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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2024 |
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An estate representative may litigate eviction under PIE, but eviction must be just and equitable considering ubuntu and homelessness risk.
PIE Act – locus standi of Master’s representative with Letters of Authority; unlawful occupier; section 4(7) PIE and ubuntu; homelessness risk and alternative accommodation; effect of Sithole on marital property and intestate succession; costs discretion where Legal Aid represented applicant.
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11 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Court applies 19.4-year life expectancy and awards R13.16m for lifelong care and damages for severely disabled minor.
Personal injury – severe spastic cerebral palsy (GMFCS V) – life-expectancy estimation – acceptance of cohort/adjusted life-table methodology (Brooks/Strauss approach) – actuarial capitalisation – award of future care, transport, home adaptations, case management, schooling/stimulation to life expectancy – costs including two counsel and expert fees.
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30 September 2024 |
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Applicant’s belated variation request to reinstate agreement and increase payments refused except to raise monthly instalment to R14,500.
Rule 42 — variation/correction of court orders — requirements for variation (no error, ambiguity, common mistake or new facts) — reinstatement of cancelled contract — consensus required to revive agreement — delay in bringing variation application — costs for resisting inappropriate variation.
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18 September 2024 |
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Appellate court reduced an excessive upward deviation from the statutory minimum murder sentence for lack of articulated aggravating factors.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Minimum sentences under Criminal Law Amendment Act – Non-premeditated murder and prescribed 15-year minimum – Upward deviation requires clear articulation of aggravating circumstances; failure to do so is material misdirection permitting appellate re-sentencing. Domestic violence – sentencing weight and public interest in deterring violence against intimates.
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18 September 2024 |
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Appeal against life sentence dismissed: charge-sheet notice sufficient, complainant’s age proved, no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate.
Criminal law – Minimum sentences Act (s 51) – Notice of applicability and prejudice from erroneous charge-sheet reference – Proof of complainant’s age for sentencing – Substantial and compelling circumstances – Appeal against sentence.
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18 September 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed; trial court's rape conviction and 16-year sentence against the appellant confirmed.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape – repeated sexual assaults and identification; evaluation of single-witness evidence and corroboration. Criminal procedure – Cautionary rule under s 208 CPA and approach to single-witness testimony. Sentencing – Minimum sentencing regime for rape, substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from life imprisonment; appellate restraint on interfering with sentence.
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16 September 2024 |
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The once and for all rule barred the applicant's successive claim; an appeal court may raise that point mero motu.
Civil procedure – once and for all rule – plaintiff must claim both past and prospective damages in one action arising from same cause; Appellate procedure – court may raise point of law mero motu if covered by pleadings and without prejudice; Issue estoppel – default judgment does not automatically permit separate subsequent claims arising from same cause.
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12 September 2024 |
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Appellate court reduced sentences where trial court failed to consider lengthy pre-trial custody as substantial and compelling circumstances.
Criminal law – Minimum sentences (Criminal Law Amendment Act) – Deviation where substantial and compelling circumstances exist; Pre-trial custody as a factor for deviation (S v Vilakazi; DPP v Gcwala); Sentencing principles – Zinn triad and individualisation; Probation officer recommendations not binding.
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11 September 2024 |
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Life sentences upheld where trial court properly considered personal circumstances and no substantial and compelling reasons to deviate existed.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Minimum prescribed sentence of life imprisonment for murder – requirement to consider substantial and compelling circumstances – appellate review limited to material misdirection or shockingly inappropriate sentences; Common purpose – joint liability and equal sentencing where participants armed and actively involved; Appeal – interference with sentence only where trial court misdirected or sentence is disproportionate.
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6 September 2024 |
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6 September 2024 |
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Default judgment rescinded due to mis-citation of parties; applicants ordered to pay attorney-and-client costs.
Civil procedure — rescission of default judgment — Uniform Rule 42(1)(a) — jurisdictional defect (mis-citation of parties) grounds for rescission without showing "good cause"; Costs — exercise of discretion — unsuccessful applicant ordered to pay attorney-and-client costs where respondent made a reasonable offer to consent that was not accepted.
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5 September 2024 |
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Strike‑out refused; manager’s certificate and suretyship clauses established respondent’s liability; judgment for claimed sums with interest and attorney‑and‑client costs.
Contract and suretyship – strike‑out of affidavit allegations – admissibility of corporate deponent’s evidence; manager’s certificate as prima facie proof of indebtedness; acceleration on business rescue/winding up; no triable defence or prejudice relieving surety; costs on attorney and client scale.
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4 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Rescission refused: rule 27 recordal stood as jurisdictional fact, no timely knowledge, no proof of payment; appeal dismissed with costs.
Magistrates' Courts Rules – Rule 27 recordal and rule 27(9) enforcement; rescission under s 36(1)(a)–(b) and rules 49(7)–(8); jurisdictional fact doctrine (Khwela); requirements for condonation and proof of payment; compound interest and collection commission; admissibility/weight of confirmatory affidavits.
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30 August 2024 |
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Year‑late appeal condonation refused for inadequate explanation and poor prospects; appeal struck from the roll.
Condonation application – adequacy of explanation for inordinate delay; prospects of success on appeal; limits of evidence contrary to pleadings; onus to prove donation; improper commissioning of affidavit by advocate (Regulation 7(1)).
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30 August 2024 |
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Appeal against convictions and prescribed life sentences for rape of child complainants dismissed; trial court’s findings and sentences upheld.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape of children; evaluation of child evidence and single-witness testimony; corroboration by siblings, mother and medical J88 reports. Evidence – Assessment of credibility of child witnesses; relevance of analytical demonstration and threats/bribery as explanations for delayed reporting. Sentencing – Prescribed minimum sentences under s51 CLAA; criteria for substantial and compelling circumstances; appellate interference limited absent material misdirection or shockingly inappropriate sentence.
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30 August 2024 |
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High Court refuses to interdict ongoing disciplinary proceedings, directing internal/regulatory or Labour Court remedies instead.
Jurisdiction – High Court v Labour Court – interdict of ongoing municipal disciplinary proceedings; application of municipal financial misconduct regulations; intervention in uncompleted disciplinary proceedings; stare decisis – single-judge decisions of other divisions not binding but may be persuasive.
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30 August 2024 |
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An exception alleging vagueness failed where pleadings and contemporaneous emails sufficiently identified the cause of action; exception dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – exception for vagueness and embarrassment – pleadings alleging an agreement described as oral or partly written and partly oral – contemporaneous emails pleaded as context/evidence – excipient must show vagueness amounting to prejudice – exception dismissed.
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29 August 2024 |
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Municipality liable for injuries from defective pavement where plaintiff establishes prima facie link and defendant offers no expert rebuttal.
Delict — municipality’s duty to maintain pavements — liability for injuries caused by defective sidewalks; Civil procedure — absolution from the instance (Rule 39) — test whether plaintiff has made out prima facie case; Evidence — role of eyewitness testimony and photographs to link defect to injury; Medical evidence — necessity of expert evidence to attribute fall to pre-existing medical condition.
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23 August 2024 |
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Plaintiff proved on a balance of probabilities that a truck's negligent driving caused the fatal accident; liability granted.
Road Accident Fund — motor collision — existence and conduct of third-party truck — negligence standard (reasonable person) — credibility of eyewitness evidence — onus on balance of probabilities — liability established; costs awarded.
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23 August 2024 |
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Appellate court reduced appellant's 22-year sentence to 12 years for failing to consider cumulative effect.
Sentencing appeal; cumulative effect of multiple terms; appellate interference where trial court materially misdirects; previous convictions as aggravating factor but not sole justification for excessive aggregate sentence; s 282 CPA antedating of sentence.
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23 August 2024 |
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Incomplete record did not permit disturbing the conviction; sentencing misdirection justified reducing the applicant's life sentence to 20 years.
Criminal procedure — Incomplete trial record — consequences for appeal against conviction and sentence — defective record may vitiate appeal against conviction but appellate relief confined where leave to appeal conviction not obtained. Sentencing — Minimum Sentences Act — accused should be informed of reliance on minimum-sentence provisions (preferably in indictment); failure may constitute misdirection and prejudice. Sentencing — Adequacy of reasons — failure to explain or consider relevant mitigating factors (youth, pre-trial custody) can justify interference with sentence. Appeal powers — s 322(2) CPA limits appellate interference where appeal relates only to sentence.
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23 August 2024 |
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Whether a broker's introductions to financiers amounted to FAIS‑regulated financial services requiring authorisation.
FAIS Act — definition of "financial services provider", "advice" and "intermediary service"; whether introductions/referrals to financiers constitute FAIS‑regulated advice or intermediary services; financial product requirement; contractual voidness for unauthorised FSP conduct.
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23 August 2024 |
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A non-resident plaintiff was ordered to provide reduced security for costs (R75,000) though claim not vexatious.
Civil procedure – Security for costs – Peregrinus/non-domicile plaintiff – whether litigation vexatious – balancing protection of non-resident litigant and defendant’s ability to recover costs; domestic partnership evidence (notarial/cohabitation affidavits) relevant to merits but not decisive for security application.
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19 August 2024 |
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An ex parte urgent interdict obtained with defective service, GLAA non‑compliance and material non‑disclosure was rescinded.
Urgent interdict — ex parte rule nisi — compliance with GLAA s35 and Uniform Rules on service — anticipation/reconsideration under Uniform Rule 6 — non-joinder of interested councillors and designated chair under s29(1A) — requirements for interim interdict — punitive costs for material non-disclosure.
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16 August 2024 |
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A pension fund administrator can recover an overpayment under condictio indebiti when acting in a fiduciary capacity.
Condictio indebiti — overpayment to beneficiary — pension fund administrator's locus standi — representative/fiduciary capacity analogous to trustees/executors — enrichment at administrator's expense — excusability of bona fide mistake.
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16 August 2024 |
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Leave to appeal refused: applicant was an independent contractor, no vicarious liability or valid set-off; costs awarded.
Contract law – independent contractor v agency – agreement construed as contract for result; vicarious liability not attracted for independent contractor. Civil procedure – leave to appeal under s17(1) Superior Courts Act – elevated test requiring reasonable/realistic prospect of success. Set-off – requirement of mutual indebtedness and court-determined liability. Amendment – correction of typographical error in notice heading permitted.
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15 August 2024 |
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Conviction set aside for lack of proof of intent and, alternatively, as a de minimis trivial assault.
Criminal law – Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm – Proof of mens rea – assessment of weapon, force, aim and injury – contradictions between trial testimony and earlier police statements – de minimis non curat lex (triviality) as basis for acquittal.
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14 August 2024 |
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Applicants successfully set aside allocatur and writ after timely opposing taxation; condonation for late heads refused.
Practice Directive 9.4.1 – opposed motion heads of argument – strict compliance and condonation; Uniform Rule 70(3B) and 70(4) – notice of intention to oppose taxation converts taxation to opposed taxation; Taxing master’s allocatur can be set aside where opposition was timely served; writ based on improperly obtained allocatur may be set aside; authority of trustees to instruct attorneys established by trust resolution; punitive costs where party unreasonably resists suitable remedy.
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7 August 2024 |
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Applicant entitled to judgment under mortgage indemnity; property declared specially executable; guarantee terms not essential to plead.
Mortgage and security law – Mortgage loan agreement, indemnity and covering sectional indemnity bond – Trust’s breach and entitlement to call indemnity; Suretyship – deeds of suretyship limited in amount enforceable against sureties; Pleadings – failure to plead/annex terms of a guarantee between creditors does not necessarily defeat an indemnity claim against debtors; Execution – immovable property held under registered indemnity bond may be declared specially executable.
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2 August 2024 |
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Rape conviction upheld; strangulation not proved as grievous bodily harm, life sentence reduced to 14 years.
Criminal law – Rape – single identifying witness corroborated by medical and third‑party evidence – defence of consent rejected; Sentencing – applicability of s 51(1) CLAA (grievous bodily harm) – when strangulation/assault amounts to grievous bodily harm; Minimum sentencing – life sentence set aside where Part I Schedule 2 not triggered; Court at large to impose fresh sentence.
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2 August 2024 |
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Leave to appeal refused: no bona fide disputes of fact, contractual clauses not shown to be against public policy.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal under s17 Superior Courts Act – test of reasonable prospects; motion proceedings – when disputes of fact require referral to oral evidence; application of Plascon–Evans and Secprop; contractual clauses and public policy – Barkhuizen/Beadica; costs on attorney-and-client scale.
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2 August 2024 |
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Application adjourned because the fourth respondent was not properly served; merits not determined.
Service of process – urgent application – application adjourned sine die for proper service; inadequate tracing and hearsay phone contact insufficient to justify proceeding in absence of respondent; default relief inappropriate where party with direct interest not served; merits and jurisdictional questions not decided.
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1 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
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A municipality may lawfully change its executive committee size after inaugural determination if it acts lawfully and within statutory limits.
Local government — Executive committee composition — Interpretation of ss 43(1), 45, 46, 47 and 53 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act — Municipal autonomy under Chapter 7 of the Constitution — Provincial MEC locus standi under s154/s155(6) — IRFA and intergovernmental dispute-resolution — Non-joinder.
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31 July 2024 |
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Council extensions of acting appointments without MEC approval are ultra vires; MEC’s unilateral secondment was unauthorised.
Local government — Acting senior managers — Section 54A Municipal Systems Act — Council may appoint acting managers for three months and may only apply in writing to MEC for a further three months on good cause; secondment by MEC requires appropriate request or statutory authority; unilateral extensions or secondments without compliance are ultra vires — Urgent interim relief to prevent introduction of seconded officials.
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31 July 2024 |
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An unsigned bank quotation accepted and signed by the respondent constitutes a written agreement; exception dismissed.
Civil procedure – Exception to particulars of claim – Onus on excipient to show no cause of action on any interpretation – Pleadings to be construed benevolently; Contract law – Written agreement constituted by a bank quotation/offer accepted and signed by the borrower; Uniform Rule 18(6) – pleading that contract was concluded by a duly authorised person is sufficient; Extraneous matters and Rule 35(12) not admissible on exception; Costs awarded against unsuccessful excipient (scale B).
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29 July 2024 |
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Applicant failed to establish urgency or a clear right to force payment of pension benefits withheld lawfully under s37D.
Pension Funds Act s37D(1)(b) – fund discretion to withhold benefits where member is alleged to have caused loss by theft, dishonesty or misconduct; Fund rules (sub-rules 11.1, 11.3) – conditions for withholding; Exercise of statutory and contractual discretion – must be fair and reasonable; Urgency – applicant failed to establish urgency; Joinder/misjoinder – administrator vs fund; Alternative remedy – Pension Funds Adjudicator and s30H(2) considerations.
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29 July 2024 |
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Reported
Court-file confidentiality upheld to protect minors’ dignity and privacy, limiting open-justice principles in these circumstances.
Children – confidentiality of court records; balance between open justice (section 32 Superior Courts Act) and child’s best interests, dignity and privacy (section 28(2) Constitution); when court-file confidentiality is proportionate and justified; withholding annexures and secure retention of file.
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18 July 2024 |
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Appeal allowed where private defence remained a reasonably possible explanation for a single fatal stabbing, so conviction was set aside.
Criminal law — Private defence — Requirements (unlawful, imminent attack; necessity; directed at attacker; reasonable relationship) — Objective test: reasonable person in accused’s position — Appellate review where accused’s version is reasonably possibly true — Conviction cannot stand if prosecution fails to exclude private defence beyond reasonable doubt.
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3 July 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld child-rape conviction and life sentence, finding the child’s testimony trustworthy despite discrepancies and negative DNA.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape of a child – single child witness evidence: cautionary approach and trustworthiness assessment (Maila, Woji). Evidentiary evaluation – Discrepancies and omissions do not automatically undermine overall trustworthy testimony; weigh probabilities and improbabilities (Van Aswegen, Chabalala). Forensic evidence – Negative DNA does not necessarily negate proof of rape or identity where medical and testimonial evidence are strong. Sentence appeal – Appellate interference limited; life sentence upheld where trial court properly exercised discretion.
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3 July 2024 |
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Magistrate erred by accepting s 112(1)(a) pleas without questioning accused; convictions set aside and remitted.
Criminal procedure — section 112(1)(a) and (b) CPA — guilty pleas in summary trials — duty to question accused where necessary to ensure admission of all essential elements; conditional pleas improper; requirement to pronounce verdict before sentence; National Land Transport Act — meaning of "operate"/"operator" and relevance to plea procedure and sentencing range.
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1 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Applicant entitled to immediate return of eight trucks; respondent’s election to sue for damages bars retention of the vehicles.
Property law – possession and ownership – whether a party may retain movable property after contract cancellation; election of remedies – damages vs specific performance; interim attachment set aside on reconsideration; striking out and filing of affidavits – procedural relief not altering substantive ownership.
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21 June 2024 |
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Court ordered immediate execution of reinstatement and salary orders pending appeal, finding exceptional circumstances and irreparable harm.
Superior Courts Act s 18 — suspension of orders pending appeal — exceptional circumstances and irreparable harm required to depart from suspension; Local Government: Municipal Systems Act — section 56 section‑56 appointments — municipality ordinarily required to bring self‑review/court application before treating appointment as void; administrative law — unilateral revocation of appointment; interim execution pending appeal; costs.
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21 June 2024 |
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Provisional sequestration granted where judgment creditor proved s 9 requirements and respondent’s appeals/disputes failed.
Insolvency law – provisional sequestration – s 9 requirements: liquidated claim, act(s) of insolvency (s 8), advantage to creditors; appellate finality and bona fide disputes. Acts of insolvency – s 8(b) nulla bona returns; s 8(g) notice of inability to pay (admissions in affidavit). Court discretion – absence of special circumstances to refuse provisional sequestration once statutory requisites met. Advantage to creditors – vesting of spouse's property in trustees and prospect of discovering undisclosed assets.
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14 June 2024 |
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Urgent interim relief against the monarch, the Ingonyama Trust and provincial funding refused for lack of proper forum, standing and well‑grounded apprehension.
• Administrative law – interim relief and urgency – public interest as factor in granting urgency.• Traditional leadership/Trust law – Ingonyama Trust Act and 1997 amendments – administration and disbursement powers vested in the Trust Board, not personal entitlement of the monarch.• Public funds – provincial budgetary allocation to Royal House Trust – challenge requires proper locus and proof of unlawfulness.• Interim interdict – requirement of well‑grounded apprehension of harm; joinder of affected third‑party creditors before invalidating contracts.
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13 June 2024 |
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Applicant entitled to final interdict restraining respondents’ occupation and commercial use of trust land due to prior consent and sale.
Trust-held land – Ingonyama Trust Act – validity of council consent (Form ITB2) and sale agreement; admissibility of copies in absence of originals; competing customary allocations; Setlogelo interdict requirements (clear right, apprehension of continuing harm, no alternative remedy, balance of convenience); effect of later council consent where earlier consent and sale exist.
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10 June 2024 |
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Omission of CLAA in charge-sheet did not render trial unfair; life sentence reduced to 25 years.
Criminal law – Minimum sentences – CLAA (prescribed minimum) – omission of reference in charge-sheet – whether trial unfair under s 35(3). Sentencing – s 52(1)(b) remittal to High Court – regional court’s duty and evidentiary inquiries to establish age of minor. Sentencing discretion – substantial and compelling circumstances – application of Zinn triad; when prescribed minimum may be disproportionate. Appeal – misdirection and substitution of sentence where life imprisonment is inappropriate.
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7 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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Conviction set aside where identification evidence was unreliable and the appellant’s alibi was not disproved.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – Caution required where observations made at night, from distance, with smoke or backlighting; Alibi – burden on Crown to disprove beyond reasonable doubt; Appellate review – interference with trial court findings permissible in exceptional cases where reasoning insufficient and conviction unsafe.
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24 May 2024 |
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The appellant’s corruption conviction was upheld because the trial court’s credibility findings were reasonable and not misdirected.
Criminal law – Corruption (POCCA) – allegation that police officer accepted R4 000 to secure release of impounded vehicle. Evidence – assessment of credibility of complainant and eyewitness – credibility entitled to deference absent misdirection. Appellate review – scope limited where trial court evaluated oral evidence (S v Mkohle; S v Francis). Inconsistencies in peripheral details do not necessarily vitiate central factual findings.
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17 May 2024 |
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Municipal council’s closed appointment of a forestry caretaker breached MFMA s14, was irrational and was set aside.
Administrative law — Principle of legality — Municipal decisions — s14 MFMA requires open council meeting and consideration of asset value before transfer/disposal; procedural fairness and public participation; irrationality and ultra vires exercise of public power; review and setting aside of appointment; divestiture of profits and remedial reporting and recovery orders.
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16 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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A forfeiture decision lacking adequate reasons and disregard of internal policy was set aside and remitted for reconsideration.
Customs and Excise – s 88(2)(a) forfeiture – requirement for adequate reasons and rational connection to information before decision-maker. Administrative law – PAJA – duty to give adequate contemporaneous reasons; later ex post facto reasons inadmissible. Policy application – failure to apply internal Customs Code (forfeiture only where evidence of intentional fraud) renders decision reviewable. Remedy – review and remittal for reconsideration with directions to apply relevant policy; costs to successful applicant.
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26 April 2024 |