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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2026 |
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LPC may approach the High Court pre-discipline; respondent struck off for trust-account mismanagement and practising without an FFC.
Legal Practice Council – section 44 and inherent/common law powers to approach High Court pre-discipline; practising without Fidelity Fund Certificate; failure to lodge audit reports and pay fees; serious trust-account mismanagement/misappropriation; fit-and-proper standard; striking off and appointment of curator bonis; punitive costs.
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2 March 2026 |
| February 2026 |
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Negligent swapping of stillborn remains does not warrant damages absent expert evidence of a detectable psychiatric injury.
Medical negligence – mortuary misidentification and wrongful burial – emotional shock claims require proof of a detectable psychiatric injury – expert psychiatric evidence necessary for compensable damages.
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27 February 2026 |
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Municipal unilateral rezoning without statutorily required procedures is ultra vires and not insulated from PAJA review.
Administrative law; PAJA s7(2) exhaustion; SPLUMA; municipal land‑use; unlawful unilateral rezoning; ultra vires; Pieterse NO v Lephalale; separate regulatory domains (planning vs petroleum); punitive costs.
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27 February 2026 |
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Urgent review premature under PAJA; Premier lawfully complied with SCA and North West Act s14; application struck for lack of urgency.
Administrative law – urgency – PAJA s5 90‑day reasons period – premature review; Traditional leadership – North West Act s14 – only Moruleng Royal Family may resolve succession; Extra‑territorial resolutions (Mochudi, Botswana) invalid; Compliance with Supreme Court of Appeal order; Self‑created urgency; Costs on Scale C Rule 67A.
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25 February 2026 |
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Appeal struck where condonation for late noting was sought in High Court instead of the magistrate as required.
Criminal procedure — Appeal from regional court — Rule 67(5A)(a)(i) MCR and s 309(2) CPA — Ten‑day rule for life sentences — Condonation for late noting must be sought from magistrate — Appeal struck where condonation sought in High Court.
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24 February 2026 |
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Default judgment rescinded where applicant’s ICU hospitalisation and last-minute attorney withdrawal constituted good cause and prima facie defence.
Rescission of default judgment; Rule 42(1)(a) and common-law good cause; medical incapacity and last-minute attorney withdrawal; procedural irregularity in discovery order requiring compliance ‘15 days before trial’ without a trial date; bona fide defence with prima facie prospects; costs awarded to respondent on Scale C of Rule 67A.
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23 February 2026 |
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Applicants failed to show reasonable prospects that an appeal would succeed against an interim interdict suspending disciplinary proceedings.
Superior Courts Act s17(1)(a) — "would" threshold for leave to appeal; interlocutory/urgency rulings — non-appealable; interim interdict pendente lite — preserves status quo and ordinarily not appealable; doctrine of legality — authority to institute disciplinary proceedings; balance of convenience — irreversible prejudice vs temporary delay; costs — trial court's discretion not lightly disturbed.
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20 February 2026 |
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Failure to disclose material facts in an ex parte application led to discharge of order and potential personal costs liability for the applicant.
Civil procedure – urgent ex parte applications – duty of full and frank disclosure – material non‑disclosure by applicant justifies setting aside ex parte order; locus standi and authority to depose to affidavits – deponents with personal knowledge competent; costs – personal (de bonis propriis) and attorney-and-client scale may be ordered against state official for wilful/non-disclosure.
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20 February 2026 |
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Police and prosecuting authority held jointly liable for unlawful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution; R350,000 awarded.
Unlawful arrest and detention – s 40(1)(b) CPA – reasonable suspicion – legal and factual causation – malicious prosecution – joint and several liability of Minister of Police and prosecuting authority – quantum for detention and stigma (R350,000).
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20 February 2026 |
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Appeal allowed in part: duplicated rape counts quashed; life sentences on primary rape counts confirmed and ordered to run concurrently.
Criminal law – Duplication of convictions for rape – impermissible splitting of charges where repeated penetration in same encounter should be charged as single count; DNA evidence – admissibility and weight where not contested; Sentencing – section 51(1) and Schedule 2 prescribed life sentences, substantial and compelling circumstances required to deviate; s280 concurrency order.
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19 February 2026 |
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Ex parte order authorising sale of estate property set aside for non‑compliance with s 47 and material non‑disclosure; punitive personal costs.
Administration of estates – Section 47 Administration of Estates Act – Executor's sale of immovable property – Heirs' written approval and Master's role in deadlock – Ex parte proceedings and duty of uberrima fides – Non‑disclosure and failure to join interested parties – Actio communi dividundo inapplicable where statute prescribes procedure – Rescission and punitive costs.
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16 February 2026 |
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Whether a testamentary executor should be removed under s 54(1)(a)(v) absent evidence of dishonesty or mismanagement.
Administration of Estates Act s54(1)(a)(v) – removal of executor – strict discretion; freedom of testation – mere hostility insufficient; alleged conflict of interest; accounting of trust funds; executor’s duty to protect estate; condonation for late affidavit.
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16 February 2026 |
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First mortgage bond cessionary entitled to rental proceeds; second bondholder must account to liquidators and rectification claim dismissed.
Insolvency law – concursus creditorum – prohibition on individual appropriation of estate assets; Real security – priority of first registered mortgage bond over second covering bond; Rectification – claim not prescribed but succeeds only on clear evidence of common intention; Caveat subscriptor – signatory bound by document and prolonged acquiescence; Waiver – requires clear, unequivocal intention.
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16 February 2026 |
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The applicant’s lapsed appeal reinstated despite a weak explanation because an irregular replying affidavit likely caused gross injustice.
Condonation and reinstatement of lapsed appeal; appellant’s duty to give full explanation for delay; prospects of success v. flagrant non‑compliance; summary judgment procedure—impermissibility of replying affidavits under Magistrates’ Court Rule 14; interest of justice; costs for negligent prosecution of appeal.
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12 February 2026 |
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Warrantless arrest was unlawful: officer lacked objectively reasonable suspicion and failed to verify possession under ss 40(1)(b) and (e).
Unlawful arrest and detention — Criminal Procedure Act ss 40(1)(b) and 40(1)(e) — reasonable suspicion standard — Mabona test — hearsay must be corroborated — possession requirement for s 40(1)(e) — police discretion to arrest.
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12 February 2026 |
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Failure to note an appeal in the Regional Court bars the High Court from hearing it; appeal struck from the roll.
Criminal procedure — Appeal — Noting v prosecution of appeal; s 309(2) Criminal Procedure Act — exclusive power in magistrate to extend noting period; Magistrates' Court Rule 67 — furnishing grounds to magistrate; High Court lacks jurisdiction to condone late noting; appeal struck from roll.
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11 February 2026 |
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Court awarded applicant past and future loss of earning capacity, applying a 20% post‑morbid contingency absent unique risk factors.
Delict — Motor vehicle accident — Loss of earning capacity — Assessment of past and future loss — Contingency deductions; Southern Insurance Association Ltd v Bailey NO applied — Rule 38(2) affidavit evidence permitted — Default judgment where notice of bar ignored — Quantum awarded for diminished capacity of a street vendor.
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11 February 2026 |
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Whether a magistrate-recorded statement required a trial-within-a-trial and whether circumstantial/forensic evidence proved murder beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — admissibility of confessions/ admissions — trial within a trial where voluntariness or infringement of rights disputed; right to legal representation when statement taken; circumstantial evidence — Blom and Chabalala principles; self-defence plea and evidential burden; appellate review of factual findings.
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10 February 2026 |
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Applicant’s statutory biosecurity duties justified an interdict regulating livestock movement across its farm despite respondents’ historical access.
Animal Diseases Act – biosecurity and movement controls – Control Measures for cloven-hoof animals – interim interdict – regulation of livestock movement across private farm – balancing statutory disease-control duties against historical access.
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9 February 2026 |
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Prior dismissal for insufficiency of proof does not bar new PIE eviction; verbal ‘sweat equity’ cannot transfer land.
Property law – Eviction under PIE Act – res judicata – continued occupation constitutes new cause of action; Alienation of Land Act – written deed required to transfer immovable property; registered owner’s vindicatory rights – just and equitable inquiry under s 4(7) PIE; costs on Magistrates’ Court scale.
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9 February 2026 |
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Court set aside Department’s refusal to fund child-protection NPOs, directing SLAs and designation certificates within 10 days.
Administrative law — Judicial review under PAJA — Reasonableness and procedural fairness of funding decisions; Children’s rights (s28 Constitution) — State duty to provide/procure child-protection services; Section 107 Children’s Act — designation of child protection organisations; Funding of NPOs and SLAs — budgeting/planning obligations of the State; Urgency; Substitution remedy — exceptional circumstances under s8(1)(c)(ii)(aa) PAJA (Trencon principles).
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9 February 2026 |
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Court appointed interim curatrix ad personam, ordered disclosure and delivery of patient, and interdicted obstruction and threats.
Guardianship/curator bonis – interdictory relief to compel disclosure and prevent obstruction – best interests of an adult with intellectual disability paramount – appointment of interim curatrix ad personam – threats and unlawful practice by unregistered representative – stay pending rescission unsustainable without counter‑application – costs on attorney and client scale.
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9 February 2026 |
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Approximately two years’ pre‑sentence detention did not justify reducing the 15‑year minimum for armed robbery.
Criminal law – sentencing – prescribed minimum sentences – pre-sentence detention not automatically substantial and compelling – proportionality assessment – Radebe; Ludidi.
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5 February 2026 |
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Lender’s waiver of conditions and enforceable non-variation clause upheld; debt and execution against commercial property granted.
Facility agreement – conditions precedent and waiver; Non-variation clause – Shifren principle and estoppel; Pactum de non petendo – oral amendment; Public policy and interest rates in commercial lending; National Credit Act applicability to juristic persons and sureties; Executability of commercial immovable property.
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5 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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Leave to appeal refused where applicant failed to show reasonable prospects that trial court misapplied standards on medical negligence and evidence.
Medical negligence — standard of care and causation — evaluation of expert evidence — plea in bare denial — negative inference for failure to call crucial clinical witnesses — application for leave to appeal under s 17(1) Superior Courts Act.
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30 January 2026 |
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Applicant’s particulars disclosed a contractual cause of action; exceptions for vagueness and non‑disclosure were dismissed.
Civil procedure — Exception under Rule 23 — Whether particulars disclose cause of action — Pleading requirements (facta probanda vs facta probantia) — Vagueness and embarrassment — Insurance brokeral duty to procure adequate cover — Section 63 Close Corporations Act — Personal liability for omission of "CC" suffix.
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30 January 2026 |
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Appellant's challenge to conviction and sentence for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm dismissed; findings and firearms order upheld.
Criminal law – Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm – credibility of eyewitnesses – immaterial discrepancies – medical evidence not dispositive – voluntary intoxication not a defence to intentional violence against a vulnerable victim – sentencing discretion – consequential firearms prohibition (s103(1) Firearms Control Act).
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27 January 2026 |
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No jurisdiction to challenge conviction without section 309C petition; seven-year sentence for firearm attempted murder upheld.
Criminal law – Appeal and jurisdiction – where trial court grants leave only as to sentence and no section 309C petition exists, appeal against conviction not before court; Sentencing – attempted murder involving a firearm – seriousness, deterrence and community protection outweigh personal mitigation; appellate interference only for misdirection, irregularity or shocking inappropriateness; Firearms Control Act s103(1) – automatic disqualification confirmed.
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27 January 2026 |
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Interim relief granted protecting director/shareholder rights and ordering payment of terminated director remuneration pending final determination.
Company law – interim relief protecting director/shareholder rights – interaction with labour dispute before CCMA; urgency and self-created delay; prima facie right to director remuneration; s71 Companies Act compliance for removal of directors.
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26 January 2026 |
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Whether the defendant is liable for unpaid landscaping services where an employee accepted quotations and partial payments.
Contract/quantum — performance and claim for unpaid landscaping and plant-hire services; agency/authority — employee’s acceptance and signed invoices as binding on employer; inspection in loco — measurement and amendment of particulars; evidence — weight of photographs and WhatsApp communications; adverse inference for failure to call available corroborative witness; counterclaim dismissed for lack of evidence.
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26 January 2026 |
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Court refused strike-out and referred contested factual disputes about land allocation, title authenticity and alleged encroachment to oral evidence.
Civil procedure – Motion proceedings – Striking out replying affidavit – test for scandalous, vexatious, irrelevant or new matter; Civil procedure – Referral to oral evidence under Uniform Rule 6(5)(g) where genuine disputes of fact exist; Land law – Customary land allocation, authenticity of allocation certificate, alleged donation and boundary disputes; Uniform Rules 30/30A – procedural challenge to referral to oral evidence dismissed; Discovery – Uniform Rule 35 to apply for hearing.
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26 January 2026 |
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Court referred disputed will validity (capacity, undue influence, signature authenticity) to oral evidence under Rule 6(5)(g).
Rule 6(5)(g) – referral to oral evidence in motion proceedings – disputed testamentary capacity, undue influence and signature authenticity – Plascon-Evans principles – interests of justice – procedural case management for viva voce hearing.
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21 January 2026 |
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Whether an account-statement request interrupted prescription and whether s127 NCA notices and certificate of balance suffice for summary judgment.
Summary judgment — prescription — interruption by acknowledgement of debt under s14 Prescription Act — compliance with s127(2) and s127(5) National Credit Act — electronic delivery and track-and-trace evidence — certificate of balance prima facie proof — sale for highest reasonably obtainable price (s127/128).
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20 January 2026 |
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Whether a judgment creditor may intervene to set aside an ex parte curatorship order that stayed execution against trust property.
Civil procedure – Intervention (Rule 12) – Direct and substantial interest; Urgent ex parte relief (Rule 6) – duty of full and frank disclosure (uberrima fides); Reconsideration under Rule 6(12)(c) – limits and relation to intervention; Trusts – beneficiaries’ interests and trustees’ remedies; Res judicata/functus officio – impermissible collateral attack on final judgment; Beningfield exception – scope and limits; Curator/curatrix ad litem – investigatory role v litigant status; Costs – punitive attorney-and-client scale for non-disclosure and abuse of process.
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19 January 2026 |
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Application to rescind POCA forfeiture dismissed for failure to seek condonation and fatal affidavit commissioning irregularities.
Forfeiture – POCA s 53(3) rescission – peremptory 20‑day rule and condonation principles (Melane) – motion practice – three‑set rule; confirmatory affidavits; commissioning and Regulation 4(1) compliance – inadmissibility and hearsay – absence of material deponent affidavit.
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16 January 2026 |
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Appellants' appeal dismissed; trial without assessors and s176 correction of judgment upheld; life sentences affirmed.
Criminal law – Murder – Common purpose (s 51(1) read with Schedule 2 Part 1) – Trial without assessors – s93ter and counsel’s waiver – Amendment of judgment under s176 Criminal Procedure Act – Life sentence – Substantial and compelling circumstances.
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12 January 2026 |
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Applicant’s project-manager appointment upheld; later appointment and SLA with another consultant set aside for tender non-compliance (expired registration).
Procurement law; public tender compliance; PAJA review; non-responsiveness for expired professional registration; s 217 Constitution — fairness, competitiveness and transparency; declaratory relief under Superior Courts Act s 21(1)(c); contract variation from turnkey to traditional appointment; termination by conduct vs formal termination.
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9 January 2026 |
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Claim for unlawful detention dismissed: court confined to stated case; no pleaded liability against the Minister.
Delict — Unlawful detention — Liability of Minister of Justice and Correctional Services — Stated case (Rule 33) — Court confined to four corners of agreed facts and pleadings — Mtokonya applied — No pleaded case against registrar/Department of Justice; no liability.
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5 January 2026 |
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Court declares the communal association’s AGM election unlawful; orders disclosure, fresh elections and temporary state administration.
Communal Property Associations Act – AGM and committee elections – constitutionality and compliance with association constitution – PAJA and administrative action – principle of legality as alternative review – effectiveness of s10 internal remedy – disclosure and temporary administration pending fresh elections.
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5 January 2026 |
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Court declared the communal association AGM election unlawful; ordered disclosure, new elections and interim administration.
Communal Property Associations Act – AGM and committee elections – constitutionality and procedural compliance – not administrative action under PAJA but reviewable under principle of legality – section 10 internal remedy discretionary and ineffective where Director‑General fails to act – disclosure of records and interim administration ordered.
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5 January 2026 |
| December 2025 |
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Loss of support awarded; 20% remarriage contingency applied and funeral costs limited to necessary burial expenses.
Road Accident Fund – loss of support – duty to support under Constitution and Children’s Act – minor children limited to age 18 – contingencies (general and remarriage) – remarriage contingency set at 20% despite actuarial 53% – funeral costs limited to necessary burial/cremation under s 18(4).
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23 December 2025 |
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Whether secession complied with church rules and whether vague catch‑all respondents could be interdicted; appeal partly upheld.
Church governance — secession of congregation — compliance with internal Church Order (Stipulation 45) — effect of extant court order — Rule 7(1) authority challenges — non‑joinder of broad ‘catch‑all’ respondents — access to courts (s 34) — interdictory relief to protect worship premises.
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22 December 2025 |
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Section 22 penalises perjury before the legislature and does not, on its proper construction, breach the privilege against self-incrimination.
Constitutional law — privilege against self-incrimination — provincial immunities — s 22 (perjury) — does not compel testimony or punish silence — subsidiarity — s 23 certificate staying proceedings — admissibility and hearsay rules; s 35(5) procedure.
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19 December 2025 |
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Reading a defamatory national publication in the forum vests that court with jurisdiction; dismissal for lack of jurisdiction was wrongful.
Civil procedure — Jurisdiction in defamation — Publication occurs where plaintiff reads or accesses material; concurrent jurisdiction permitted. Procedural compliance — Uniform Rules 7(2), 49(13)(a) — condonation and reinstatement. Pleadings — late amendment does not lapse where consent given; court should not mero motu decide issues outside pleadings. Costs — separation application costs to be costs in the cause; successful appellant entitled to appeal costs.
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18 December 2025 |
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Court granted urgent interdict preventing escrow disbursement pending review, finding prima facie right and balance of convenience in applicant’s favour.
Urgency – interim interdict – preservation of escrow funds – prima facie right and balance of convenience – inability to revoke investment manager’s release – costs follow the cause; review grounds of irrationality and unlawful procurement of transaction.
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12 December 2025 |
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Premier must decide on recognition of an applicant identified as kgosana under s19 within a set timeframe.
Traditional leadership — Identification and recognition of kgosana under s19 — Two‑stage process: Royal Family identification (s19(1)-(2)) then Premier recognition (s19(3)) — Mandatory relief to compel administrative decision — Res judicata and affidavit‑locus challenges dismissed — Costs awarded.
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12 December 2025 |
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Whether an incomplete record and unused DNA evidence justified setting aside a rape conviction.
Criminal law – rape – evaluation of direct evidence and single witness testimony – evidential weight of plea explanations – admissible but unused DNA report – completeness of appeal record – recalling witnesses to put a changed defence version.
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12 December 2025 |
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Appeal struck for material non-compliance due to missing trial record and failure to file heads and practice note.
Criminal appeal — Appeal struck for material non-compliance with Uniform Rules of Court — Missing essential portion of trial record — Failure to file heads of argument and practice note — No answering affidavit or condonation — Appeal Backlog Project and on-paper adjudication.
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12 December 2025 |
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Unlawful arrest and assault: awards limited by high contingencies; speculative future medical costs dismissed.
Delict — Unlawful arrest and detention with assault — assessment of quantum — evidentiary weight of late retrospective medical and vocational expert reports — application of high contingencies to actuarial loss projections — dismissal of speculative future private medical expenses absent proof of probable personal liability.
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12 December 2025 |
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Urgent application struck; SARS joined and statutory detention under the Customs Act held lawful, spoliation unavailable.
Customs and Excise Act — detention of goods under ss.87, 88 and 102; Rule 12 joinder of SARS as detaining authority; urgency requirements for urgent relief; spoliation cannot lie against lawful statutory detention.
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10 December 2025 |