During July 2021, and seemingly initiated by the arrest of the former President, Jacob Zuma, South Africa experienced an elevated degree of civil unrest throughout many parts of Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal. Whilst the full economic impact of these events is presently unclear, there is little doubt that business operations across the country have suffered significant losses, with one inauspicious consequence of many companies being unable to fulfill their contractual obligations. In this context, it is useful to consider the concept of force majeure and the contractual application of these clauses.

On 11 June 2021, the Government published an amended Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces (the “Direction”). Of particular significance in the Direction is the inclusion of guidelines (the “Guidelines”) concerning the possible imposition of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policies.

In an ever-changing digital world, most people have some form of online presence – from email, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, to online banking and shopping. This dependence on computers and the internet, accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19, has left individuals, organisations and even nations increasingly at risk of being victims of cybercrime, as criminals are provided an online means to commit a diverse range of crimes from locations around the globe.

Unlike the founding counterpart in the United States of America[1], the South African Constitution does not enshrine the right to bear arms – gun ownership is viewed as a statutory privilege principally regulated by the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 (the “Act”). On 21 May 2021, the Government published a notice in the in the Government Gazette, formally inviting public comment on the proposed changes to this Act, as detailed by the Firearms Control Amendment Bill, 2021 (the “Bill”).[2]

In 2019 a horrific discovery was made when inspectors attended at a captive lion breeding farm in the North West of South Africa to find more than a hundred lions, among other big cats, suffering from neglect, parasites, mange and various other health ailments. Irrespective of the various ailments, the lions were intended for use in captive hunts and/or to be slaughtered and their various parts sold.

In this series of short articles, Richard Wands, the Managing Partner of HJW Attorneys, the largest firm of attorneys in Fourways, will discuss the various aspects to getting divorced, from start to finish and will also discuss important concepts related to family law in general.

A liquidated damages clause describes the quantum of damages due and payable upon breach of a commercial agreement. This can be a devilish feature of non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements (“NDA(s)”) which typically set out the terms upon which a “receiving party” will be permitted to use or share confidential information provided by a “disclosing party”.

On 4 February 2021, the Constitutional Court handed down judgment in the matter of AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others, declaring the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002 (“RICA”) unconstitutional in certain respects, and confirming the order of the High Court of South Africa, Pretoria.

Uber SA may face a class action lawsuit in the Labour Court which is presently being prepared by a Johannesburg based law firm on behalf of South African Uber drivers. This follows a decision passed down by the UK Supreme Court on 19 February 2021 which ruled in favour of granting employees’ rights to Uber drivers, previously classified as independent contractors.

The term “sperm donor” usually implies the donation of sperm by a man, which is to be inseminated into the person to whom the sperm was donated, for the purposes of procreation, wherein no parental rights and responsibilities attach to the donor in respect of a child born from the insemination, despite the manner of the insemination.

On Monday night, 26 April 2021, Norma Mngoma appeared to argue against testifying at the Zondo Commission. Her reasoning to the commission that her marital status somehow precluded her from testifying against her husband (Malusi Gigaba) was dismissed by commission chair Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

Over the past six to nine months there has been a disturbing increase in the number of children being bullied at school. Parents are at their wits’ end. Educators, heads of school and governing body members are aware of these problems in their schools and simply do not know how to address them. They, too, are at their wits’ end. The statistics are frightening.

The impending update to the WhatsApp privacy policy has caused significant concern and confusion, with many of its users seeking alternative messaging platforms. Initially scheduled for 08 February 2021, this new policy is due to come into effect on 15 May 2021.

In a recent judgment delivered by the High Court in Pretoria during April 2021, rights were afforded to parents to bury or cremate a foetus that is younger than 26 weeks old. Prior to this case, no burial rights were afforded to foetus’s younger than 26 weeks. In this case, the court ruled that amendments needed to be made to the Birth and Deaths Registration Act to allow for such burials. Although the Constitutional Court still needs to endorse the ruling, the ruling has been widely welcomed by the general public.

Most employers will be familiar with or at least aware of dishonesty and it’s more typical appearances in the workplace, among others, theft, fraud, time abuses and bogus medical certificates, falsifying qualifications, or an employee’s lies to cover up errors or incomplete work. What happens if an employee were to mislead an employer during a company investigation or misstate facts during proceedings against the employer? How does this impact upon the employment relationship?

Domestic violence is perpetrated between men and women on a daily basis, however, an average of 7 South African women are murdered by a partner or immediate family member daily.

The mere fact that an employee fails a polygraph test is not in itself sufficient to find an employee guilty of dishonesty.

Here are two important recent developments in the South African employment law landscape effective from 1 March 2021 that you should know about.

Restraint of trade agreements are, with exception, valid and enforceable in South African law and have risen to considerable prominence, particularly in employment contracts. For ex-employees seeking to avoid their restraint clauses, there rests an onus on them to prove that enforcement would be unreasonable, and therefore contrary to the public interest. This frequent contest in our Courts has culminated in a generous body of case law and ever evolving legal arguments.

The Constitutional Court in Beadica 231 CC and Others v Trustees for the time being of the Oregon Trust and Others, recently had occasion to consider whether a renewal clause in a lease agreement was against public policy because of the fact that enforcement of a specific term would result in substantive inequality, in terms of section 9(2) of the Constitution.