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Citation
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Judgment date
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| March 2024 |
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Bidder’s late challenge to tender process and withheld infringement data dismissed; disqualifications and record errors did not vitiate award.
Procurement law – tender review – procedural fairness under s 217 Constitution and PAJA – requirement to challenge tender specifications contemporaneously – disqualification for non‑submission of certified ICASA equipment licences – defective rule 53 record remedied by supplementary filing.
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27 March 2024 |
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Both driver’s failure to signal/check mirrors and rider’s unsafe overtaking on a painted island resulted in equal apportionment of liability.
Road accident – right‑turn collision – failure to indicate and to check mirrors – driver’s duty to keep lookout and choose opportune moment to turn. Contributory negligence – overtaking on painted island and failure to keep proper lookout – causal contribution to collision. Apportionment of damages – consideration of respective negligence and causation; 50/50 apportionment.
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20 March 2024 |
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Reported
Application dismissed because the deponent lacked authority and misrepresented his official designation, warranting adverse costs.
Authority to institute proceedings – person deposing to founding affidavit must be authorised where litigant is not a natural person – challenge to authority may be raised on the papers; Uniform Rule 7(1) not exclusive remedy – Mall (Cape) and Tattersall remain good law; false affidavit and failure to ratify justify dismissal and punitive costs.
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20 March 2024 |
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Respondent’s trust deficit from employee theft does not automatically justify suspension; fidelity certificate may still be issued under LPC rules.
Legal Practice Act – Fidelity Fund certificates – LPC rules 54.29 and 54.30 – qualified audit reports do not automatically preclude issuance of a fidelity fund certificate; trust account deficits caused by employee theft do not ipso facto justify suspension or curatorship – investigating committee’s lack of power to ‘find’ guilt – statutory requirement to hold a fidelity fund certificate to practise.
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20 March 2024 |
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Provisional sequestration and business rescue stay proceedings; summary judgment granted where plea raised only bare denials and no bona fide defence.
Cession and locus standi – effectiveness of cession against debtor; locus standi challenge requires court to assume plaintiff’s pleaded facts true; bare denials do not raise triable issues; Insolvency Act s20(1)(b) – provisional sequestration stays civil proceedings; Companies Act business rescue – proceedings postponed sine die; Certificate of balance – manager of cessionary may sign and it constitutes prima facie proof under contract clause.
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20 March 2024 |
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Reported
CPA s14(2)(b) does not invalidate a negotiated three-month early-termination clause where lease is not in the lessor’s ordinary course of business.
Consumer Protection Act s14(2)(b) — fixed-term contracts — applicability to residential lease — "ordinary course of business" requirement for CPA application — purposive interpretation of CPA — negotiated early-termination clause valid — urgency condoned — notice validly terminates lease.
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18 March 2024 |
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Review of professional misconduct dismissal dismissed; investigating committee's decision rational and procedurally fair; no established conflict of interest.
Administrative law — review of disciplinary/complaint committee under LPA and PAJA; requirements for prima facie case; whether viva voce evidence is required; composition of investigating committee; conflict of interest ('two hats') in insolvency practice; interpretation of Code of Conduct; costs — parties to bear own costs.
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14 March 2024 |
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Application for leave to appeal dismissed: interdict moot and no exceptional circumstances to appeal costs; attorney-and-client costs awarded.
Leave to appeal – Superior Courts Act s17(1)(a)(i) – higher threshold: appeal must have reasonable prospects; Mootness – interim interdict rendered unappealable where respondent vacated property; Costs – judicial discretion and s16(2)(a) requires exceptional circumstances to appeal costs; Contractual entitlement to attorney-and-client costs under lease.
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13 March 2024 |
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Court refused to remove liquidators absent good cause, finding no bias or maladministration and awarding punitive costs.
Companies law – liquidation – removal of liquidators – extreme remedy; good cause and advantage to creditors required; proof admission at creditors' meeting not conclusive; liquidators' duty to investigate competing claims; insolvency administration – cooperation with SARS and forensic reconstruction; abuse of process and punitive costs.
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13 March 2024 |
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Court set aside brother‑sister refusal for lack of control, granted applicant a right and dismissed non‑utilisation challenge.
Administrative law – review of allocation of fishing rights – interpretation of "brother-sister" ownership/control in General Policy – effective utilisation exclusion under Sector Policy – deference to expertise (Bato Star) – remittal to Minister; separation of powers limits substitution.
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11 March 2024 |
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Reported
Court permits mother’s permanent relocation of child to France, dismisses father’s relocation claim, protects father’s contact and future options.
Children — Relocation — Competing applications by both parents to relocate child to different foreign jurisdictions; best interests paramount; child’s expressed wishes significant; expert family reports central; court may dispense with custodial parent’s consent under Children’s Act; detailed contact and future relocation conditions to protect non‑resident parent’s involvement.
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11 March 2024 |
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Appellant failed to show exceptional circumstances for bail pending appeal; CJA did not apply as he was an adult at arrest.
Bail pending appeal – Schedule 6 sexual offences – accused bears onus to show exceptional circumstances; Child Justice Act application – s4 limits application, s84 automatic appeal not applicable where accused was adult at arrest; sentencing under CJA – s77 permits imprisonment up to 25 years for Schedule 3 offences; flight risk and credibility findings – trial court discretion entitled to deference; fresh evidence on bail appeal requires formal application.
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11 March 2024 |
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Section 29(1)(f) prohibitions are administrative actions requiring notice, investigation and reasons; unlawful prohibitions set aside.
Administrative law – Immigration Act s29(1)(f) prohibitions – constitute administrative action under PAJA; duty to afford prior notice, opportunity to be heard and adequate reasons; requirement to investigate alleged complicity before declaring prohibited; appeal decisions founded on procedurally defective initial acts reviewable and set aside; declaratory relief and costs.
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6 March 2024 |
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5 March 2024 |
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Applicants restored to possession for spoliation; state interdicted from allocating parts of the farm pending review.
Spoliation (mandament van spolie) – restoration of possession; urgency of possessory remedy; forcible lock-cutting and replacement constitutes unlawful dispossession; state internal allocation procedures do not justify self-help dispossession; interlocutory interdict to preserve subject matter of pending review; defective commissioning of replying affidavit and non‑joinder not automatically fatal.
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4 March 2024 |
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Applicants relied on remuneration law but failed to show that municipal procurement of mayoral vehicles was unlawful.
Local government powers – procurement of municipal vehicles for political office bearers – interplay between Remuneration Act Determinations and MFMA Cost Containment Regulations; policy/legislative municipal decisions vs PAJA reviewability; procedural requirements in Regulation 6 (cost‑containment policy, information, threshold calculation).
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4 March 2024 |
