure – rescission under Rule 42 – affidavit formalities and substantial compliance – defective affidavit and premature enrolment can justify rescission.
* Civil procedure – discretion in rescission – court may exercise a discretionary power to rescind even where requirements met; must be exercised judicially (Zuma considered).
* Civil procedure – mero motu setting aside – permissible where affected parties are before the court and the validity of earlier orders is squarely in issue.
* Appeals – leave to appeal under s17(1)(a)(i) and (ii) Superior Courts Act – reasonable prospects and compelling circumstances required.
* Appeals – Rule 49(1)(b) – grounds of appeal must be clear, succinct and identify findings challenged; non‑compliance justifies dismissal of leave to appeal.
* Intervention – SIU locus standi – failure to identify errors or grounds for intervention fatal to leave to appeal.
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14 June 2022 |
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Unilateral suspension of NPO funding without due process is unlawful and must be reviewed and set aside.
* Administrative law – Section 33 Constitution – right to lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair administrative action; unilateral suspension of NPO funding; review and setting aside of administrative action.
* Non‑Profit Organisations Act s3 – state duty to promote, support and enhance capacity of NPOs; duty engaged where funding withheld.
* Constitutional rights – section 28 (best interests of the child) and section 29 (right to basic education) implicated where suspension adversely affects vulnerable beneficiaries.
* Remedies – judicial review, setting aside of unlawful suspension and order for payment of arrear subsidies and costs.
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14 June 2022 |
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Whether a traditional leader can obtain an interdict preventing unlawful occupation of disputed communal land pending land claims.
Land law; communal/disputed land – interim relief to prevent unlawful occupation pending restitution; jurisdiction of High Court versus Land Claims Court; locus standi of traditional leader to protect communal lands; Plascon‑Evans principle in motion proceedings; requirements for final interdict (clear right, apprehension of injury, no alternative remedy); costs follow the event.
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13 June 2022 |