|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| August 2025 |
|
|
A claim against the Road Accident Fund was dismissed where the applicant was found solely negligent for a road collision.
Delict – Road accident – Negligence – Safe following distance – Failure to call material witnesses – Burden of proof – Adverse inference – Liability for motor vehicle collision.
|
15 August 2025 |
|
The court refused to uplift the bar or grant condonation for late plea due to inadequate explanation and lack of prospects of success.
Civil procedure – application to uplift bar – condonation for late plea – good cause – explanation for delay – prospects of success – interests of justice – requirements for condonation – failure to satisfy criteria – costs.
|
8 August 2025 |
|
Court held the Trust was not responsible for paying for diesel and tyres under the contract; plaintiff’s further claims failed.
Contract – Interpretation – Commercial contracts – Allocation of responsibility for operational expenses (diesel and tyres) – Supply vs payment – Admissibility of extrinsic evidence – Distinction between express and tacit terms in contract – Failure to prove disputed invoices – Costs.
|
8 August 2025 |
|
Applicant substantially successful in urgent application, but not entitled to punitive costs in absence of grounds made out in papers.
Civil procedure – costs – application for punitive (attorney and client) costs – requirements for departure from party and party scale – absence of special circumstances justifying punitive order – costs awarded on party and party scale.
|
1 August 2025 |
|
Court orders 2021 electronic will accepted despite formal flaws due to deceased's clear intent.
Wills and estates - Validity of electronic signature on wills - Application of Wills Act section 2(3) despite non-compliance with formalities due to testator's evident intent.
|
1 August 2025 |
|
Leave to appeal dismissed where applicant failed to demonstrate reasonable prospects of success regarding inclusion of trust assets in accrual.
Civil Procedure – Leave to appeal – Criteria for granting leave to appeal – Trust law – Trust assets and accrual calculations on divorce – Section 12 of the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 – Whether trust assets may be included in accrual for matrimonial purposes where no abuse of trust form is proven – Rejection of repeated arguments and lack of reasonable prospects of success.
|
1 August 2025 |
| July 2025 |
|
|
The court dismissed a contempt application, emphasizing suspended operation of orders pending appeal.
Contempt of court – order compliance – urgency in interlocutory applications – suspension pending appeal under Superior Courts Act.
|
25 July 2025 |
|
Voluntary intoxication led to altered charges focusing on rehabilitation under supervised imprisonment.
Criminal law - Intoxication and criminal capacity - Sentencing multiple charges concurrently with focus on rehabilitation.
|
25 July 2025 |
|
The State's reliance on unreliable circumstantial evidence led to the acquittal of the accused of all charges.
Criminal Law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Reliability of a single witness – Rigor mortis - Proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
|
21 July 2025 |
|
Court reaffirms interdict against contract termination and addresses contempt of court in a breach of agreement case.
Contract law - enforcement of interim orders - contempt of court - interdictory relief - urgency in contract disputes.
|
18 July 2025 |
|
Court rules against double compensation, affirming plaintiff's right to additional damages for residual earning loss from second accident.
Delict – Road Accident Fund – Damages for past and future loss of earnings – Double compensation – Residual earning capacity
|
11 July 2025 |
|
Court dismissed an urgent application due to insufficient urgency and lacking locus standi.
Urgent application – Interlocutory relief – Urgency insufficient for departing from procedure – Locus standi of director in dispute.
|
1 July 2025 |
| June 2025 |
|
|
Regional Magistrates Court jurisdiction upheld for claims despite cause of action partly occurring outside its area.
Magistrates Court Act – Jurisdiction – Special plea – Cause of action location – Employment within jurisdiction.
|
27 June 2025 |
|
The court dismissed MEC's challenge to acting Municipal Manager's appointment, citing lack of urgency and pending ministerial waiver.
Local Government - appointment of acting Municipal Manager - legality of appointment post-retirement age - MEC's locus standi to challenge under Local Government Act - urgency requirement in declaratory relief.
|
27 June 2025 |
|
Court refused condonation and leave to appeal due to inadequate explanation for delay and lack of prospects of success.
Condonation – Late filing of application for leave to appeal – Raised new grounds impermissibly – No prospects of success.
|
20 June 2025 |
|
Court granted leave to appeal life sentence, considering personal circumstances and reasonable prospects of success.
Criminal Law – Sentencing – Appeal against life imprisonment for murder with domestic violence – Assessment of personal circumstances and seriousness of crime.
|
13 June 2025 |
|
Statutory witness protection remedy under the NPA precludes extraordinary monetary relief against SAPS for leaked witness information.
Police conduct – alleged internal leak of confidential witness information; duty to investigate and protect; Witness Protection Act – Office for Witness Protection under Minister of Justice/NPA, not SAPS; availability of statutory remedy precluding extraordinary monetary relief against SAPS; urgent relief and costs discretion.
|
13 June 2025 |
|
Assessment of general damages for plaintiff rendered paraplegic after a motor vehicle accident.
Road Accident Fund - general damages - assessment of paraplegic injuries - determination of appropriate compensation
|
13 June 2025 |
|
|
6 June 2025 |
|
Court partially upholds appeal, dismissing some convictions for insufficient evidence, but upholds rape convictions.
Criminal Law – Sexual Offences – Exposure or display of nudity to children – Rape – Duplication of charges.
|
6 June 2025 |
| May 2025 |
|
|
Leave to appeal dismissed: evidence established dolus eventualis murder and 25-year sentence was not inappropriate.
* Criminal law – murder – dolus eventualis and subjective foresight – firing multiple shots at victim from unlicensed firearm establishes intent. * Evidence – credibility and corroboration – eyewitness evidence accepted and corroborated by other witnesses; accused’s contradictory version rejected. * Appeal procedure – leave to appeal under s 17 of the Superior Courts Act requires reasonable prospects of success or compelling reasons; neither present. * Sentence – prescribed minimum sentences and deviation – reasons for deviating from life imprisonment considered and 25-year sentence not shockingly inappropriate.
|
23 May 2025 |
|
Court allowed Rule 28(4) amendment, finding no Rule 6 motion required and the amended plea not excipiable.
* Civil procedure – Pleadings – amendment under Rule 28(4) – distinction between interlocutory amendment and fresh Rule 6 notice of motion. * Pleadings – exception/excipiability – whether amended plea discloses a defence or is vague and embarrassing. * Public law/procurement – applicability of PFMA/PPPFA and s 217 Constitution to a joint venture involving a public entity. * Statutory invalidity – alleged illegality under Diamonds Act rendering contract void ab initio. * Costs – applicant for indulgence to pay costs of application and opposition.
|
23 May 2025 |
|
Court refused unpleaded constitutional/MFMA relief but ordered the municipality to pay outstanding employee salaries immediately.
Urgency in motion proceedings; entitlement to relief must be pleaded and supported in founding papers; limits on further and/or alternative relief; section 172 of the Constitution not a licence to grant unforeshadowed remedies; civil court jurisdiction under s77 BCEA to enforce payment of employees' remuneration.
|
23 May 2025 |
|
Applicant failed to prove prerequisites for a final interdict after lease termination for rental arrears; rule nisi discharged with costs.
Urgent relief — final interdict requisites (clear right; injury; no alternative remedy); attorney authority to institute and prosecute proceedings; commercial lease termination for rental arrears; PIE inapplicable to business premises.
|
16 May 2025 |
|
The court reduces a rape sentence from life imprisonment to 20 years on grounds of disproportionality of the original sentence.
Criminal law and procedure – Rape – Evaluation of single witness testimony – Discrepancies between police statement and court testimony – Sentencing – Life imprisonment – Proportionality and individualization of sentencing.
|
16 May 2025 |
|
The court upheld the juvenile's conviction and care-centre sentence for a serious sexual offense, focusing on rehabilitation.
Criminal Law – sexual offenses – child offender – guilty plea – appropriateness of rehabilitation-based sentencing in child care centre.
|
6 May 2025 |
|
Section 300 compensation orders are civil judgments and cannot impose imprisonment in default or fixed payment deadlines.
Criminal procedure – Section 300 CPA – compensation orders are compensatory and have effect of civil judgments; cannot prescribe payment deadlines or imprisonment in default; alternative imprisonment impermissible.
|
6 May 2025 |
|
Section 304A referral before sentence is exceptional; absent unfairness or irreparable prejudice, proceedings should be concluded by trial court.
Criminal procedure – section 304A Criminal Procedure Act – referral for review after conviction but before sentence – section to be invoked only in deserving cases; test for pre-finalisation intervention: unfairness and irreparable prejudice; caution against piecemeal adjudication and premature review.
|
6 May 2025 |
|
Court holds section 304A review inappropriate, remands for sentencing, emphasizing sparing use to avoid piecemeal adjudication.
Criminal Procedure - special review under section 304A - pre-sentence referral for review due to magistrate's post-verdict doubts - scope and limitations of section 304A.
|
5 May 2025 |
|
Section 18's exceptional circumstances and Calderbank costs in light of unaccepted secret settlement offers.
Civil Procedure - Application of section 18(3) Superior Courts Act - determining 'exceptional circumstances' and irreparable harm. Costs - Calderbank principle - costs reconsideration based on unaccepted settlement offers.
|
2 May 2025 |
|
Court granted interim enforcement under s18(3), applied Calderbank principle, and varied costs orders in favour of the plaintiff.
Civil procedure; Superior Courts Act s18(1) and (3) — requirements for implementation of judgment pending appeal: exceptional circumstances and irreparable harm; Calderbank (secret) offers and costs reconsideration; admissibility of further expert/actuarial evidence on appeal; costs consequences and scales (attorney-and-own-client vs scale C).
|
2 May 2025 |
| April 2025 |
|
|
|
25 April 2025 |
|
Leave to appeal refused where plaintiff failed to prove on balance of probabilities that a wet floor caused her fall.
Delict — slip-and-fall — onus of proof and preponderance of probabilities; credibility findings and overall probabilities; failure to call witnesses and adverse inferences; distinction between absolution at close of plaintiff’s case and proof on the balance of probabilities; leave to appeal under s17 Superior Courts Act — reasonable prospects of success.
|
25 April 2025 |
|
|
25 April 2025 |
|
Suspension of water supply without proof under the Insolvency Act and without representations amounted to unlawful spoliation.
Spoliation (mandament van spolie) – protection of water-use rights; Insolvency Act v Water Act – s89(5) liabilities and s44 proof of claim; s60 water charges as a charge on land; ss59(3)-(4) Water Act – requirement to allow representations; trustees’ locus standi; abuse of power and costs on attorney-and-client scale.
|
25 April 2025 |
|
Suspension of water supply was unlawful spoliation; Insolvency Act requires Water Users Association to prove pre-sequestration charges.
Water law; mandament van spolie – suspension of water supply; interplay between National Water Act ss 53–60 and Insolvency Act ss 44 and 89(5); whether water charges are liabilities incident to ownership; trustees’ locus standi; onus to justify suspension where liability disputed.
|
25 April 2025 |
|
Reported
Dismissal of appeal against extradition for breaching a custody order, fulfilling dual criminality requirements.
Extradition – International Parental Kidnapping – dual criminality – evidence sufficiency for prosecution in foreign state.
|
17 April 2025 |
|
Court determines substantial imprisonment for minor in premeditated murder, departing from life sentence due to age.
Criminal Law – Sentencing – Youthful offenders – Premeditated murder – Deviation from life sentence justifiable by age and rehabilitative potential.
|
10 April 2025 |
|
Reported
Court upholds summary judgment with key aspects on affidavit requisites under Rule 32 and validity of bank balance certificates.
Civil Procedure – Summary Judgment – Requirements for affidavit compliance under amended Rule 32 – Bank certificates of balance as prima facie evidence – Validity of non-variation clauses.
|
4 April 2025 |
| March 2025 |
|
|
Leave to appeal to the SCA granted due to reasonable prospects and novel spoliation issues concerning a business as a going concern.
Spoliation (mandament van spolie) – restoration of possession irrespective of underlying rights; qualification where applicant claims substantive right to possession; whether revocation of corporate resolution can justify dispossession; spoliation of a business as a going concern – paucity of jurisprudence; leave to appeal – reasonable prospects of success and compelling reasons to refer to SCA.
|
28 March 2025 |
|
Disconnection of shared water supply was a contractual dispute, not unlawful spoliation; urgent relief dismissed with costs.
Spoliation — mandament van spolie — possession of utilities — supply of water as incident of possession — contractual/personal rights insufficient for spoliatory relief; urgency; interdictory relief requirements.
|
28 March 2025 |
|
Reported
Municipality not in contempt but held to improve sewage management to meet environmental standards.
Environmental Law – Water pollution and sewage treatment compliance – Requirements for structured interdict and contempt findings against municipalities.
|
24 March 2025 |
|
A court may not rescind another court’s interim interdict mero motu without notice or affording affected parties a fair hearing.
* Civil procedure – Rule 42(1)(a) – limits on mero motu rescission of orders – notice and audi alteram partem required.
* Procedural fairness – s 34 Constitution – court must not decide issues or make adverse findings against persons without giving reasonable opportunity to be heard.
* Contempt of court – enforcement of interim interdicts – availability of contempt proceedings versus statutory remedies under the Administration of Estates Act.
* Judicial function – bounds of adjudication; courts must confine decision to matters on the record and before them.
|
19 March 2025 |
|
Whether a judgment and emoluments attachment order obtained in an incorrect magistrate's district are void ab origine and who must make restitution and pay costs.
• Magistrates' Courts Act s 45 – consent to jurisdiction; judgment must be entered in court agreed by parties. • Emoluments attachment orders – must be issued from court of debtor’s residence, business or employment; orders obtained in wrong forum void ab origine. • Rescission (s 36(1)(b)) – void judgments may be rescinded and parties restored to status quo ante. • Restitution – rescindable benefits restituted to debtor; attorneys only liable if they received rescindable benefit. • Costs – attorney-and-client costs warranted where attorney acted improperly in forum-shopping or caused prejudice.
|
14 March 2025 |
|
Exception upheld: particulars vague and embarrassing; plaintiff granted leave to amend and ordered to pay costs.
Pleadings — vagueness and embarrassment — Rule 23(1) and Rule 18(4)/(10) — multiplicity of causes of action pleaded without requisite particularity — damages estimates must enable reasonable assessment of quantum — Rule 30 procedural challenge withdrawn — condonation for late filing inadequately explained.
|
14 March 2025 |
|
The applicant’s leave to appeal was refused; procedural and evidentiary complaints did not undermine the murder conviction.
Criminal law — application for leave to appeal — admissibility of child witnesses via intermediary and role of sworn interpreter; refusal to call witness under s186 CPA; assessment of contradictions and corroboration; expert evidence on weapon characteristics; test for leave to appeal (reasonable prospects and compelling reasons).
|
14 March 2025 |
|
Urgent interim relief based on a Rule 45(5) undertaking was refused; execution suspension pending rescission was not justified.
Urgency — self-created urgency and notice by sheriff; Rule 45(5) undertakings — scope and limits; rescission of default judgment — procedural route (R31/ R42/ common law), timeousness and prospects; stay/suspension of execution — irreparable harm and interests of justice; costs — party-and-party scale B.
|
14 March 2025 |
|
Sentencing considered statutory guidelines, individual roles, and personal circumstances for robbery and murder convictions.
Criminal Law - Sentencing - Minimum sentences - Substantial and compelling circumstances justifying departure from statutory minimum sentences.
|
11 March 2025 |
|
Traumatic brain injury caused permanent loss of earning capacity; R3,646,157 awarded plus section 17 undertaking.
Road Accident Fund – quantum – traumatic brain injury: assessment of general damages and loss of earning capacity based on neuropsychological, educational and actuarial evidence; admissibility of expert opinion supported by collateral school and workplace records; application of contingencies to earning projections; section 17(4)(a) undertaking for future medical costs.
|
8 March 2025 |
|
The collision was caused by the sole negligence of the insured driver; thus, RAF is 100% liable.
Road Accident Fund – Negligence – Sole negligence of insured driver – Section 19(f) affidavit submission.
|
7 March 2025 |