News
How Does South African Law Define ‘Home’ in Eviction Cases?
According to South Africa’s Constitution, no one can be evicted or have their “home” demolished without a court order. This principle is reinforced by the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 1998 (PIE), which upholds the right...
Vacation Programme: Johannesburg 20 – 22 September 2023
We’re pleased to announce that our Vacation Programme at our Johannesburg office ran from 20 – 22 September 2023 and was a great success! We hosted four students selected from multiple applications from intermediate and final-year students studying at universities in...
Share Buy-Backs: A discussion on the current legal framework and the changes considered in the Companies Amendment Bills.
A share buy-back, or share repurchase, is a transaction in which a company buys back its issued shares from a shareholder. Section 48 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 ("the Act") regulates how a company, or its subsidiary, may acquire the company's shares. Capital...
Layers of Lessee Protection
With the lens on the developer of a sectional title scheme, a distinction needs to be made between Developer A, who owns undeveloped land on which they intend to develop buildings comprising a sectional title scheme and Developer B, who owns land on which a building...
A cracker of a victory for Salticrax.
Whilst shopping in the supermarket, do you always take specific and particular notice of the branded items you place in your trolley? Have you ever picked up an item and, on closer inspection, realised it wasn't the product you were looking to buy, or you bought it...
Beneficial ownership: What is it, and how does one comply with the CIPC reporting requirements?
Beneficial ownership: What is it, and how does one comply with the CIPC reporting requirements? The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) recently launched the Beneficial Ownership Register, which allows for the filing of beneficial ownership...
No Man’s Land
Since the advent of the National Lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 Virus and now regular Loadshedding, many employers have resorted to placing their employees on a temporary layoff to alleviate the deleterious economic effects of both of these events on...
Hopeless cases: Legal practitioner’s fiduciary duty towards the court and their clients.
In the recent UNISA case of the University of South Africa v Socikwa and Others (J 675/23; J 680/23) [2023] ZALCJHB 172, Acting Judge Sethene delivered a scathing judgment condemning legal practitioners who proceed with hopeless cases, which waste court resources,...
Building Plan Conditions in Bond Grants.
In an attempt to protect their security, financial institutions are frequently requesting updated approved building plans as a pre-registration Bond condition. This can cause massive delays in the registration process if the updated approved plans are not available....
Gallery: FWB celebrates Mandela Day 2023
Legal Talk – Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act – Interview with Adela Petersen
Fairbridges Wertheim Becker's Managing Partner Adela Petersen was recently interviewed on Cape Talk Radio's Legal Talk segment with Pippa Hudson. They chatted about the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act. Listen to the interview below:[sonaar_audioplayer albums="6141"...
The Supreme Court of Appeal Rules That Student Accommodation Does Not Constitute a ‘Home’.
On 3 July 2023, the SCA delivered its judgment on whether the provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 ("PIE") apply to student residences at a higher education institution. The Acting Judge of Appeal Mali...
Judgement: Stay at South Point Properties(Pty) Ltd v Abulele Mqulwana Others
Amendments to the Requirements for Beneficial Ownership and Beneficial Interest in Companies.
On February 24, 2023, South Africa was added to the "grey list," leading to potential impacts on its economic growth and global competitiveness. This designation was made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organization that sets...
TerraLex launches Cross-Border Guide to ESG & Sustainable Finance
TerraLex is a leading international network of top independent law firms in over 100 countries and our contribution, authored by Bob Groeneveld, Gaby Meintjes, and Tashreek Miller, focused on what the key statutory environmental, social, and governance disclosure...
Fraud Unravels All
Insured ordered to pay back the money! Interpretation of forfeiture clauses in insurance policies – the duty of the insured to act in good faith In Discovery Insure Limited v Masindi (534/2022) [2023] ZASCA 101, the SCA, on appeal, were faced with the interpretive...
Mitigate The Risk – Cybersecurity in South Africa
Cybersecurity is crucial to any business operating in today's digital landscape. With most of our daily lives conducted online, where various types of sensitive information are managed, protecting yourself and your business against cyber threats and online data...
Winds of Change: A closer look at the Amendments to the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998
The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 ("the Act") is primarily intended to promote the right to equality in the workplace, ensuring that all employees enjoy equal opportunities and are treated equally by their employers in order to address South Africa's history of...
When the worst is over.
With the advent of Covid-19 in 2019 which resulted in a national lockdown in March 2020, many Employers suffered financial distress which forced them to restructure their businesses, impacting significantly on their employees, with widespread retrenchment becoming the...
Repudiation Overturned
Court rules that the insured did not act recklessly. In the recent judgment of Govender versus Guardrisk Insurance Company Limited (64633/2019) [2023] ZAGPPHC 125 (2 March 2023), the High Court (HC) had to determine whether Guardrisk (the defendant) was liable to...
Close but no cigar.
The Labour Court has recently grappled with the question relating to the legal status of an Award for reinstatement in the decision Mahlangu v Rand Water (2023) 44 ILJ 569 (LC). The Court drew on the wisdom of the Apex Court in Numsa obo Moses Fohlisa and 41 Others v...