|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| August 2022 |
|
|
Whether the applicant may evict unlawful occupants and whether the rectifying title transfer to the provincial government is valid.
* Property law – Eviction of unlawful occupiers from state-owned property; * Title rectification – validity of rectifying transfer to provincial government; * Delegation/donation of state land – chronology, registration and effect; * Administrative law – whether rectification/transfer constitutes administrative action (PAJA); * Prescription and acquisitive prescription; * Effect of spoliation orders on subsequent eviction proceedings.
|
23 August 2022 |
|
Court finds defendant liable for unlawful warrantless arrest and detention, awarding R95,000 plus interest and costs.
Police powers of arrest – Criminal Procedure Act s 40(1)(a) – requirements for warrantless arrest; Obstruction of justice – elements and application to speech; Freedom of expression as safeguard; Unlawful arrest/detention – damages assessment and interest.
|
18 August 2022 |
|
Subjective belief in witchcraft may be a substantial mitigating factor permitting departure from prescribed life sentences.
* Criminal law – Murder committed in furtherance of a common purpose – Minimum sentence under s51(1) and Part 1 of Schedule 2; * Sentencing – section 51(3)(a) substantial and compelling circumstances – subjective belief in witchcraft as mitigating factor; * Sentencing triad – consideration of seriousness, personal circumstances, deterrence and rehabilitation; * Convictions – murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, imputing witchcraft; * Sentence: effective 17 years for four murder-convicted accused; effective 5 years for accused convicted of assault and imputing witchcraft.
|
18 August 2022 |
|
Default judgment rescinded for failure to give required notice; applicants granted leave to file plea and each party to pay own costs.
Civil procedure – rescission of default judgment – rule 42(1)(a) – judgment erroneously sought/granted in absence of party – failure to give rule 31(5)(a) notice; condonation under rule 27 for failure to file plea – settlement negotiations and payment as good cause; costs — each party to pay own costs.
|
16 August 2022 |
|
Reported
High Court finds unilateral retrospective salary deductions unlawful; orders reinstatement and attorney-and-client costs.
Employment law – deductions from remuneration – Basic Conditions of Employment Act s 34 – requirement for law/agreement or fair procedure and hearing – High Court jurisdiction under s 77(3) BCEA – unlawful retrospective recovery of salary increments – declaratory relief and reinstatement ordered; costs on attorney-and-client scale.
|
16 August 2022 |
|
Identification assessed with caution; ballistic linkage and possession established guilt for robbery, murders and firearm offences.
* Criminal law – identification evidence – cautionary approach to eyewitness identification; credibility assessed against contemporaneous conduct and corroboration.
* Forensic science – ballistic comparison – linking firearm recovered from accused to cartridge cases at crime scenes and to correctional-centre escape.
* Criminal procedure – holistic assessment of circumstantial and direct evidence to determine guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
* Conspiracy – merges with completed principal offence; separate conviction inappropriate when principal offence proved.
|
12 August 2022 |
|
Accused failed to show exceptional circumstances for bail where strong State case, prior convictions, flight and interference risks existed.
Bail — s 60(11)(a): accused facing possible life sentence must show exceptional circumstances; consideration of strength of State case, flight risk, witness interference, and prior convictions — magistrate entitled to prefer unchallenged investigating officer’s evidence — appeal against bail refusal dismissed.
|
10 August 2022 |
|
Applicant’s tender rejected for lacking separate indemnity certificate; court finds rejection lawful despite ambiguous wording.
* Procurement law – tender evaluation – key competencies – distinction between professional indemnity certificate and Fidelity Fund Certificate – requirement for separate indemnity cover upheld.
* Administrative review – PAJA – challenge on grounds of irrationality, bias, irrelevant considerations and procedural unfairness – failure to show non‑compliance or reviewable defect.
* Tender interpretation – ambiguity in bid documents – ambiguity noted but insufficient to invalidate employer's interpretation where separate requirements and scoring are evident.
|
2 August 2022 |
|
The respondent is vicariously liable for police omissions that caused the applicant’s loss.
Police duty of care – obligation to protect persons and property; omissions and negligence – standard of the reasonable police response; factual and legal causation – but-for and proximity analysis; vicarious liability of the State for SAPS employees; credibility assessment of witnesses; remedy – liability established, quantum to be determined.
|
2 August 2022 |