Latest Issue - Quarter 4 2021

The World – Q4 International

The Associated Press reported that a 10-point buck sought sanctuary inside a southern Michigan church on November 15, opening day of the state's firearm deer hunting season. Pastors at Grace Sturgis encountered the buck inside the church's auditorium on Monday, before it leapt through a window and back into the wild.

Bridging the gap between jurisdictions International - Law

London – home to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Charles Dickens and tea, plenty of it. A city that attracts legal professionals from all over the world, looking to build an international legal career. I, for one, have always dreamed of working in London, and after many years of vacillating, I took the plunge and made the move.

News, promotions and appointments

The upside of mediation – consideration of the Rule 41A mediation procedure Mediation

Mediation has long been encouraged as a form of alternative dispute resolution. In the words of Professor Maureen A. Weston, mediation is: "premised upon the intention that by providing disputing parties with a process that is confidential, voluntary, adaptable to the needs and interests of the parties, and within party control, a more satisfying, durable and efficient resolution of disputes may be achieved."

Communities need to take responsibility for their own fates The Law/Opinion

"To the victor goes the spoils." This term was coined by New York Senator William L. Marcy referring to Andrew Jackson's victory in the US Presidential election of 1828. The term, "spoils" meant the goods or benefits that were taken from the loser in an election. A spoils system (in South African parlance, a patronage system) refers to a system in which a political party, once successful in an election, gives government jobs to its friends, relatives and confidantes to ensure both loyalty and continuous power and influence. Inevitably, in such a system, meritorious appointments become both irrelevant and meretricious.

The perilous state of the rule of law in South Africa The Law/Opinion

This is a call to action for the legal fraternity. We cannot be insulated from the developments that we read about almost every day in the press. For a long time, I have been concerned by the corrosive effects of corruption on South Africa – both on a nation struggling to emerge economically, and on the effectiveness of our judicial system. There is abundant evidence of the debilitating impact of corruption – both perceived and real – which is eroding trust in government processes.

The attorney at law: a profession in danger of extinction The Law/International/Opinion

The noble profession of the "learned friends" faces numerous challenges to its continued existence, from advances in technology, inroads into service areas by other professions like accountants, debt collectors and realtors.

One step forward, two steps back for victims of Gender Based Violence The Law

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (32 of 2007) (SORMA) was enacted in response to the rising levels of violence against women and children in our country. It attempts to provide victims of that violence with clear legal protection. Among SORMA's achievements is the recognition that rape can occur within a marriage, the delineation as to how evidence should be treated by our courts to ensure our adjudicators do not perpetuate rape myths, and to otherwise begin to bring our law closer to international standards. But it is evident that notwithstanding our progressive Constitution and legislation, we have only just begun. Two recent judgments have thrown the power that the judiciary wields in its interpretation and implementation of legislation into sharp focus.

COVID-19 and the development of law in South Africa The Law

Mandatory vaccination policies allowed

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) recently announced a new directive in terms of the Disaster Management Act (known as the updated Consolidated Directions on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces).

The need to extend directors’ fiduciary duties to elected public officers in South Africa The Law

Elected public officials are fiduciaries. The term 'fiduciary' derives from the Latin terms fides or fiduciarius, both of which mean trust and confidence. In a representative and constitutional democracy like South Africa, the public elects officials to act in its interests, putting its trust and confidence in the elected public officials. Subsequent to recent local and international political events, which have resulted in biased voting which disregards legitimate state interests by members of political parties in national or federal legislatures, it is obvious that there is a dire need for extending directors' fiduciary duties, especially the duty to exercise independent and unfettered discretion, to elected public officers in South Africa.

COVID-19: vaccination status and data privacy POPIA/COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to the way that ordinary people attend to their daily activities. Initially, the changes in behaviour were abrupt and disruptive, but as time progressed, these have become part of our daily routine.

POPI and its possible relation to AI or machine learning systems Technology/POPIA

This is the second article in a three-part series discussing the impact of the Personal Information Act (4 of 2013) on artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning systems in the context of the workplace.

The Five Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Questions Christmas Quiz

Unfortunately, most of us were raised in an education system where asking unscripted questions was not encouraged. Christian National Education taught us to knuckle under to petty authority, to go along with every prevailing belief and to regard those who are different with suspicion and contempt.

Without Prejudice October 2001 MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

Without Prejudice October 2001

View Issue Feature