Exclusion of adopted children as beneficiaries

What constitutes “special circumstances” in an application to the Supreme Court of Appeal, for special leave to appeal

Section 17(3) read with section 16(1)(b) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 provides for an application for special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). According to the SCA, special circumstances may arise if the appeal deals with a substantial point of law, or the matter is of great importance to the parties or the public, or where the prospects of success on appeal are so strong that the refusal to grant leave to appeal would result in a denial of justice for the party seeking leave to appeal.

The impact of AI and the power of streaming platforms in the South African context

Preparing for the Department

Prof Hugo Pienaar and Leila Moosa discuss employment policy and procedure requirements that employers should have front of mind when considering how the employment equity amendments may impact their business and its implementation of the Employment Equity Act, 1998.

The decriminalisation of cannabis use and/or possession for minors: A significant shift in South African drug law reform

In 2019, the Constitutional Court in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others (1) SA 14 (CC), partially confirmed the judgment in Prince v Minister of Justice and Others (4) SA 299 (WCC), which declared provisions of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 (Drugs Act) and the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 unconstitutional. In doing so, the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults for their personal use in private.

Automatically unfair dismissal for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine? The Labour Court’s first decision

The law regarding automatically unfair dismissals is trite and has been tested by our courts on various occasions. Recently, however, in the case of Burton Maasdorp v University of Free State JS647/2022 , the Labour Court handed down the first decision regarding an automatically unfair dismissal claim resulting from an employee’s refusal to adhere to a workplace COVID-19 vaccination policy. 

Dispute resolution within construction and engineering: Arbitration

Construction & Engineering Law experts Clive Rumsey and Sethu Khumalo discuss the role of arbitration in dispute resolution.