|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| September 2023 |
|
|
Executor entitled to court-ordered access and cooperation to sell estate property after heirs obstruct winding up.
Administration of estates – executor’s duty to sell in terms of will – section 47 Master’s approval where heirs cannot agree – JM33/section 42(2) operative once transfer follows sale – testamentary capacity allegation inadequately proved – court may order access and cooperation where heirs frustrate winding up of estate.
|
22 September 2023 |
|
Liquidators failed to establish s 26(1) dispositions without value; relief granted under section 29 for R240,000.
Insolvency Act s 26(1) – disposition not made for value – onus to prove that immediately after disposition liabilities exceeded assets; trustees must plead full statutory period and financial position; nature/timing of transactions relevant to value; illegality of scheme does not automatically render repayments dispositions without value; alternative relief under s 29 (voidable preferences).
|
15 September 2023 |
|
An interim, time-limited interdict restrained the bank from closing applicants' accounts pending main litigation, subject to FIC reporting exceptions.
• Interim interdict — requirements: prima facie right (open to doubt), irreparable harm, balance of convenience, no adequate alternative remedy.
• Constitutional and statutory rights — s 22 (freedom to trade) and s 34; Equality Act (s 13) — prima facie discrimination allegations for interim relief.
• Banks’ regulatory obligations — FICA (ss 21C, 21E, s 29 reporting) may justify termination but are contentious and not determinable on interim papers.
• Balance of convenience — prior undertakings by respondent, likelihood of irreparable commercial harm, and uncertain duration of main proceedings justify limited time-bound relief.
• Remedies — limited interim interdict with leave to apply for extension or discharge on good cause shown; costs reserved to main matters.
|
14 September 2023 |
|
Sale by a purported curator bonis without Letters of Curatorship and Master’s consent was unenforceable; application dismissed with audit and punitive costs.
Administration of Estates Act – curator bonis – requirement to obtain Letters of Curatorship (s72) – protection of de cujus (s71) – alienation of immovable property by curator requires Master’s or court consent (s80, s81) – non-compliance renders transaction unenforceable; suspensive condition and waiving – public policy and bona fides; evidentiary burden to prove payment of purchase price; audit and reporting of possible misappropriation.
|
14 September 2023 |
|
Identification, common purpose and dolus eventualis upheld; convictions and sentences confirmed, concurrency adjusted so overall effect is life imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Identification – admissibility and sufficiency of identification evidence where scene was well lit and witnesses had close opportunity for observation.
* Criminal law – Common purpose and dolus eventualis – liability for murder where co‑offenders embarked on armed robbery and death was a reasonably foreseeable consequence.
* Robbery – armed robbery with aggravating circumstances – theft element proved where violence and appropriation formed a continuous act.
* Evidence – State permitted to re-open case to admit post‑mortem and chain evidence; defence afforded opportunity to re-open.
* Sentencing – prescribed minimums under s 51 CLAA; time in custody and personal circumstances not substantial and compelling; duty to consider cumulative effect of multiple determinate sentences; interplay of s 280(2) CPA and s 39(2)(a)(i) Correctional Services Act.
|
12 September 2023 |
|
Magistrate erred by refusing suspension and unlawfully ordering summary removal of children; sentence set aside and substituted.
Criminal law – sentencing – Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act s 17(e) does not preclude suspension of imprisonment; Children’s Act s 47 orders require Children’s Court proceedings; sentencing courts must obtain pre-sentencing reports and give individualized consideration to children’s best interests (S v M).
|
8 September 2023 |
|
A magistrate’s hostile, cross-examining intervention vitiated the trial, so conviction and sentence were set aside.
Criminal procedure — Fair trial — Role of presiding officer — Judicial questioning versus ‘entering the arena’ — Excessive/partisan questioning may vitiate trial; conviction and sentence set aside where magistrate effectively aided prosecution and accused’s version not inherently improbable.
|
8 September 2023 |
|
Appellant’s self‑defence plea upheld where eyewitness contradictions and radio recording showed a real, immediate threat.
* Criminal law — self‑defence and putative self‑defence — objective test but facts viewed from defender’s perspective in sudden threat; * Evaluation of evidence — credibility and reliability of eyewitnesses; * Use of contemporaneous audio recordings and CCTV as corroborative evidence; * Onus — State must disprove self‑defence beyond reasonable doubt.
|
5 September 2023 |
|
Applicant’s plea amendments—including mediation referral and withdrawal of admissions—largely refused as inconsistent with contract and prejudicial.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings; withdrawal of admissions requires full explanation and bona fides; amendments refused if inconsistent with contract dispute-resolution clause or causing irremediable prejudice; mediation vs litigation under contractual clause 12.2.4; costs award where amendment largely unsuccessful.
|
1 September 2023 |
|
Reported
Tribunal correctly refused condonation; arbitrator’s interdiction exceeded pleadings; appeal dismissed with costs.
Arbitration — AFSA rules — Article 22.2 time-limits for appeal and cross-appeal mandatory; no condonation by appeal tribunal absent agreement; party autonomy limits arbitrator powers; arbitrators bound by pleadings — relief outside pleaded cause incompetent; review under s33(1)(b) requires gross irregularity affecting fair determination.
|
1 September 2023 |