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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 2022 |
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Court set aside ex parte attachment orders where buyer proved helicopter never became estate asset; purchaser may intervene.
• Civil procedure – urgent ex parte relief – reconsideration/anticipation under Uniform Rules 6(8) and 6(12)(c).
• Locus standi – leave to intervene by a non-party purchaser affected by ex parte orders.
• Insolvency – proof required to establish that an asset vested in the insolvent estate; applicability of Insolvency Act ss31–32.
• Attachment – uplift and return where ex parte relief not supported by ownership evidence.
• Interim protection of purchaser’s funds – retention in trust pending final determination.
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30 September 2022 |
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30 September 2022 |
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Payment under the 2009 settlement was applied to tax debt, not held as security; seized-goods disputes referred to oral evidence.
Contract interpretation – tax settlement – whether interim payment constituted satisfaction of tax debt or security; admissibility of extrinsic evidence under Endumeni; review of seized goods claim under s66 Tax Administration Act – referral for oral evidence due to material disputes of fact.
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30 September 2022 |
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30 September 2022 |
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Consolidation order was appealable (final in effect) but leave to appeal refused for lack of reasonable prospects and compelling reasons.
Civil procedure – consolidation of actions under Uniform Rule 11 – appealability of interlocutory orders determined by effect not form – final in effect if not to be reconsidered on same facts – leave to appeal requires reasonable prospects of success or compelling reasons (s17 Superior Courts Act).
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29 September 2022 |
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29 September 2022 |
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Extension approvals were contractual/labour matters, not PAJA administrative action, so revocation was permissible.
Labour-related decision v administrative action; PAJA applicability; functus officio and revocation of employer decisions; when employer approvals amend employment contracts; reliance on Chirwa and Gcaba.
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28 September 2022 |
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28 September 2022 |
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An instalment sale of agricultural land without ministerial consent is void; lis alibi pendens bars final restitution here.
* Property law – Subdivision of agricultural land – Subdivision and undivided shares require ministerial consent under the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970 – failure renders agreement void ab initio.
* Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981 – section 28(1) restitutionary relief (repayment and interest) where deed/contract is of no force or effect.
* Civil procedure – lis alibi pendens – concurrent proceedings arising from same cause and parties bar final relief in another forum.
* Costs – no basis for punitive attorney‑and‑client costs; each party to pay own costs.
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27 September 2022 |
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The defendant liable for 90% where truck driver's negligent turn in mist caused plaintiff's amputation and cognitive injury.
Road Accident Fund – motor collision in heavy mist – negligent right-hand turn causing obstruction – contributory negligence of oncoming driver (10%) – apportionment 90/10 – general damages for above-elbow amputation and diffuse axonal brain injury – 40% contingency deduction for future loss – s17(4)(a) reimbursement of future medical/accommodation costs (90%).
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27 September 2022 |
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Applicant’s security-for-costs claim dismissed: failed to show the main application was vexatious or an abuse and joinder costs denied.
Security for costs — Uniform Rule 47; post-Companies Act common-law test (Boost Sports Africa): must show inability to pay and that the main action is vexatious/reckless or an abuse; interpretation of section 8 Arbitration Act and contractual time-bar clauses; Wilmington v Short & McDonald questioned in constitutional context; costs of necessary, unopposed joinder not recoverable.
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26 September 2022 |
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26 September 2022 |
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Condonation granted but rescission of default judgment dismissed; repeated rescission attempts deemed abuse of process with punitive costs.
Civil procedure – condonation for late affidavits; rescission of default judgment – Rule 42(1)(a) and common-law requirements (reasonable explanation, bona fides, prima facie defence); Rule 35(12) – consequences of non-production of original documents; res judicata/once-and-for-all and abuse of process; punitive costs (attorney-and-client).
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26 September 2022 |
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Applicants may not create embryos by IVF for intended surrogacy before a specific recipient is identified and court confirms agreement.
Assisted reproduction; surrogacy – requirement that surrogate motherhood agreement be confirmed before artificial fertilisation of surrogate; interpretation of "artificial fertilisation" in Children’s Act; Regulation 10(2)(a) – "specific recipient" requires identification prior to IVF; interaction between Children’s Act and National Health Act regulations; limits on ex parte orders and requirement to join Minister for constitutional challenge to regulations.
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26 September 2022 |
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26 September 2022 |
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Application to compel broad discovery dismissed for lack of relevance and insufficient particularity, costs awarded.
* Civil procedure – discovery – Uniform Rule 35(3) – requirement of belief and relevance – must identify documents with sufficient particularity.
* Discovery – scope and limits – relevance to issues and proving damages; fishing expeditions not permitted.
* Confidentiality – not an absolute bar to discovery but may be a valid factor in exercise of discretion.
* Exercise of judicial discretion – refusal to order further/better discovery where applicant fails to establish necessity.
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26 September 2022 |
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Default adjudication: negligence established and R750,000 awarded for a minor’s future loss of earning capacity.
• Delict — motor vehicle accident — proof of negligence on default evidence; • Quantum — future loss of earning capacity for a minor — assessment principles, role of expert evidence, socio‑economic factors and actuarial assumptions; • Procedural — separation and referral of remaining heads of claim to Full Court.
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26 September 2022 |
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26 September 2022 |
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A train operator is negligent for allowing a moving train to run with open doors, and defendant held 100% liable for resulting injuries.
* Railway law – operator’s duty – starting or operating a train with doors open constitutes negligence and creates foreseeable risk to commuters.
* Evidence – statements from injured minors taken in chaotic circumstances and missing contemporaneous notes may be unreliable.
* Civil procedure – apportionment of damages cannot be relied upon if not pleaded; defendant must plead and prove contributory fault.
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26 September 2022 |
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23 September 2022 |
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Court condoned late amendment, dismissed exception to accrual-based counterclaim, and granted anti-dissipation order preserving sale proceeds.
* Family law – accrual claims – whether dispositions to trusts and annuities may be taken into account when calculating accrual. * Civil procedure – condonation of late amendment; reservation of costs to main hearing. * Pleadings – exception for vagueness: requirements and approach; pleadings to be read as a whole. * Declaratory relief – appropriate to determine vested accrual issues. * Interim relief – anti-dissipation (Knox D’Arcy-type) interdict to preserve sale proceeds pending accrual determination.
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22 September 2022 |
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Whether the applicant was entitled to a profit‑share under an alleged, orally agreed shareholders' bonus scheme.
Company law – shareholders’ meeting and profit‑share agreements; existence of agreement inferred from conduct, correspondence and draft resolution; unsigned resolution admissible as evidence of agreement where parties’ practice discloses informal approvals; clause requiring special‑majority satisfied by attendance and conduct; quantum based on auditors’ estimated calculation admissible where pleaded.
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22 September 2022 |
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A spouse who substantially misconducted and would be unduly benefited may be ordered to forfeit patrimonial benefits.
Divorce Act s9(1) – forfeiture of patrimonial benefits; substantial misconduct (infidelity, abandonment) as ground for forfeiture; proof of nature of benefits (pension interest and immovable property) — exact monetary valuation not required; benefit/undue benefit analysis following Wijker and Engelbrecht.
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21 September 2022 |
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Court awarded applicant R1.5m for future loss, dismissed past medical expenses, and ordered a section 17(4)(a) undertaking.
Road Accident Fund — assessment of future loss of earning capacity — actuarial and industrial-psychologist reports as aids; judicial discretion and contingency deductions; proof of past medical expenses; section 17(4)(a) undertaking; postponement of general damages and referral to HPCSA.
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21 September 2022 |
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21 September 2022 |
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Applicant failed to prove loss of earning capacity despite respondent’s liability for the collision.
* Road Accident Fund — assessment of future loss of earning capacity — actuarial reports useful but not binding; discretion to make contingency deductions.
* Evidence — requirement to prove loss of earnings on a balance of probabilities; medical proof of ongoing disability.
* Default appearance — respondent absent but liability and quantum must be proved.
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21 September 2022 |
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Following a conceded RAF liability, court awarded R7,000,000 for loss of earning capacity and R1,300,000 general damages.
* Road Accident Fund – liability conceded – court to quantify general damages and loss of earning capacity. * Personal injury – traumatic brain injury in a child – neurocognitive, psychiatric and scholastic sequelae considered. * Actuarial calculations – assumptions must be realistic; court may make a round estimate when assumptions are speculative. * Procedure – application to strike defence dismissed.
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21 September 2022 |
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21 September 2022 |
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Leave to appeal refused; liquidators ordered to pay costs de bonis propriis for bringing a self‑serving challenge to co‑liquidators' appointments.
* Company law – liquidation – co‑liquidators – challenge to appointment of co‑liquidators – remedies and standing.
* Civil procedure – leave to appeal (s 17(1) Superior Courts Act) – requirement of reasonable prospect of success or compelling reasons.
* Costs – de bonis propriis – liquidators sued/counter‑sued in own interest – liability of officers to pay costs personally where litigation is self‑serving.
* Right to be heard – failure to afford oral address on costs – where papers disclose case and outcome would not have differed.
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21 September 2022 |
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Summary judgment dismissed because respondent disclosed bona fide defences and a genuine dispute over payment timing and set‑off.
Contract — timing of payment unclear (submission vs municipal settlement); Summary judgment — Rule 32(3)(b) requires full disclosure of bona fide defence; Set‑off and lien for devices/salaries are factual issues unsuitable for summary determination; Genuine dispute necessitates trial.
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20 September 2022 |
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Prescription does not bar a s11(a) tax deduction; a deduction is not a "debt" under the Prescription Act.
* Tax — Income Tax Act s11(a) — deduction of expenditure and losses — whether deduction constitutes a "debt" for Prescription Act purposes.
* Prescription Act — scope of "debt" — extinctive prescription not applicable to tax deductions that are not claims for payment.
* Customs and Excise — prescribed refund claims — whether late refund claims are revived by claiming deductions in tax returns.
* Procedure — preliminary points — limits on deciding merits when not pleaded or argued; remedial setting aside and remittal.
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20 September 2022 |
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A prescribed principal debt cannot be revived by a later default judgment; surety released where suretyship is limited and prescription had already run.
* Prescription – commencement and interruption – section 12(1) and section 11(d) – three‑year prescription for general debts. * Suretyship – accessory liability – surety released when principal debt prescribes. * Money judgment – default judgment obtained after prescription is brutum fulmen and does not revive extinguished debt. * Interpretation of suretyship – narrow wording limited to obligations arising from the credit facility (contractual/delictual), not an undertaking to pay "any debt whatsoever." * Civil procedure – special plea of prescription upheld where no interruption pleaded or proved.
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19 September 2022 |
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Condonation and trustee ratification granted, but leave to amend denied due to privity and excipiability of proposed tacit-lease claim.
Civil procedure – amendment of pleadings – condonation for late application – authority of trustee to institute proceedings and ratification – privity of contract – tacit relocation of lease limited to parties to prior agreement – amendment excipiable if it seeks to impose head-lease obligations on a non-party (sub-lessee).
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19 September 2022 |
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The applicant awarded R7,000,000 loss of earning capacity and R1,300,000 general damages for a minor’s traumatic brain injury.
Road Accident Fund – quantification of damages for traumatic brain injury in a minor – assessment of pre‑morbid potential and appropriate actuarial assumptions – when a round estimate is justified – application to strike defence dismissed – s 17(4) undertaking accepted.
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19 September 2022 |
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Applicant’s late review under PAJA dismissed for no condonation, inadequate explanation, and no prospects of success.
* Administrative law – condonation – review under PAJA – 180-day time limit – Melane factors (degree of lateness, explanation, prospects of success, importance, prejudice).
* Refugee law – internal remedies under the Refugees Act – appeal to SCRA within 10 days and review within 180 days.
* Civil procedure – motion proceedings – applicant must stand or fall by founding affidavit; cannot raise new excuses in reply or from the bar.
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19 September 2022 |
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Leave to appeal against committal and punitive costs refused where applicant showed no bona fides or prospects of success.
Contempt of court – committal (direct imprisonment) as remedy – leave to appeal – discretionary exercise – best interests of children – urgency – lack of bona fides and failure to purge default – punitive costs order appropriate.
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16 September 2022 |
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Court postponed special execution of a primary residence after finding the debtor’s proposed sale a viable alternative to eviction.
* Civil procedure – Uniform Rule 46A – special execution against primary residence – court must consider alternative means of satisfying judgment debt and all relevant circumstances under s 26(3) of the Constitution.
* Remedy – court may postpone money judgment and order for special execution in the interests of justice.
* Costs – unsuccessful application for special execution does not automatically entitle applicant to costs where issues could have been resolved without court intervention.
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16 September 2022 |
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Respondent struck from the roll for dishonesty, contemptuous conduct, taking fees directly, misleading courts and failing to cooperate.
Legal Practice Act – disciplinary proceedings – striking-off versus suspension – referral rule and advocates taking instructions/payments directly from clients – misleading the court and contemptuous courtroom conduct – failure to cooperate with regulator – appointment of curator bonis and directions for safeguarding client funds.
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16 September 2022 |
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Security for costs on appeal denied; alleged fund transfers and vexatious motive not established.
Companies Act s195(7) – appeals from Companies Tribunal; Rule 47 – security for costs; Rule 49(13) – security for costs on appeal and court’s power to release appellant; abuse of process/vexatious litigation as threshold for security orders; procedural form of affidavits and prejudice; delay in seeking security.
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15 September 2022 |
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Vehicle financing qualified as a "large agreement" outside the NCA; cancellation and repossession were confirmed, summary judgment granted.
* Consumer credit law – National Credit Act – application – "large agreement" exclusion where principal debt exceeds threshold (currently R250,000) – juristic person consumer excluded under s4(1)(b) read with s9(4)(b).
* Summary judgment – defendant's failure to file answering affidavit and absence of bona fide defence – summary judgment appropriate.
* Repossession – cancellation of instalment sale agreement confirmed and repossession authorised.
* Allegation of reckless credit – unsupported and not a bar to summary judgment where agreement falls outside NCA.
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14 September 2022 |
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Prosecutor’s decision to prosecute was reasonable on contemporaneous evidence; malicious prosecution claim dismissed with costs.
* Criminal procedure – malicious prosecution – assessment of reasonable and probable cause to prosecute must be contemporaneous to prosecutor’s decision and not by hindsight from trial outcomes.
* Criminal evidence – non-recovery of stolen property or weapon does not automatically preclude reasonable grounds to prosecute.
* Costs – successful party entitled to costs; appellate court may set aside trial court’s costs orders and award costs including two counsel.
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14 September 2022 |
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13 September 2022 |
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13 September 2022 |
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The court granted applicants leave to appeal to the Full Court, finding reasonable prospects of success.
Leave to appeal — s 17(1)(a)(i) Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 — whether appeal has reasonable prospects of success — appeal to Full Court — costs of leave application to be costs in appeal.
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13 September 2022 |
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13 September 2022 |
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Sentence-only appeal dismissed: trial court properly applied minimum-sentence law and sentencing discretion was not misdirected.
Criminal law – Sentencing – discretion of trial court – appellate interference only if discretion not judicially and properly exercised or sentence disturbingly inappropriate; Minimum sentence legislation – substantial and compelling circumstances; Robbery with aggravating circumstances – use of loaded firearm an aggravating factor; Sentence-only appeals – conviction issues not ordinarily entertained.
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13 September 2022 |
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Condonation granted for late section 3 notice where no prescription, good cause and no unreasonable prejudice were shown.
Condonation under s 3(4) of the Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act — requirements of no prescription, good cause, and absence of unreasonable prejudice — section 34 constitutional right of access to courts; applicability to claims against public schools and vicarious liability of organ of state.
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13 September 2022 |
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Clear single-witness and medical evidence sustained a rape conviction despite minor contradictions.
Criminal law – Rape – Conviction on single witness evidence – Assessment of contradictions in context of whole evidence – Medical (J88) evidence corroboration – Adverse inference from accused's failure to testify – Appeal dismissed.
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13 September 2022 |
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Public‑interest and patient welfare justify enforcing a payment order pending appeal despite an SIU investigation.
Superior Courts Act s18(1) – enforcement pendente lite – exceptional circumstances required; irreparable harm assessed in context of public function of Road Accident Fund; SIU investigation does not, without legal basis, prohibit payment; balance of probabilities and prospects of success relevant.
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13 September 2022 |
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Contempt proceedings cannot be used to enforce money orders; application dismissed for lack of basis and urgency.
Civil contempt — distinction between orders ad pecuniam solvendam and ad factum praestandum; contempt not available to enforce money judgments (except maintenance); onus to prove wilful and mala fide non‑compliance; urgency requirements for urgent court enforcement applications; costs including two counsel where applicable.
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13 September 2022 |