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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2022 |
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Employee contractual right to a written account and debatement of overtime cannot be denied by deferring to PAIA or internal review procedures.
* Labour law – employment contract – entitlement to written statement of account and debatement for overtime worked; contractual obligation to account.
* Procedure – claim for account and debatement – requirements: right to account, contractual terms affecting amount, failure to render an account (Doyle test).
* Access to information – PAIA/internal review not a prerequisite to litigating a contractual accounting claim.
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13 December 2022 |
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Court dismisses attempt to compel Premier to investigate; referral order binds the Commission, not the Premier.
* Administrative law – interpretation of court orders – referral to statutory commission v. executive discretion; * Traditional leadership law – repeal of Framework Act and commencement of Khoi‑San Act; * Section 59(2) Khoi‑San Act – discretionary power of Premier to designate investigative committee; * Section 65(2) Khoi‑San Act – saving/correspondence provision does not permit court to usurp discretion where no submission to Premier made; * Procedural – appropriate remedy is variation/amendment of order, not enforcement against non‑addressee; * Costs – unsuccessful, misdirected litigation against public office‑bearer attracts costs.
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13 December 2022 |
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Fourth applicant lacked standing; first and third disconnections lawful; application dismissed with costs against applicants.
Local government — electricity disconnection — lawfulness under Municipal credit-control policy and Electrical Installation Regulations; indigent-subsidy applications do not confer automatic entitlement pending approval; locus standi — residents' association must show authorisation or legal persona to sue; Plascon-Evans principle in motion proceedings; costs where litigation is abusive.
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13 December 2022 |
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Applicant's arrest and detention unlawful; malicious prosecution claim dismissed; R456,000 awarded for unlawful deprivation of liberty.
Unlawful arrest — s 40(1)(b) CPA — reasonable suspicion must be personally formed and based on reasonable grounds; arresting officer must consider and, where appropriate, investigate exculpatory alibi. Malicious prosecution — requires lack of reasonable and probable cause and animus; prosecutor's assessment of docket material can found reasonable and probable cause. Assessment of damages for unlawful arrest and detention — solatium, duration and conditions considered.
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13 December 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove contempt; Rule Nisi interpreted narrowly and application dismissed with costs.
Contempt of court – requirements for contempt (existence of order, service/notice, non-compliance, wilful and mala fide) – Rule Nisi interpretation – lis pendens and discretion to stay proceedings – disputes of fact in motion proceedings requiring careful assessment.
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8 December 2022 |
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Second accused discharged for insufficient evidence; first accused must answer charges due to incriminating blood/DNA evidence.
Criminal procedure – s174 CPA – discharge at close of State case – Lubaxa standard – circumstantial evidence and forensic links (blood/DNA) may create a prima facie case; insufficiency of motive/suspicion alone warrants discharge.
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2 December 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove authenticity of disputed liquor licence; urgent relief dismissed and respondents awarded costs.
Administrative law – Liquor licensing – Validity and authentication of disputed liquor trading licence – Plascon‑Evans application where applicant fails to dispute respondent's factual allegations – State Liability Act service requirements – purposive approach to statutory service – urgent relief burden and costs.
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1 December 2022 |
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Court granted final interdict protecting community’s site demarcation and ordered respondents to cease harassment and pay costs.
• Civil procedure – final interdict – requirements (clear right; injury or apprehension; no alternative remedy) – Setlogelo principle; • Evidence on motion – disputes of fact – Plascon-Evans and Wightman principles; • Customary/ traditional structures – joinder of traditional council – necessity requires direct and substantial interest; • Land/occupation rights – long-standing community occupation can ground protectable rights warranting injunctive relief; • Enforcement – court may authorise police assistance to sheriff.
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1 December 2022 |
| November 2022 |
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Defendant failed to prove prescription; court refused remit for further evidence and dismissed the special plea.
Civil procedure – prescription – burden on defendant raising special plea to prove inception and completion dates and claimant’s knowledge; where facts lie within claimant’s knowledge defendant bears a reduced evidentiary burden but must still adduce evidence; parties’ agreement to separate issues must be respected; condonation under s 3 of the Act does not necessarily operate as res judicata.
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29 November 2022 |
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Condonation refused where Rule 30(2)(b) notice was defective, delays inadequately explained, and prospects of success absent.
Civil procedure – Rule 30 irregular proceedings – Requirement that a Rule 30(2)(b) notice must afford ten days to remove causes of complaint and warn of consequences – Rule 30(1) applications must be instituted within prescribed time – Condonation principles (Melane factors) – Attorney negligence and limits to relying on representatives’ delays – Prejudice and undue delay in minor child medical negligence claims.
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22 November 2022 |
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Appeal reinstated; default judgment not void ab origine, but illegal usurious interest corrected to prevailing legal rate.
Condonation — reinstatement of lapsed appeal; rescission of default judgment — Rule 49(1) (20-day rule) v Rule 49(8)/s36(1)(b) Magistrates’ Court Act; void ab origine — limited to no service/no mandate/no jurisdiction; magistrate’s discretion to accept affidavit evidence (rule 32(2)); prescribed/presiding rate of interest — illegal usurious interest corrected; costs allocation for condonation and abandoned application.
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8 November 2022 |
| October 2022 |
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Non-compliance with court rules and delayed, uncondoned review of the Master’s appointment justified striking the application off the roll.
* Civil procedure – compliance with Uniform Rule 62 and Practice Directive – proper pagination, collation and annotation of papers required; non-compliance may justify striking matter off roll.
* Administrative law – challenge to Master’s appointment of executor amounts to review under PAJA and is subject to rules against unreasonable delay and condonation.
* Estates – Administration of Estates Act – appointment and removal of executors are powers of the Master; removal by court only on s54(1)(a) grounds.
* Costs and sanctions – courts may sanction practitioners for persistent non-compliance, including striking matters and warning about fees.
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20 October 2022 |
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Rescission refused where applicant’s prolonged inaction and attorney negligence failed to justify setting aside dismissal.
* Civil procedure – Rescission of judgment – Uniform Rule 42(1) and common-law rescission – limits where judgment was procedurally competent and not erroneously granted.
* Uniform Rule 30 – declaration of irregularity, leave to amend, and power to order dismissal if irregularity not removed.
* Effect of dismissal – equivalent to absolution from the instance; plaintiff may in principle sue afresh.
* Attorney negligence and client passivity – inadequate explanation for default; need for reasonable explanation and good prospects on merits for rescission.
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18 October 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused where evidence supported conviction for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and sentence was appropriate.
Criminal law – Competent verdicts to murder – Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm as competent verdict where assault forms part of actus reus of murder; common purpose liability; sufficiency of evidence without individualised identification; forensic pathology evidence; sentencing and deterrence in witchcraft‑related vigilante violence.
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6 October 2022 |
| September 2022 |
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A mortgaged primary residence may be declared executable where debtor cannot show alternative means or disproportionate rights infringement.
* Civil procedure – Uniform Court Rule 46A – declaration of primary residence executable where mortgage bond and arrears exist; proportionality test and constitutional rights to property and housing. * Execution against mortgage security – efficacy and public confidence; refusal only where gross disproportionate infringement shown. * Suspension of execution – discretionary relief requires credible prospect of payment within reasonable time.
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27 September 2022 |
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Applicants lacked possession or clear right; interdict to prevent demolition or compel rebuilding was refused.
* Civil procedure – interim and final interdicts – requirements: prima facie/clear right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience. * Property – state land – occupation of vacant state land; absence of allocation or lawful possession. * Spoliation – mandament van spolie requires proof of prior peaceful and undisturbed possession. * Evidence – contemporaneous photographs can disprove asserted demolition or existence of structures. * PIE inapplicable where occupiers do not live on the land and are not in possession.
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27 September 2022 |
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Defendant liable for 105 days' unlawful detention; R500,000 awarded in general damages.
Unlawful arrest and detention – police liability for post-appearance detention – legal causation in remand cases – assessment of general damages for prolonged unlawful detention (105 days).
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27 September 2022 |
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The defendant unlawfully arrested, detained and shot the plaintiff; the State failed to justify the arrest or use of lethal force.
Police liability; unlawful arrest and detention — section 40(1) CPA — Schedule 1 jurisdictional requirement; use of force/private defence — necessity and proportionality; onus of proof on State; judgment at close of defendant’s case where defendant bears onus.
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8 September 2022 |
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A single breach can justify applying to operationalise a suspended sentence, but doing so prematurely risks unfair prejudice and must await finality.
Criminal procedure – Operationalisation of suspended sentence – Single breach suffices in principle, but application premature if subsequent conviction/sentence or appeal/review not finalised; proper procedure is to apply in the original suspended-sentence case after relevant milestones (S v Hoffman).
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8 September 2022 |
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Court found arrest, detention, assault and defamation by police unlawful; awarded R240,000 plus costs.
Police liability – unlawful arrest and detention – s 40(1)(b) CPA – credibility assessment of witnesses – assault supported by medical report – defamation and contumelia – quantum of damages.
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4 September 2022 |
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Applicant granted leave to amend particulars correcting location and commanding officer; amendment caused no prejudice or new cause of action.
* Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Rule 28 – Delay in seeking amendment – prejudice must be shown – mala fides required to refuse.
* Pleadings – Facta probanda – amendment of non-essential particulars (place and identity of commanding officer) does not introduce new cause of action.
* Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act – alleged conflict with statutory notice held without merit where facts corrected do not alter cause of action.
* Prescription – amendment does not revive or create a new prescribed claim where essential cause remains unchanged.
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1 September 2022 |
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Application to review removal as headman dismissed due to res judicata and non‑compliance with PAJA time limits.
Administrative law – review – res judicata – prior dismissal of proceedings challenging same administrative decision precludes relitigation; PAJA – time limits – review launched outside 180‑day period without condonation; procedural fairness claims not addressed where preliminary objections dispose of matter.
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1 September 2022 |
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Review of headman removal dismissed for res judicata and failure to comply with PAJA time limits.
Administrative law – review of administrative decision – res judicata applies where identical decision previously challenged and dismissed; PAJA s.7 – 180‑day prescription; condonation requires adequate explanation for delay; merits of customary leadership claim not adjudicated.
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1 September 2022 |
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Refusal of bail upheld: appellant failed to show exceptional circumstances against a strong state case and risk to public peace.
Bail – s 60(4), s 60(11) and s 65 Criminal Procedure Act – exceptional circumstances – strength of state case assessed by circumstantial evidence – risk of disturbance to public peace – appellate de novo review restricted to evidence before court a quo.
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1 September 2022 |
| August 2022 |
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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.
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23 August 2022 |
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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.
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18 August 2022 |
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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.
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18 August 2022 |
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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.
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16 August 2022 |
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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.
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16 August 2022 |
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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.
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12 August 2022 |
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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.
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10 August 2022 |
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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.
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2 August 2022 |
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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.
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2 August 2022 |
| July 2022 |
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Lease terminated; unlawful occupier evicted after PIE-compliant notice; claimed improvement lien inadequately proven.
Eviction under PIE – holding over/expiry of lease – one month’s notice sufficient; service of s4(2) notice effective despite delivery to domestic worker if occupier received and participated; ius retentionis (improvement lien) must be adequately pleaded and proved; absence of municipal relocation report not fatal where occupier is not destitute; organ of state entitled to regain control of immovable assets.
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26 July 2022 |
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Court orders extensive discovery under Rule 35(13) to examine former executor’s estate accounts and records.
Rule 35(13) — discovery in motion proceedings; exceptional circumstances where discovery may be directed; executor’s duty of uberrimae fides and obligation to account; relevance of liquidation and distribution accounts, bank statements, company documents and sale agreements; Master’s report not a substitute for discovery from a litigant.
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26 July 2022 |
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The applicant failed to prove valid acceptance of the permanent offer; leave to appeal denied under s17 'would differ' standard.
Employment law — contract formation — offer and acceptance — fixed‑term to permanent transition; requirement of written acceptance and proper delivery (annexure D6); post‑lapse indulgence and discretionary payments do not necessarily create contract; evaluation of evidence per Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery; leave to appeal threshold raised by s 17 Superior Courts Act — applicant must show another court would differ (Mont Chevaux).
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26 July 2022 |
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An unrepresented accused must be properly advised of counsel and adequately questioned under s112 or conviction will be set aside.
Criminal procedure – unrepresented accused – duty to explain right to legal representation and legal aid; Section 112(1)(b) – adequacy of questioning and requirement to cover essential elements; Section 113 – entering plea of not guilty when accused’s answers suggest defence; Contempt/contravention of protection order – necessity to prove unlawfulness and mens rea; Proof and service of protection orders; Delay in review and bail considerations.
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26 July 2022 |
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Accused convicted of robbery, three murders and firearm possession based on eyewitness ID and ballistic links; conspiracy and attempted murder failed.
* Criminal law – identification evidence – need for caution; assessing credibility and contemporaneous reporting.
* Ballistics and chain of custody – firearm recovered from accused ballistically linked to cartridges at crime scene and earlier escape incident.
* Unlawful possession of firearm – proven where firearm found on accused and linked to killings.
* Conspiracy and premeditation – insufficient evidence; conspiracy merges with proved robbery and therefore falls away.
* Attempted murder – conviction not supported where no evidence shots were fired at alleged victim.
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19 July 2022 |
| 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 |
| May 2022 |
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Respondent’s warrantless arrest lacked reasonable grounds; applicant awarded damages for unlawful arrest and detention.
Criminal procedure – Arrest without warrant (s 40(1)(b)) – Objective test of reasonable suspicion – Reliability of identification evidence – Unlawful detention after first appearance – Damages for unlawful arrest, detention and contumelia.
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31 May 2022 |
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Applicant failed to establish a clear right to justify a final interdict preventing entry or removal from the marital home.
Interdict – Final interdict requirements – clear right, apprehended injury, absence of alternative remedy; locus standi in relation to marital home; Rule Nisi – lapse not decided; costs following the event.
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17 May 2022 |
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Alleged promotion is an unfair labour practice; remedy must be sought under the LRA, not by declaratory relief.
* Labour law – unfair labour practice – promotion dispute – jurisdiction under the Labour Relations Act (s186(2)(a)); * Municipal employment – promotion and appointment prescripts; * Declaratory relief – absence of contractual cause of action and failure to prove valid promotion; * LRA remedy for LRA breach (Steenkamp principle).
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17 May 2022 |
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Condonation for late statutory notice denied where applicant had knowledge of the claim and delay was unexplained.
* Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002 s3 – requirement to give written notice within six months of knowledge of facts giving rise to debt; condonation under s3(4)(b). * Knowledge of cause of action – material facts (not legal conclusions) sufficient to start the notice period. * Condonation – necessity of full explanation for entire delay, prospects of success and absence of unreasonable prejudice. * Prescription – distinct from notice requirement; non‑extinction of debt does not obviate need to show good cause.
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17 May 2022 |
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Reported
Court dismissed appeal, holding internal Framework Act processes did not bar urgent declaratory and interdictory relief.
Traditional leadership – recognition of kingship – Framework Act (ss 9, 21, 25) – whether internal customary processes must be exhausted before court relief – Oudekraal principle and administrative acts – requisites for final interdict – urgency and costs (Biowatch principle).
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6 May 2022 |
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An interim rule nisi is not suspended by appeal; respondent must comply but was not immediately found in contempt due to reliance on legal advice.
* Civil contempt – elements: order, service/knowledge, non-compliance; presumption of wilfulness and mala fides – evidentiary burden on alleged contemnor. * Superior Courts Act s 18 – distinction between a ‘decision’ (final in effect) and interim/interlocutory orders; interim rule nisi not suspended pending appeal. * Urgency – contempt proceedings generally urgent but applicants must justify truncation of rule periods. * Costs – ordinary party-and-party costs appropriate where non-compliance may have stemmed from counsel’s erroneous advice. * Citation – Minister of Justice not a necessary party to civil contempt proceedings.
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3 May 2022 |
| April 2022 |
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An employer may not withhold salary or treat a contract as terminated for unauthorised absence without notice and fair process.
Employment law – interpretation of termination clauses – clause 22(h) (unauthorised absence) does not operate as automatic termination without notice or application of HR/collective procedures; absence/leave without pay (clause 30) requires prior notice, opportunity to explain and proper accounting before salary may be withheld.
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21 April 2022 |