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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2025 |
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Court authorises the applicant father to take the minor abroad, finding s26B applies only to adults.
Family law – Minor international travel; Citizenship Act s 26B limited to adult citizens; Passport non‑compliance administrative only; Court as upper guardian may authorise travel subject to protective conditions; Best interests of the child paramount.
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19 December 2025 |
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Postponement granted where updated discovery and fairness required; ex parte chambers attendance prejudicial; plaintiff to pay wasted costs.
Civil procedure — Postponement of trial — Applicant must show full and satisfactory explanation and bona fides — Consideration of prejudice, updated discovery and public interest — Counsel attending judge’s chambers without opposing counsel impermissible — Costs: wasted costs to successful opponent (party and party).
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19 December 2025 |
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Interim unsupervised contact ordered prioritising predictable routine over supervision for children with neurodevelopmental and anxiety disorders.
Family law – Care and contact – Interim relief pending Rule 43 – Children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental (ASD, ADHD) and anxiety disorders – Expert evidence: developmental origin, not parenting‑caused – Supervised contact not recommended – Predictability and routine preferred – Office of the Family Advocate directed to investigate and recommend expert support.
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19 December 2025 |
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An intention to appeal does not suspend a spoliation order; immediate compliance and enforcement may be ordered.
Spoliation (mandament van spolie) — restorative/interim orders — intention to appeal does not suspend operation — Superior Courts Act s18(2) requires application for suspension — partial compliance insufficient — commercial considerations irrelevant — counter-application seeking penal relief procedurally inappropriate and struck from roll.
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18 December 2025 |
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Interim suspension granted of municipal appeal decision shutting public use of premises pending review; non‑joinder and standing objections dismissed.
Administrative law — interim interdict pendente lite — municipal land‑use appeal imposing immediate prohibition on public use — urgency, non‑joinder of complainant residents, locus standi of operator and landowner, prima facie right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience — interim suspension pending review.
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18 December 2025 |
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Insolvency-enquiry transcripts admissible against examinees; a simulated, valueless transfer of shares was set aside under s26(1)(b).
Insolvency — admissibility of insolvency-enquiry evidence (s 65(5)) — examinee’s sworn testimony admissible against the examinee in subsequent civil proceedings; Disposal without value — s 26(1)(b) — book-entry transfer, token consideration and simulated transfer set aside; Cession in securitatem debiti — security cession grants limited encumbrance and does not prevent restitution of impeachable transfers.
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18 December 2025 |
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Applicant declared trust creditor; law firm ordered to account and surrender client files; punitive joint-and-several costs awarded against first and second respondents.
Legal practice — Trust money — Identification of trust creditor — Duty to account under Rule 54.12 — Surrender of client files — Privilege claims and redaction/schedule with referee under s38 Superior Courts Act — Attorney’s lien inapplicable where no fees due — Vexatious conduct and punitive costs — Joint and several liability of respondents.
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17 December 2025 |
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Court ordered structured therapeutic contact and curator‑directed measures after a parent obstructed reunification with a minor child.
Family law — Urgent enforcement of contact and therapeutic reunification — Non‑compliance with prior court order — Parental alienation — Child’s views to be considered contextually, not mechanically — Curator ad litem empowered to direct contact — Costs on Scale C.
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17 December 2025 |
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Beneficiaries’ interdict to prevent sale of company-owned farm refused; shares held worthless due to company insolvency.
Trust law – Beningfield exception – beneficiaries’ locus standi to sue delinquent trustees to protect trust property; interim interdict requisites – prima facie right, irreparable harm, balance of convenience; company asset versus trust asset distinction; insolvency of company negating share value; Trust Property Control Act remedies; urgency doctrine for document relief.
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15 December 2025 |
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Whether apparent authority by email created a contract and whether the 45% cancellation penalty must be reduced under the CPA.
Contract formation — exchange of emails/quotations — Sonap reasonable-reliance test; Apparent/ostensible authority (Makate) as implied actual authority; Conventional Penalties Act s3 — reduction where penalty bears no relation to prejudice; VAT treatment — penalty receipts not a taxable ‘supply’; Interest clause distinct from CPA penalties; Remittal and cross-appeal principles; Costs apportionment.
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15 December 2025 |
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Interim interdict granted restraining subpoenas and sale of 41 state-subsidised houses pending final determination of Housing Act and insolvency issues.
Companies Act/ Insolvency Act – Power to subpoena persons to creditors’ meetings – Interim interdict restraining interrogation and subpoenas; Housing Act ss 10A and 10B – pre-emptive rights and restriction on alienation of state-subsidised housing; Constitutional right to housing (s 26) – weight in balance of convenience; urgent interim relief to preserve status quo pending final review.
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12 December 2025 |
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Condonation granted: prospects of success and lack of demonstrated prejudice rendered the late statutory notice excusable.
Institution of Legal Proceedings Against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002 – s 3(4)(b) condonation – good cause includes prospects of success – applicant need only show prima facie case and bona fide intention – burden on organ of state to prove unreasonable prejudice – trial court misdirection where prospects of success and prejudice not balanced.
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12 December 2025 |
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Cession to the plaintiff was valid without debtor consent; defendants failed to prove termination, judgment awarded for outstanding rentals.
Cession – validity of transfer of creditor’s rights – cession vs assignment – debtor consent not required absent contractual restriction – notification of cession – typographical errors do not invalidate cession – burden to prove termination by mutual agreement – certificate of balance prima facie proof of indebtedness – costs on attorney-and-client scale.
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11 December 2025 |
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Appeal court found magistrate misdirected on Schedule 5 bail factors and granted bail with stringent protective conditions.
Bail appeal – Schedule 5 domestic violence offence – proper application of s 60 tests – misdirection by magistrate – weighing interests of justice – service of protection order in court – appellate power under s 65 to substitute decision.
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11 December 2025 |
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Urgent stay of execution refused: agreed taxation not reviewable under Rule 48; application dismissed with attorney‑and‑client costs.
Taxation of costs — Rule 48 review — agreed taxation vs taxing master’s ruling — Rule 45A stay of execution — self‑created urgency — attorney and client costs.
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10 December 2025 |
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A six‑month restraint upheld where a senior employee’s access to confidential design and commercial information risked unfair competitive advantage.
Restraint of trade – Protectable interest – Senior employee access to confidential store-design strategies, supplier and client relationships – Reasonableness assessed on facts – Differentiation does not eliminate competition – Share appreciation rights becoming valueless does not necessarily invalidate restraint – Interdict requires reasonable apprehension of harm.
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10 December 2025 |
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A claimant of legal professional privilege must itemise documents, show context and dominant purpose, or face an order for fuller affidavit and costs.
Discovery — Rule 35(3) — legal professional privilege — party asserting privilege must itemise documents, set out context and grounds without disclosing content — dominant purpose test — severance/redaction of mixed communications — court discretion to order further affidavit or, exceptionally, private inspection — standard: balance of probabilities to go behind affidavit.
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9 December 2025 |
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Appeal against conviction for robbery dismissed: recognition and corroborated identification evidence held reliable.
Criminal law – Robbery with aggravating circumstances – Identification evidence – Recognition evidence versus stranger identification – Dock identification and the cautionary rule – Evaluation of alibi and appellate review of factual findings.
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8 December 2025 |
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Whether fraudulent visas, overstaying and lack of good cause justify prohibition under section 29(1)(f) of the Immigration Act.
Immigration Act s29(1)(f) – prohibited person – possession of fraudulent visas and overstaying; PAJA – review of administrative action – consideration of relevant factors and adequacy of reasons; credibility and failure to show good cause under s29(2).
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4 December 2025 |
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Interim relief granted to restore possession and restrain unlawful liquor sales after licence suspension.
Urgent application; interim interdict to restore possession; illegal sale of liquor during licence suspension; prima facie right to possession; balance of convenience; Western Cape Liquor Act (licence suspension, prohibition on letting/licence transfer; criminal and regulatory exposure).
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4 December 2025 |
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The respondent could approach court under s69 and obtain refund for materially defective vehicle despite limited warranty.
Consumer Protection Act – section 69 – permissive choice of forum and court jurisdiction; implied warranty of quality (s55/s56) – refund and cancellation; limited warranties / voetstoots unenforceable if not conspicuously disclosed; actio redhibitoria as alternative remedy.
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3 December 2025 |
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Court granted interim interdict restraining pension fund from paying member’s benefits pending employer’s s37D(1)(b) claim.
Pension Funds Act s 37D(1)(b) — interim interdict pendente lite to preserve identifiable pension/provident benefits — quasi‑vindicatory claim — requirements: prima facie right and balance of convenience; court may substitute its view for fund’s decision; urgency; costs against opposing member.
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3 December 2025 |
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Eviction granted under PIE: alleged oral lifelong habitatio/usufruct invalid absent required written, signed and registered formalities.
PIE eviction — just and equitable enquiry; habitatio/usufruct and personal servitude — must be in writing, signed and, where applicable, registered; oral assurances/donations invalid against successors in title; interlocutory referral to oral evidence inappropriate where it will not affect outcome.
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2 December 2025 |
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Prescribed life imprisonment applied for premeditated murder; personal circumstances not substantial and compelling to reduce it.
Criminal law — Premeditated murder and common purpose — Minimum sentence regime (s51(1) Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997) — Zinn triad applied — No substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate — Concurrent sentences for related offences (assault GBH; defeating administration of justice).
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2 December 2025 |
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Whether the defendant breached its duty to provide reasonable security on public trains, causing the plaintiff’s injuries.
Delict – public transport operator’s duty to commuters – reasonable security and surveillance – breach and causation – credibility and evidentiary consequences of bare denials and absence of surveillance or witnesses – damages; quantum adjourned.
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1 December 2025 |
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Contempt found for wilful diversion of income; interim order varied to allocate control, require accounting and preserve assets.
Contempt of court – civil contempt; joinder of necessity – practical/common-sense approach where parties are sole directors; rescission and variation of interim orders (Rule 42) – narrow grounds for rescission; interim allocation of corporate control, accounting and asset-preservation; enforcement and sanctions for non-compliance.
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1 December 2025 |
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Magistrate erred in setting aside summons without granting unrepresented litigant leave to amend under Rule 60A(3).
Magistrates' Court Rule 60A — irregular steps — Rule 60A(3) discretion to set aside and grant leave to amend — pleadings by lay litigants to be construed generously — access to courts and avoidance of formalism.
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1 December 2025 |
| November 2025 |
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Whether the plaintiff lost bakery income due to injuries and the appropriate career projection and contingency deductions for future earnings.
Road Accident Fund – loss of earning capacity – causation of lost contract earnings – binding effect of experts’ joint minutes – Paterson scale career projection – contingency deductions for future uninjured and injured earnings – actuarial calculations subject to standard assumptions.
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30 November 2025 |
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Failure to plan for late school placements violated learners’ rights to basic education, dignity and equality; WCED must amend policy.
Constitutional law — Right to basic education (s29(1)(a)) immediately realisable — State must take positive, reasonable and effective measures — Administrative law (s33(1)) — Admission policy deficient for late, extremely late and transfer applicants — Equality (s9) — unfair discrimination on grounds of race, poverty, place of birth and social origin — Policy-making vs judicial function — Circulars and SOPs as administrative quasi‑legislation; lapsed circulars.
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28 November 2025 |
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Minor’s RAF claim: past medicals recoverable; future earning-capacity quantified by 30% contingency differential; general damages awarded.
Road Accident Fund claim – minor injured in vehicle collision – admissibility and reliance on expert affidavits and industrial psychologist – loss of earning capacity quantified by contingency-differential approach (20% pre-morbid, 50% post-morbid; 30% differential) – past medical expenses paid by medical scheme recoverable – general damages for physical and psychological sequelae – statutory cap inapplicable on these calculations.
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28 November 2025 |
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Interim interdict to permit re-entry without required immigration documentation dismissed; res judicata and lack of prima facie right decisive.
Immigration law – interim interdict restraining exercise of statutory powers – res judicata – prima facie right to enter (citizenship limitation) – separation of powers and judicial deference – PAJA review insufficient as basis for preservation pendente lite.
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28 November 2025 |
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Exception to a pre-contractual non-disclosure claim dismissed; wrongfulness and duty to disclose require trial evidence.
Delict — Pre-contractual non-disclosure — pay-when-paid clause — duty to disclose — exclusive knowledge and party relationships — wrongfulness a fact-driven enquiry — exceptions dismissed.
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27 November 2025 |
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Partial summary judgment for applicant’s undisputed lease arrears; respondents’ addendum, CPA and termination disputes go to trial.
Summary judgment – Rule 32 – partial summary judgment for undisputed lease arrears; bona fide defences and triable disputes as to addendum, termination date, CPA compliance and counterclaim reserved for trial.
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27 November 2025 |
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Ex parte preservation order set aside for material non‑disclosure; applicant ordered to pay attorney‑and‑client costs.
Civil procedure – ex parte relief – duty of utmost good faith and full disclosure – material non‑disclosure of related litigation and opposing affidavits – setting aside of rule nisi – interim preservation orders – costs on attorney‑and‑client scale for vexatious conduct.
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26 November 2025 |
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Conditional suspension imposed instead of striking off for misappropriation of trust funds, subject to restitution, therapy, supervision.
Legal practitioner misconduct – Misappropriation of trust funds – Jasat three-stage inquiry – Fit and proper assessment – Exceptional circumstances – Conditional suspension; prohibition from trust-account access; restitution of interest; psychotherapy; supervised practice; mandatory training; LPC oversight.
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26 November 2025 |
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Challenge to exclusion from tenders on reputational-risk grounds dismissed; one review found moot, the other lawful and rational.
Administrative law – Procurement – Reputational risk clause in municipal SCM policy – Lawfulness and scope – Mootness and jurisdiction – Reliance on media reporting and decisions of NPA/Magistrate – Procedural fairness – Functus officio.
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26 November 2025 |
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An occupier is liable for injury from an undetected parking-surface defect; the respondent was not contributorily negligent.
Occupiers’ liability – Duty to maintain premises – Inspections and maintenance regimes – Discoverable surface defects – Delict: negligence and causation – Contributory negligence – Appellate deference to trial credibility findings.
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25 November 2025 |
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Leave to appeal refused where signed adjudication agreement made adjudicator’s determination final; arbitration addendum unsigned.
Leave to appeal – application refused where no reasonable prospects of success and no compelling reasons; contract interpretation – signed Adjudication Agreement held to make adjudicator’s determination final; Arbitration Addendum unsigned and did not create two‑tier dispute mechanism; courts will only interfere with adjudicators' findings in limited exceptional circumstances; party cannot opportunistically adopt contradictory positions in subsequent proceedings.
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24 November 2025 |
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Leave to appeal refused: tacit assignment and suspension of no-cession rights found; subsequent notice terminated suspension.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal under s 17 Superior Courts Act – requirements for reasonable prospects or compelling reasons; contract – tacit contract and tacit assignment; no-cession, non-variation and non-waiver clauses – suspension of enforcement by conduct; implied termination of suspension by subsequent notice; applicability of Golden Fried Chicken to assignment versus new tacit contracts; scope of Sechaba order.
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24 November 2025 |
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Court: DNA reports have prima facie probative value but contested expert conclusions require viva voce evidence.
Paternity – admissibility and weight of DNA reports; expert opinion – contested scientific evidence ordinarily requires viva voce testimony; Maintenance Act s12 and CPEA s22 – limited scope for admitting expert reports without oral evidence; probative value of consistent court‑ordered DNA tests and SANAS accreditation; standard of proof in paternity enquiries – balance of probabilities.
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20 November 2025 |
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Applicant awarded full delictual damages including private prostheses; court rejects poverty-based reduction.
Civil procedure – Uniform Rule 38(2) – expert evidence by affidavit and admission of joint minutes; Delict – quantum – future medical expenses for traumatic amputation; Prosthetics – entitlement to privately procured prostheses where necessary to restore dignity and function; Constitutional considerations – right to dignity and access to healthcare informing delictual awards; Loss of earnings – contingency deductions and non-deduction of state disability grant; Costs – recovery of experts' fees and counsel on party-and-party scale.
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19 November 2025 |
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Charge wording alleging common purpose triggers s 60(11) evidentiary burden; appellant failed to show exceptional circumstances.
Bail — section 60(11) CPA — charge alleging murder in furtherance of common purpose triggers evidentiary onus; accused must prove exceptional circumstances in the interests of justice; appellate interference limited to wrongful exercise of discretion.
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19 November 2025 |
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Court awards judgment for stolen funds, rejects res judicata, and refers veil‑piercing and laundering allegations to oral evidence.
Company and close-corporation law – piercing the corporate veil – s 20(9) Companies Act and s 65 Close Corporations Act – unconscionable abuse of juristic personality; civil procedure – Rule 6(5)(g) referral to oral evidence where facts lie peculiarly within one party's knowledge or assertions are doubtful; res judicata/"once and for all" rule – separate causes of action for distinct thefts; costs – attorney-and-client (punitive) costs warranted for admitted fraud and meritless defences.
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18 November 2025 |
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MSA’s deeming provisions bound the parties and excluded the cleaner’s duty to detect spillages, so no liability for the fall was established.
Delict – slip-and-fall in shopping mall; Master Service Agreement with deeming provisions; quiescence; allocation of duty to detect spillages; exclusion of continuous monitoring; legal duty and wrongfulness; CCTV evidence timing; negligence and res ipsa loquitur considered; public policy on delegation to independent contractors.
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18 November 2025 |
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Final sequestration confirmed; interlocutory intervention, Rule 45A and oral-evidence applications dismissed; no special circumstances shown.
Insolvency law – Sequestration – Final order under s 12(1)(a)–(c) – statutory requirements established (liquidated debt, insolvency, advantage to creditors) – court’s discretion exercised where no special circumstances shown. Civil procedure – Intervention (Rule 12) – requires direct and substantial interest; non-joinder fatal. Civil procedure – Rule 45A – cannot be used to suspend non-executable orders or mount collateral challenges; locus standi required. Motion proceedings – leave to adduce oral evidence – permitted only for genuine, material disputes of fact; irrelevant historic allegations and unjoined third parties defeat the application. Res judicata – prior adverse determinations cannot be relitigated in sequestration proceedings
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18 November 2025 |
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Minor inconsistencies in child testimony do not defeat convictions; oath's substance matters; no substantial and compelling circumstances.
Criminal law — Child witnesses — Cautionary approach: minor inconsistencies or imaginative detail do not mandate rejection if core testimony is consistent and corroborated; section 164(1) — admissibility: focus on substance of child's understanding of truth and oath; interpreter — permanent court interpreter avoids exclusion; sentencing — mandatory minimum life sentence for rape and high threshold for substantial and compelling circumstances.
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18 November 2025 |
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Provisional sequestration granted where taxed cost debts, nulla bona returns and admissions established acts of insolvency and prima facie insolvency.
Insolvency law – provisional sequestration – creditor’s claim based on taxed costs – bona fide dispute standard – acts of insolvency: nulla bona returns (s 8(b)) and written notice of inability to pay (s 8(g)) – factual insolvency on prima facie basis – advantage to creditors – condonation for non‑compliance with Practice Direction 30(1) where spouse informed by affidavit – provisional sequestration granted.
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17 November 2025 |
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Eviction dismissed: landlord failed to lawfully terminate tenancy and court erred in applying PIE's just‑and‑equitable assessment.
Property law – Eviction under PIE – Just and equitable assessment – landlord’s burden to prove lawful termination and necessity of vacant possession; Rental Housing Act and Unfair Practice Regulations – reconstruction/refurbishment; impermissible introduction of new ground in reply; consideration of occupier’s age, health, income, availability and affordability of alternative accommodation; restitution context (District Six) relevant to equitable relief.
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14 November 2025 |
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Seven-year sentences for attempted murder confirmed; withdrawal after notice to increase sentence requires court leave.
Criminal law – sentence appeal – adequacy of trial court’s sentencing discretion and review grounds
Criminal Procedure Act s 322(6) – appellate power to impose a harsher sentence; exercised sparingly and only with prior notice. Right to withdraw appeal – does not lapse after notice of possible increase; withdrawal requires leave of the court. Sentencing principles – Zinn factors, victim impact, proportionality; post-offence minimum sentence regime not applicable retroactively
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14 November 2025 |
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Holder of a right of way is entitled to unobstructed vehicular access; neighbours may park unless they unreasonably block access.
Servitudes — right of way — interpretation of notarial deed — effective use v lightest burden on servient tenement; parking on servitude — when constitutes unreasonable obstruction; civiliter modo and ubuntu informing reasonableness in neighbour law; non-joinder of body corporate; requirements for final interdict; costs for late amendment.
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12 November 2025 |
