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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2023 |
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An interlocutory ruling on locus standi is not appealable; the appellant’s reinstated appeal was struck off the roll.
Civil procedure – locus standi – interlocutory point in limine decided under rule 33(4) – appealability – Zweni trinity (finality, definitiveness, disposal of substantial relief) – interests of justice test – condonation for late notice of appeal.
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22 December 2023 |
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Reported
Employer’s imposition of an exclusive broker unlawfully interfered with an accredited scheme’s contractual rights; territorial broker limits enforceable.
Collective agreements – parties and enforceability under LRA; accreditation by bargaining council creates separate agreement with accredited medical schemes; unlawful and intentional interference with contractual relations; Medical Schemes Act s 65 and Regulation 28 – written broker agreements and permissible content; enforceability of territorial limitations in broker agreements; waiver and variation clauses in written agreements.
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22 December 2023 |
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Whether an informal loan/AOD between friends is a credit agreement under the NCA and thus subject to registration.
National Credit Act – application to credit agreements between parties dealing at arm’s length – definition and tests for 'arm’s length' dealings; Acknowledgment of debt – whether constitutes credit agreement under s 8(4)(f); Registration as credit provider (s 40) and unlawfulness (s 40(4)/s 89); Civil procedure – Rule 33(4) separation of issues – finality and appealability; courts cautioned against inappropriate piecemeal separation.
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21 December 2023 |
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Whether landfill cells qualify as plant under s12C for depreciation and whether the respondent proved prejudice for an understatement penalty.
Income tax – s 12C(1)(a) – landfill cells designed for decomposition/biodegradation and leachate extraction constitute plant used directly in a process similar to manufacture; not mere waste-disposal assets or buildings. Tax administration – understatement penalty – Commissioner must prove prejudice under s 221 read with ss 102 and 223 of the TAA; unsupported assertions of risk are insufficient.
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18 December 2023 |
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High court wrongly set aside fee agreement as contingency fee and made unsolicited orders; settlement should be made an order of court.
Contingency Fees Act – meaning of contingency fee agreement – whether fee agreements payable on finalisation constitute CFAs; judicial oversight under s 4; audi alteram partem and limits on court ordering against non‑parties; severability of invalid contingency fee agreements from underlying settlements; court’s power to make settlement orders.
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18 December 2023 |
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Reported
Interim Equality Court interdicts are appealable in the interests of justice; no prima facie case of racial discrimination was established.
Equality Act — interim interdicts — appealability in interests of justice; Equality Act s 13 — burden of proof; prima facie case requirement in equality interim relief; bank account closures — reputational risk vs unlawful discrimination; comparator evidence and similarly‑situated analysis.
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18 December 2023 |
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Reconsideration refused; impugned TAKIS FUEGO mark cancelled for likely confusion with earlier TAKIS marks.
Trade marks – expungement – s 10(12), 10(14), 10(16), 10(17) Trade Marks Act – dominant element test – invented word TAKIS decisive – exclusion of descriptive/secondary matter – similarity of goods assessed by British Sugar factors – well‑known mark and likelihood of unfair advantage or detriment – special leave to appeal requires more than dissent in lower courts.
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14 December 2023 |
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Declaratory relief inappropriate where material disputes exist on consent to a customary marriage and validity of the antenuptial contract.
Family law – Customary marriages – Requirement of specific consent under s 3(1)(a)(ii) RCMA – Negotiations and ceremonies do not substitute for consent – Material disputes of fact preclude resolution on motion – Declaratory relief inappropriate where factual and customary-law issues require expert/oral evidence – Validity and consequences of antenuptial contract.
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14 December 2023 |
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The appeal was struck as moot and the court refused to decide unpleaded declaratory relief under section 43.
Legal Practice Act s 43 – suspension pending disciplinary proceedings – mootness and justiciability – declaratory relief not foreshadowed in notice of motion – necessity to join interested parties – proper forum and procedure for s 43 relief.
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14 December 2023 |
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Sheriffs may not demand upfront payment or withhold returns of service absent magistrate authorisation under section 14(7).
Civil procedure – Magistrates’ Courts Act and Rules – sheriffs’ fees and charges – sheriff may not demand payment of anticipated fees before serving or executing process absent magistrate authorisation under s14(7); returns of service must be furnished without delay; disputes about fees determined by taxation after service.
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8 December 2023 |
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An automatic s18(4) appeal from a single-judge order lies to the division’s full court, not to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Superior Courts Act s 17(6) and s 18(4) – automatic appeal – where order made by single judge, automatic right of appeal lies to the full court of the division (the "next highest court") – appellate jurisdiction of SCA limited accordingly.
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8 December 2023 |
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A taxing-master referral under rule 70(5A)(d)(ii) may not be used to decide fee-agreement legality; hearing rights were breached.
Practice and procedure – Uniform Rule 70(5A)(d)(ii) – scope limited to misbehaviour at taxation; not a mechanism to determine fee-agreement legality – audi alteram partem – court in chambers must afford parties an opportunity to be heard – wrong process vitiates orders.
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5 December 2023 |
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High court erred in refusing leave where reasonable prospects existed to challenge murder conviction and mandatory sentence.
Criminal law – appeal against refusal of petition for leave to appeal – test is reasonable prospects of success; Murder versus culpable homicide – whether conduct amounted to direct intent; Sentencing – assessment of substantial and compelling circumstances for deviation from prescribed minimum; Trial fairness – improper, overbearing conduct by magistrate may affect trial atmosphere.
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5 December 2023 |
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Application for condonation refused; entrapment evidence admissible and further-evidence application fails.
Criminal procedure — Condonation for inordinate delay — interests of justice — adequacy of explanation and prospects of success. Entrapment — s 252A CPA — distinction between providing opportunity and conduct going beyond opportunity — absence of authorisation not dispositive. Exclusionary rule — s 35(5) Constitution — evidence excluded only if trial unfair or admission detrimental to administration of justice. Further evidence on criminal appeal — s 19 Superior Courts Act not applicable to appeals regulated by CPA.
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4 December 2023 |
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A municipality was held liable where an open manhole, reported to its employee, caused the respondent’s injury.
Delict – municipal liability for dangerous infrastructure – prior knowledge via report to municipal employee gives rise to duty of care – wrongfulness assessed by legal convictions and public policy – negligence under Kruger v Coetzee – appellate deference to trial court credibility and evaluation of probabilities.
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1 December 2023 |
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Reported
During business rescue, business rescue practitioners have authority to represent the company in litigation affecting its property.
Company law — business rescue — construction of Chapter 6 (ss 128, 137, 140) — BRPs vested with full management control during business rescue. Civil procedure — Uniform Rule 7 authority challenge to attorneys — who may represent a company in litigation while in business rescue. Prevention of Organised Crime Act — restraint proceedings implicating company property — falls within BRPs’ authority to manage company property during business rescue. Costs — directors who act without authority in instructing litigation may be ordered to pay costs personally.
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1 December 2023 |
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Reported
Section 22 does not preclude ratepayers initiating SRAs; a municipal rates policy allowing this and SRA management bodies is lawful.
Local government – Special rating areas (SRAs) – construction of s 22 of the Municipal Property Rates Act; 'municipality' includes community under Systems Act; initiation of SRA process may be by affected ratepayers or municipality; rates policy permitting applications by owners or a non-profit management body valid; management body as implementation agency distinct from consultative forum; transfers to external management body permitted under s 67 of the MFMA subject to safeguards.
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1 December 2023 |
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Established dishonesty by an attorney ordinarily necessitates striking-off; suspension only in exceptional, conditioned circumstances.
Legal practitioner misconduct – dishonesty – Contingency Fees Act non-compliance – fraudulent billing and withholding client funds – striking-off vs suspension – exceptional circumstances required to justify suspension – conditions of suspension and rehabilitation.
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1 December 2023 |
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A final court order binds the applicant until set aside; a stay of execution is incompetent without rescission or appeal.
Civil procedure – finality of judgments – court order binds parties until set aside by appeal or rescission; stay of execution or reopening estates incompetent as collateral attack on unappealed judgment; administrative decisions (Master’s acceptance, deed transfer) effective absent review.
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1 December 2023 |
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Reported
A declaratory order to undo a 2009 share dilution was refused due to lawful authorisations, governing 1973 Act, undue delay and prescription.
Company law – declaratory relief under s 21(1)(c) Superior Courts Act – two‑stage test and exercise of discretion; validity of board and shareholder resolutions and share issuance under the 1973 Companies Act; perfection of security by allotment of shares; prescription of claims to restore shares following single act of dilution; costs – no punitive order where claim not frivolous.
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1 December 2023 |
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Reported
Applicant did not show a clear right under s 4(1) to bar remedial works identical to previously approved plans.
Civil procedure – final interdict – requisites: clear right, injury, absence of alternative remedy. Statutory interpretation – National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977 s 4(1) and definitions of "erection"/"erect" in s 1. Building approvals – remedial reconstruction carried out in accordance with previously approved plans does not, absent change or risk, require fresh approval. Abuse of process/opportunistic litigation by local authority seeking indefinite interdict.
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1 December 2023 |
| November 2023 |
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Rescission of a default/striking‑out order is interlocutory and not appealable; condonation and special leave granted to correct lower court's error.
Civil procedure – rescission of default/striking-out orders – interlocutory nature and non-appealability (Zweni triad); condonation of late filings; reinstatement and special leave to appeal where full court departs from binding authority; costs consequences for procedural non-compliance.
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30 November 2023 |
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Psychiatric and neuropsychological incapacity delayed prescription; prescription ran only from curator ad litem appointment.
Prescription – s 12(3) and s 13(1)(a) Prescription Act 68 of 1968 – running of extinctive prescription where creditor is of unsound mind – knowledge of debtor and facts – appointment of curator ad litem as commencement of prescription; evidentiary value of uncontested expert consensus; inadmissibility of hearsay relied on by appellate majority.
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28 November 2023 |
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A dismissal of an exception on a s 154(2) business-rescue point is not appealable absent a jurisdictional challenge.
Civil procedure – Appealability of interlocutory orders – Dismissal of an exception – Appealable only if it raises a true challenge to jurisdiction/competence; Companies Act s 154(2) – effect of business rescue plan on pre-rescue debts – factual and evidentiary issues to be determined at trial; Pleading – exception for failure to disclose cause of action must be assessed with regard to whether issue is jurisdictional or trial issue.
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28 November 2023 |
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Oral agreement and internal communiqué established actual authority; bald denials rejected and further forensic evidence inadmissible.
Contract — formation — authority to conclude contract — actual authority demonstrated by internal communiqué and subsequent conduct; disputes of fact on affidavits — Plascon‑Evans test and exceptions; civil procedure — admission of further evidence on appeal — requirements: explanation for lateness, prima facie truthfulness, material relevance.
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24 November 2023 |
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Interest‑free shareholder loans consented to by the deceased did not amount to oppressive or unfairly prejudicial conduct under s 163.
Company law – Oppression remedy (s 163) – interest‑free shareholder loans as advances on dividends – consent and acquiescence; Buy‑sell and indemnity‑insurance clauses – valuation and shortfall allocation; s 163(2)(j) compensation – discretionary relief bound by s 163(1) jurisdictional test; s 45 alleged breaches – not an appropriate route via oppression remedy in these facts.
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23 November 2023 |
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Special leave refused: high court’s interim and interlocutory sewerage orders were not appealable to this Court.
• Civil procedure – appealability of interim interdicts and interlocutory orders – Zweni test and interests of justice – special leave to appeal. • Municipal law – provision of sewerage services – by‑law application procedures do not preclude interim judicial relief requiring infrastructure provision. • Interim relief – status‑quo measures to address public‑health risks – not final and not ordinarily appealable. • Appeals – appeal lies against orders not reasons; piecemeal appeals discouraged.
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23 November 2023 |
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Reported
The applicant failed to prove lack of criminal capacity; appellate court dismissed the appeal.
Criminal law – Pathological incapacity – s 78(1), s 78(1A), s 78(1B), s 78(7) CPA; onus on accused to prove lack of criminal responsibility on balance of probabilities; evaluation of conflicting psychiatric evidence; amnesia and failure to testify; diminished responsibility and sentencing.
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21 November 2023 |
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Appeal rendered moot by parole and unnecessary to decide because related Ntuli judgment addressed the policy and granted relief.
Mootness and interests of justice – Superior Courts Act s 16(2)(a); Equality Act jurisdiction – designation of presiding officers of equality court; Corrections policy – use of personal laptops without modem in cells; Constitutional review and remedial relief in related authority (Ntuli).
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17 November 2023 |
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Insufficient evidence of dolus eventualis; recklessness in using proceeds did not prove fraud, and trial was fair.
Criminal law – fraud – requirement of intent – dolus eventualis must be proved by evidence of subjective foresight and acceptance of risk. Recklessness in dealing with third‑party funds does not automatically equate to dolus eventualis. Criminal procedure – unrepresented accused – adequacy of assistance and postponements to obtain legal representation.
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17 November 2023 |
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Reported
Flow‑activity exists without prior authorisation; s35 verifies land extent, s34 preserves only pre‑existing species restrictions.
Statutory interpretation – National Water Act ss 32, 34, 35, 36, 38 – 'existing lawful water use' and 'stream flow reduction activity' (commercial afforestation) – whether prior authorisation required – scope of s 34(1)(a) conditions – s 35 verification: extent measured by land area for flow activity – species exchange and regulatory competence (possible regulation as controlled activity).
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15 November 2023 |
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Respondent failed to prove pleaded market value of insured vehicle; claim dismissed and absolution granted.
Insurance — claim for loss of vehicle — plaintiff pleaded market-related value but led no evidence of market value; financier’s settlement amount does not prove pleaded quantum; plaintiff bears onus of proving damages; defendant not obliged to plead alternative quantum; absolution from instance appropriate where pleaded quantum not proved.
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15 November 2023 |
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Applicant failed to prove respondent’s firefighters caused injury; full court misinterpreted limited leave to appeal.
Special leave to appeal – limited leave – construction of court order – full court’s misdirection in revisiting misjoinder not before it – trial court functus officio on dismissed special plea – vicarious liability – onus to prove identity and causation of injury – costs: no order due to procedural misdirection.
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14 November 2023 |
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Reported
Regulator must invite and consider submissions on contravention findings, so procedural fairness under s33 is satisfied.
Constitutional law; administrative justice – Financial Sector Regulation Act – ss 154, 167 and 231 – requirement to give reasons and invite submissions including on whether a contravention occurred; application of PAJA (s 91) and subsidiarity principle; procedural fairness (s 33) in regulatory sanctioning; Tribunal reconsideration and non‑suspensive effect (s 231).
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10 November 2023 |
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An own-interest challenger lacked standing to review a lawful allocation of limited payout machines reserved by an RFP.
Administrative law – standing in judicial review – own-interest standing requires showing the decision can affect the litigant’s legal rights or interests; public-interest/interest-of-justice exception only where public interest cries out or there is fraud/gross irregularity. Gambling regulation – RFP may lawfully reserve rights to allocate machines proportionally to licensed operators; allocation to licensed operators does not require fresh advertising when RFP permits it. Delay/condonation considered but not determinative once lack of standing established.
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10 November 2023 |
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Magistrate’s failure to consider applicant’s pre‑trial detention created reasonable prospects of success on appeal against sentence.
Criminal procedure – petition against refusal of leave to appeal – appeal to SCA by special leave – test is reasonable prospect of success; Sentencing – prescribed minimum sentences – pre‑sentencing detention as one factor in proportionality assessment; misdirection by failing to consider time in custody warrants leave to appeal against sentence.
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10 November 2023 |
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Reported
A court may not grant an unclaimed monetary order; claims for repayment must be properly pleaded.
Civil procedure — pleadings define the dispute; court may not grant monetary relief not claimed — mandatory interdict to compel employer to submit pension exit documents — repayment/set-off claims must be properly pleaded; public employer obligations under pension law noted.
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9 November 2023 |
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Declaratory relief in tax disputes is a rare, discretionary remedy and generally inappropriate where TAA remedies and factual disputes remain unresolved.
Tax — Declaratory relief — Discretionary remedy under s 21(1)(c) — TAA s 105 and specialised objection/appeal machinery — Declarators in tax matters rare and exceptional — Utility and factual disputes defeat declaratory relief — Interpretation of s 11(1)(f) VAT Act.
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8 November 2023 |
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A court may not grant unsolicited orders or convert private attorney–client fee agreements into court orders.
Default judgment; unsolicited court orders; attorney-and-client fee agreements vs contingency fee agreements; Contingency Fees Act; party not entitled to convert private fee agreements into court orders; audi alteram partem — practitioners must be heard before deprivation of fees; limits on court making orders not sought.
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8 November 2023 |
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Reported
Blanket prohibition on prisoners’ in-cell personal computers unjustifiably infringes the constitutional right to further education.
Constitutional law – Right to further education (s 29(1)(b)) – Blanket ban on personal computers in prison cells – unjustified infringement; Equality Act – jurisdiction of high court as equality court – designation requirement; Limitation analysis – demonstrable justification and security evidence; Remedy – declaration of invalidity suspended; interim relief permitting registered students’ in-cell computer use (no modem), subject to inspection.
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8 November 2023 |
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Reported
Purchaser at sale in execution cannot compel a body corporate to issue a clearance certificate or dispute its claimed levies.
Property law – Sectional Titles Act s 15B(3)(a)(i)(aa) – embargo on transfer – body corporate entitled to refuse clearance certificate until all moneys due paid or satisfactorily provided; Sale in execution – purchaser’s remedies lie against sheriff not body corporate; purchaser cannot compel body corporate to issue clearance certificate or litigate its account; intervention – association with direct, substantial interest admitted.
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2 November 2023 |
| October 2023 |
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A jurisdiction clause consenting to another court does not oust a competent court’s concurrent jurisdiction; SLA held binding.
Contract law – choice‑of‑court clauses; Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 – concurrent jurisdiction of superior courts; Arbitration – arbitrator’s lack of jurisdiction to decide legality/self‑review of public authority procurement; Administrative law – delay, estoppel and challenge to tender award; Evidence – burden on party alleging regulatory non‑compliance.
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30 October 2023 |
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Reported
Preservation orders under Chapter 6 of POCA are not appealable; appeal struck from the roll with costs.
POCA — Chapter 6 preservation orders — appealability; distinction between Chapter 5 restraint orders and Chapter 6 preservation/forfeiture; Zweni test for appealability; interaction with Companies Act business rescue regime; curator bonis powers and s 47(2).
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30 October 2023 |
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Whether university decisions to refuse a degree and cancel registration are administrative or contract issues must be decided at trial.
Higher education law; student–university relationship may involve both private and public law elements; administrative action vs contractual remedy; PAJA review not appropriate where issues are intertwined with factual merits; separability under rule 33(4) and appropriateness of deciding special pleas.
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27 October 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed as moot; court declines to rule on the applicant’s invocation of party emergency powers under clause 14.2.
Civil procedure – mootness and discretion under s 16(2)(a)(i) Superior Courts Act; party constitutions – emergency powers (clause 14.2) – subjective v objective test; binding effect of consent orders; costs – attorney-and-client scale as punitive measure.
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27 October 2023 |
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An estoppel plea cannot be used to evade a contractual non-variation clause; oral cancellation was invalid and appeal dismissed.
Contract – non-variation clause – Shifren principle – oral variation or cancellation void – estoppel cannot be used to circumvent written non-variation requirement; summary judgment appropriate where estoppel plea does not disclose bona fide defence.
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25 October 2023 |
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Reported
Termination of a municipal electricity consumer agreement is contractual; unlawful occupiers lacked a direct legal interest requiring joinder.
Civil procedure – joinder – necessity to join unlawful occupiers – test is direct, substantial and legal interest in subject matter.- Municipal law – Electricity By‑laws – consumer’s right to terminate on 14 days’ notice – no municipal discretion to refuse termination.- Administrative law – PAJA – private party termination of municipal consumer agreement not administrative action absent exercise of public power.- Constitutional law – ‘special cluster of relationships’ between municipality and residents does not impose public law obligations on private landowners.
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25 October 2023 |
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Realised capital assets become income when collected and attract the 6% curator’s fee during the curatorship.
Administration of estates – Annual curator’s account – Regulation 7 requires realised capital assets to be transferred to and reflected under Income and Expenditure Account; Regulation 8(3) – tariff for curators: 6% on income collected during curatorship, 2% on capital on distribution at termination; Realised capital proceeds attract 6% when collected; Costs – award against Master for delays and unfounded allegations.
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19 October 2023 |
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A regional commissioner may not convert a family land claim into a community claim by condonation where the original claim form did not so indicate.
Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 – s 10(3) representation requirement – s 11(1) publication – s 11(2) condonation – whether condonation can convert family/individual claim into community claim – administrative law: rationality of administrative act – cut‑off date implications for new claimants.
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19 October 2023 |
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Reported
A Master’s admission of a creditor’s proved claim stands unless reviewed; it cannot be relitigated in a collusive-disposition action.
Insolvency Act s 44 – proof of claims – Master admits prima facie claims; s 45(3) – procedure for liquidator disputing proved claim; s 151 – review of Master’s decisions; s 31 – setting aside collusive dispositions; proved claim stands unless set aside on review; concursus creditorum protects creditors.
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18 October 2023 |
