|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| October 2024 |
|
|
Reported
Arbitration clause required an existing mutual "difference or dispute"; unilateral referral without consent was invalid.
Contract law; arbitration clause interpretation – requirement of an existing "difference or dispute" and mutual wish to arbitrate; unilateral referral invalid; competence‑competence; arbitrator lacked jurisdiction; awards set aside; costs and repayment of arbitrator's fees ordered.
|
4 October 2024 |
|
Reported
Non‑compliance with a Banks Act repayment directive can suffice for provisional sequestration without proving factual insolvency.
Banks Act — ss 83 and 84 — repayment directive and management of repayment — s 83(3)(b) deeming non‑compliance an act of insolvency — s 84(1A)(c) requiring administrator’s report on insolvency — distinction between commercial and factual insolvency for natural persons — provisional sequestration and advantage to creditors.
|
2 October 2024 |
|
Payment into an attorney’s trust account alone does not create a continuing fiduciary duty to account absent a mandate or other basis.
Deceased estates – duty to account – claim for accounting must be founded on contract, statute or fiduciary duty. Attorney‑client trust accounts – mere deposit into trust account does not automatically create continuing fiduciary duty; mandate required. Family arrangements and gifts – personal relationships may support transfers; plausibility assessed under Plascon‑Evans in motion proceedings. Locus – Beningfield exception considered where non‑executor seeks to impugn estate transactions.
|
2 October 2024 |
|
Reported
A trust-deed clause may validly require a trustee’s resignation, subject to statutory safeguards and beneficiaries’ interests.
Law of trusts – trustee removal – trust deed clause empowering remaining trustees to require a trustee’s resignation; interpretation subject to Trust Property Control Act (s 9 and s 20); not administrative action but fairness required; ex parte relief procured on falsehoods; enforceability where removal is in interests of trust and beneficiaries; costs personal for bad faith conduct.
|
1 October 2024 |
|
Reported
An admiralty court may join a foreign third party under s 5(1) to decide substantially similar issues, but such joinder orders are not ordinarily appealable.
Admiralty jurisdiction – s 5(1) Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act – joinder of peregrinus third parties – disjunctive construction of categories permitting joinder where issue is substantially the same – power to avoid multiplicity of proceedings and conflicting foreign judgments; confidentiality of foreign arbitration documents – joinder to determine production; interlocutory joinder orders generally not appealable absent interests of justice.
|
1 October 2024 |
|
Reported
Rule 15 does not permit post‑judgment substitution of a person for an office; appeal struck as moot and costs awarded against the applicant.
• Civil procedure – Uniform Rule 15 – substitution: applies to change of status, not change of persona; does not avail post‑judgment or in SCA. • Civil procedure – SCA Rule 5 – power of attorney: attorney challenged must produce authority; otherwise precluded from acting. • Constitutional/administrative law – mootness/practical effect: s 16(2)(a)(i) Superior Courts Act – appeal dismissed where no practical effect. • Judicial review – interlocutory committee rulings – in media res/piecemeal review not permitted absent exceptional circumstances.
|
1 October 2024 |
| September 2024 |
|
|
Original title-holders have standing; trial court erred in raising an unpleaded privity issue mero motu, appeal upheld and matter remitted.
Civil procedure – intervention and joinder – whether original title-holding congregations have direct and substantial interest – intervention granted; Civil procedure – judicial restraint – court raising unpleaded issue mero motu – limits under Fischer and prejudice to parties; Contract law – privity of contract – not determinative where dispute concerns authority under constitutive documents; Property/Church law – authority of congregations to alienate assets governed by Constitution and Church Order; Remittal and costs for judicial misdirection.
|
30 September 2024 |
|
Applicant’s convictions for premeditated murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances are confirmed.
Criminal law – Murder – Premeditation can be inferred from manner of killing, restraint and surrounding conduct; Robbery with aggravating circumstances – overcoming resistance by tying victim and subsequent taking of property distinguishes robbery from theft; Circumstantial and forensic evidence, supported by admissions and video footage, may sustain convictions.
|
26 September 2024 |
|
Reported
Interlocutory reinstatement was appealable; applicants failed to show prima facie right or irreparable harm for interim relief.
Administrative law – interim interdict – appealability of interlocutory order where order has final effect; mootness – practical effect and reappointment prospects; requirements for interim relief (prima facie right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience); procedural fairness under PAJA – contextual reasonableness of notice period; caution against courts making final determinations on interlocutory record; punitive costs inappropriate on interlocutory findings.
|
17 September 2024 |
|
Reported
s 6(4) HDSA protects purchasers only where entrusted funds remain in a practitioner’s trust account at developer insolvency.
Statutory interpretation – HDSA s 6(3)(a) and s 6(4) – protective refund mechanism triggers only where amounts are kept in a practitioner’s trust account at the time of developer insolvency; practitioner not liable to purchaser where funds were disbursed to developer before insolvency; Rule 33(4) separation of issues and intertwined factual/legal matters.
|
13 September 2024 |
|
Whether the applicant had reasonable prospects of success on appeal based on private defence and sentencing considerations.
Criminal procedure – petition under s 309C – whether leave to appeal should have been granted; private defence – requirements, imminence and proportionality; single-witness credibility and appraisal of conflicting versions; competent verdict of culpable homicide; sentence – substantial and compelling circumstances and minimum sentences.
|
13 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
|
|
Reported
High court erred in imposing maximum LEMA sentence without regard to offender status or custody time.
Criminal law – sentencing – rhino poaching – interpretation and application of s 117(1)(a) Limpopo Environmental Management Act – when maximum sentence appropriate – proper allowance for time spent in custody – misdirection by reliance on speculative evidence of prior offending.
|
30 August 2024 |
|
Reported
A regional manager’s s22 acceptance is non-final; the Director-General must properly consider condonation for late internal appeals.
MPRDA s22/s23 – RM’s acceptance role is clerical/mechanical and non-final; functus officio doctrine; s9 queueing (order of receipt) protects earlier compliant applications; s96 internal appeal and condonation – DG must apply established condonation factors (Aurecon); RM decisions are administrative action reviewable under PAJA.
|
16 August 2024 |
|
Reported
The SAHRC may investigate and assist to secure redress but may not issue binding remedial directives; courts enforce remedies.
Constitutional law; Chapter 9 institutions; SAHRC powers; s 184(2)(b) Constitution; s 13(3) SAHRC Act; binding directives; remedial powers; distinction from Public Protector; access to water; enforcement via courts.
|
15 August 2024 |
|
Reported
Refund claims denied: strict s64F(1)(b) and ITAC permit requirements unmet; wide tariff appeal upheld and dismissed.
Customs and excise – nature of s 47(9)(e) tariff appeals – appeal in the wide sense permitting rehearing; Commissioner may advance additional legitimate grounds. Statutory construction – s 64F(1)(b), s 75, rule 64F and rule 19A4.04 – licensed distributor must obtain fuel from stocks of the licensee at a licensed manufacturing warehouse and comply strictly with Schedule 6 conditions. Export controls – ITA Act permits required for export of restricted goods (diesel); absence of permit precludes refund.
|
6 August 2024 |
|
Reported
Trustees failed to render a proper account; defective trust deed justified termination under s 13 and costs de bonis propriis.
Trust Property Control Act — s 13 variation/termination of trust; s 20 removal of trustees — distinct remedies; trustee duty to account; adequacy of accounting; defective trust deed provisions; costs de bonis propriis for fiduciary failures.
|
2 August 2024 |
| July 2024 |
|
|
Arbitration interrupted prescription for both principal debtor and sureties; dismissed counterclaim estops relitigation, so leave to appeal refused.
Contract law – suretyship and co-principal debtor obligations; Prescription Act – interruption/delay by arbitration (s 13(1)(f)); Arbitration Act – stay and arbitration award made an order of court; Res judicata / issue estoppel – dismissal of counterclaim in arbitration bars relitigation; Leave to appeal – reasonable prospects of success under s 17(1) Superior Courts Act.
|
25 July 2024 |
|
Reported
Section 96 responses are not reviewable under PAJA; s64F requires direct acquisition from licensee warehouse stocks.
Customs and excise — section 96(1) pre-litigation notices — response not administrative action under PAJA; statutory construction of s64F(1)(b) — 'obtained from stocks of a licensee' requires direct acquisition from licensed warehouse stocks; refund of excise duty/fuel levy — strict compliance with Schedule 6, Note 10 and rules (64F.04, 64F.06, 19A4.04) necessary; evidential onus to prove origin of goods.
|
24 July 2024 |
|
Admissible supplementary affidavit revealed respondents had cancelled the contract, extinguishing their occupancy right; eviction ordered as just and equitable on compassionate terms.
Eviction – PIE Act s 4(6)/(7); admissibility of further affidavits — substance over form; election/cancellation of contract — approbation and reprobation; cancellation extinguishes contractual right to occupy; just and equitable eviction — balance of interests and provision of alternative accommodation/relief for vulnerable occupiers.
|
24 July 2024 |
|
A unilateral or attorney-caused calculation error does not justify varying a final divorce settlement for common mistake.
Family law – divorce settlement – variation of settlement incorporated as court order – common mistake/justus error; Compromise and res judicata – finality of settlement agreements; Test for mistake – misrepresentation, blame and whether reasonable party was misled; Appealability – whether regional court variation order was final in effect.
|
24 July 2024 |
|
Reported
Whether a statutory regulator exceeded its statutory powers and failed to afford procedural fairness in prescribing fees.
Administrative law – statutory regulator’s fee-prescribing powers; administrative action under PAJA; time-bar under s 7 PAJA; ultra vires and irrationality of percentage-based Category C assurance fees (s 8(2)(b) read with s 47(2)); lawfulness of tax-practitioner recognition fees (s 8(2)(c)); procedural fairness and PAJA notice-and-comment obligations; gazetting requirement and expiry of annual fees.
|
22 July 2024 |
|
Reported
Angling defined as 'manual' rod-and-line fishing excludes motorised, remote-controlled bait-carrying devices; appeal dismissed with costs.
• Environmental and fisheries law – Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 – interpretation of 'angling' in regulations as 'manually' operating rod, reel and line – exclusion of motorised/remote-controlled devices.
• Administrative action – public notice by fisheries authority prohibiting motorised bait-carrying devices for recreational angling – lawfulness tested by statutory interpretation.
• Permits – s13 recreational fishing permits must be exercised subject to permit conditions and endorsed method of fishing.
|
16 July 2024 |
|
A prima facie showing that trusts and companies hold assets for defendants suffices to sustain POCA restraint orders; appeals dismissed.
POCA — Chapter 5 restraint orders; meaning of "realisable property" and when property held by third parties is "held" by a defendant (control, use, benefit); standard in restraint applications — prima facie case; trusts and corporate vehicles used to hold assets; effect of company liquidation on restraint; protection of minority shareholders (s 30(3)).
|
16 July 2024 |
|
A "tax debt" need not be assessed at the time of dissipation; s50 inquiry transcripts are admissible in civil proceedings.
Tax administration — s 183 TAA — third‑party liability for assisting dissipation of taxpayer assets — meaning of "tax debt" (existence prior to assessment; assessment determines amount but underlying liability arises by operation of law); Evidence — s 50 inquiry transcripts — s 56(4) permits use of sworn inquiry evidence in subsequent civil proceedings subject to s 57(2) protections and s 69 confidentiality qualifications; trial court to assess probative value and fairness.
|
12 July 2024 |
|
Reported
A municipality may counter‑spoliate only within a narrow 'instanter' window; demolishing occupied structures without court order unlawful.
Property law – counter‑spoliation (contra spolie) – narrow 'instanter' requirement – possessory and animus elements; Constitutional rights – s 10 dignity, s 14(c) privacy (protection against seizure of possessions), s 26(3) protection against eviction/demolition without court order; Municipal action – limits on self‑help, need for judicial remedies once possession perfected; Remedies and safeguards – training, guidelines and possible judicial supervision; Legislative reform – matter for legislature, courts to decide case‑by‑case.
|
10 July 2024 |
|
Reported
A South African court lacked jurisdiction over an online defamation claim where the tort arose abroad and only a local download occurred.
Civil procedure – Internet publication and jurisdiction – defamation – whether local access/download confers jurisdiction where parties are peregrini and cause of action arose abroad; Interim interdict – requirements and appropriateness for defamation claims; Motion proceedings unsuited for final relief (retraction/apology); Security for costs – judicial discretion where respondent may face difficulty enforcing costs abroad.
|
4 July 2024 |
|
A common-law damages claim for wrongful dismissal accrued on dismissal and prescribed before summons; jurisdiction and res judicata were wrongly upheld.
Civil procedure – prescription – accrual of contractual and delictual cause of action on date of dismissal – Prescription Act s 12(1)/s 11(d). Jurisdiction – concurrent jurisdiction of High Court for common-law contractual claims arising from employment – Baloyi and Makhanya. Constitutional interpretation – s 39(2)/s 34 not engaged where common-law claim accrues on dismissal. Costs – Biowatch principle; parties to bear own costs.
|
4 July 2024 |
|
Non-variation clause does not bar a valid waiver by conduct or oral assurance; appeal dismissed.
Contract law – Loan agreement – Non-variation clause – Whether non-variation clause bars waiver – Waiver distinguished from variation – Waiver by conduct or oral assurance valid where right is exclusively that of waiving party – Use of contextual/extrinsic evidence in contract interpretation – Plascon-Evans application.
|
3 July 2024 |
| June 2024 |
|
|
Reported
Removal of a regulator board member for opposing nuclear policy was unlawful—misconduct not established and process unfair.
Administrative law – review of executive removal power – jurisdictional fact of 'misconduct' under s 9(1) of National Nuclear Regulator Act; Principle of legality and PAJA – objective review of factual and value judgments that predicate removal; Procedural fairness – predetermination and adequacy of representations process; Conflict of interest/public expression – distinction between nuclear desirability and nuclear safety; Remedies – invalidation of removal and limits on reinstatement where appointed term expired; Costs – successful respondents awarded costs including two counsel; Biowatch rule applied to cross-appeal.
|
28 June 2024 |
|
Reported
Arrests without exhibiting warrants and detention beyond 48 hours without court authorisation were unlawful; assault findings upheld.
Delict – unlawful arrest and detention; Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 – s 39(2) (exhibit warrant upon demand at time of arrest); s 50(1)(a) (place to which arrested person must be taken); s 50(1)(c)/(d)(ii) (bring before court within 48 hours or court authorisation for further detention with medical certificate); s 39(3) does not validate unlawful arrest or subsequent detention; proof of assault and injuries sustained while in police custody.
|
28 June 2024 |
|
Final sequestration without a prior provisional order is not automatically void; rescission requires proper grounds, absence or delay bars relief.
Insolvency law – final sequestration granted without prior provisional order – timing irregularity not necessarily void ab initio; rescission remedies – rule 42(1)(a) and common-law rescission – necessity to show absence of wilful default and good cause; distinction from cases where court usurped statutory power (Motala; Knoop).
|
21 June 2024 |
|
Article 13(b) defence not established; child ordered returned to habitual residence with protective undertakings.
Hague Convention – Article 12 and Article 13(b) – habitual residence; burden on respondent to prove grave risk of physical or psychological harm; Article 13(b) defence requires grave risk, assessed prospectively; courts must consider ameliorative protective measures/undertakings (mirror orders); expert evidence based solely on one parent’s account must be treated with caution; Central Authority involvement important in Hague proceedings.
|
21 June 2024 |
|
Eyewitnesses’ prior acquaintance and corroborative evidence proved identity beyond reasonable doubt; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law — identification evidence — prior acquaintance increases reliability of identification; evaluation of alibi in totality with corroborative evidence; weight of partly inconclusive ballistic expert evidence; use of cellphone-tower data as corroboration.
|
20 June 2024 |
|
A pending s102(2) municipal billing dispute prevents implementation of debt-collection measures, justifying an interim interdict.
Credit control and debt collection — s 102(2) Systems Act — pending dispute bars implementation of debt-collection measures (including electricity disconnection); municipal Credit Control Policy — By-law requirement s 98(1) — unenforceable against public absent By-law; interim interdict requirements; scope of urgent proceedings and propriety of raising enforceability in supplementary heads; Oudekraal/Kirland principle and review versus immediate effectiveness of administrative acts.
|
19 June 2024 |
|
Reported
JSE empowered to direct restatement of financial statements; Tribunal panels need not include IFRS accounting experts.
Financial Markets Act & JSE Listing Requirements – power to direct restatement of financial statements; Financial Sector Regulation Act (ss 220, 224, 225) – composition of Financial Services Tribunal panels – no express requirement for accounting/IFRS experts; administrative action – panel appointment valid until set aside; review – Tribunal’s proper independent assessment of expert accounting evidence; deference to regulator considered and rejected.
|
19 June 2024 |
|
An agreed interim arbitral award making an expert’s findings final and binding creates an enforceable cause of action.
Arbitration law – agreed/interim award – settlement recorded by arbitrator as award – agreed expert’s findings final and binding – enforceable cause of action; Arbitration Act – scope and effect of agreed award; civil procedure – remittal where merits not considered.
|
14 June 2024 |
|
Appellants failed to show reasonable prospects of success; convictions and first appellant’s sentence upheld due to corroborated recent possession.
Criminal procedure – s 309C petition – leave to appeal – test is whether appellants have reasonable prospects of success on appeal. Evidence – identification – single witness and dock identification; dangers restated; recent possession can corroborate identification. Evidence – recent possession of stolen property found shortly after robbery corroborates complainant's evidence. Sentencing – sentencing discretion of trial court; prior convictions negate status as first offender and may justify heavier sentence.
|
14 June 2024 |
|
Reported
Insurer liable for insured’s local COVID-triggered business interruption claims; unreported or uninsured entities’ claims dismissed.
Insurance — business interruption — infectious disease extension (outbreak within 25 km) — interpretation: joint v composite policy; reporting/notification clauses as condition precedent to liability; insured status of subsidiaries; causation — government response (lockdown) integral to insured peril.
|
13 June 2024 |
|
Interim anti-dissipation relief ordinarily requires intent to defeat the claimant; rule 34 offers are not admissions; appeal allowed.
Civil procedure – interim anti‑dissipation interdict – requirements of interim interdict (prima facie right; reasonable apprehension of irreparable harm; balance of convenience; absence of alternative remedy) – Knox D’Arcy reaffirmed that intent to defeat claim is ordinarily required; rule 34 with‑prejudice tender is not admission of liability; admission of further evidence on appeal to be exercised sparingly; interim interdicts appealable where interests of justice require.
|
13 June 2024 |
|
An appellate court may not grant relief never sought below; attachment of departmental bank accounts not per se impermissible, appeal dismissed.
Civil procedure – appeal – court cannot grant relief not sought in court a quo; execution against organs of state – attachment of departmental bank accounts and State Liability Act; default judgment following failure to make discovery; costs – discretion to impose or set aside punitive costs for conduct in interlocutory filings; mootness where attached account closed and funds transferred to Paymaster-General account.
|
13 June 2024 |
|
An executrix may revoke an attorney's mandate; an aggrieved agent's remedy is damages, not an interdict compelling retention.
Agency – termination of mandate – principal entitled to revoke agency at will – public policy prohibits coercing principal to retain agent. Interdict – final interdict requisites – applicant must show clear right and absence of adequate alternative remedy. Remedies – agent prejudiced by termination entitled to claim damages, not to compel continuation of mandate. Procedure – cross-appeal defective where no adverse order against respondent.
|
12 June 2024 |
|
Enforcement of arrear maintenance is not arbitrable; maintenance courts retain jurisdiction to enforce and vary maintenance orders.
Arbitration law – s 2(a) Arbitration Act – ‘any matrimonial cause or matter incidental thereto’ – enforcement and arrear maintenance not arbitrable; Maintenance Act – magistrates’ courts’ jurisdiction to enforce maintenance orders; Divorce Act – courts’ exclusive power to vary, rescind or discharge maintenance orders; arbitration agreements cannot oust statutory access to maintenance courts.
|
11 June 2024 |
|
A court may not set aside an uncontested settlement or impugn lawyers without evidence and a fair hearing.
Practice and procedure – settlement agreements – courts should respect freely concluded settlements; judge may raise concerns but may not set aside uncontested settlement absent illegality, unconscionability or public policy (Eke; Mafisa). Court oversight – limited; may decline to make settlement an order but not invalidate it. Adverse findings of fraud/dishonesty against legal practitioners – require clear evidence and a fair hearing; de bonis propriis orders and referrals without notice are inappropriate.
|
11 June 2024 |
|
Reported
No delictual duty to prevent email‑fraud losses where the respondent could reasonably have avoided the risk.
Delict — Pure economic loss — Omission — Wrongfulness — Vulnerability to risk — Business email compromise (BEC) — Duty to warn/verify banking details — Indeterminate liability — Policy considerations and constitutional norms.
|
10 June 2024 |
|
Declaratory relief cannot replace review to set aside a shareholder’s lawful removal of its appointed directors.
Company law – directors appointed as shareholder representatives – removal by shareholder resolution in terms of shareholders’ agreement – effect of such resolution and necessity of review to set it aside (Oudekraal principle); declaratory relief versus review (Uniform Rule 53); misapplication of s 71 Companies Act.
|
10 June 2024 |
|
Concurrent sentences ordered where attempted murder closely followed robbery and cumulative effect of consecutive terms was unjust.
Criminal law – Sentencing – robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder – concurrency of sentences where offences are closely linked in time and locality – cumulative effect of consecutive sentences and time spent in custody – misdirection in sentencing – s 51(2)(a) Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997; Zinn triad and Kruger principles.
|
7 June 2024 |
|
Reported
Execution pending appeal under s18 requires exceptional circumstances; courts may weigh competing irreparable harms; appeal dismissed.
Section 18 Superior Courts Act – execution pending appeal – exceptional circumstances required – irreparable harm inquiry intertwined with exceptional circumstances – courts entitled to weigh competing irreparable harms and public interest – procurement contract implementation pending appeal upheld where successful tenderer faces irretrievable prejudice.
|
7 June 2024 |
|
Reported
A failed asylum applicant may submit a sur‑place claim based on changed circumstances; the respondent must consider it without requiring return.
Refugee law – sur‑place refugee claims – subsequent asylum applications after final rejection – scope of non‑refoulement – duty to consider new applications – reviewability of failure to consider.
|
5 June 2024 |
|
An insurer’s compromise of a beneficiary’s claim does not extinguish third‑party indemnity obligations absent proven beneficiary fraud.
Construction law – performance guarantee – autonomous on‑demand obligation; Fraud – beneficiary’s fraud required and must be adjudicated with beneficiary as party; Third‑party procedure (rule 13) – rights to contest principal claim, joinder and consolidation; Settlement/compromise – insurer entitled to settle under indemnity; settlement quantifies loss but does not extinguish indemnity claim; Conditionality – indemnity not conditional on prior judicial finding of insurer’s liability.
|
4 June 2024 |
|
Reported
Exploration grant and renewals were reviewable for inadequate consultation, but setting-aside was suspended pending renewed participation.
Administrative law — PAJA — delay and 180-day time bar — when public reasonably aware; internal remedies and exemption under PAJA s 7(2)(c); procedural fairness and consultation obligations under PAJA and MPRDA; review for failure to consider relevant factors (PAJA s 6(2)(e)(iii)); remedial discretion under s 172 of the Constitution — suspension and curative measures; interplay with NEMA alternative relief.
|
3 June 2024 |
