Judges Matter welcomes the move but says more judges are needed By Tania Broughton The Gauteng High Court has too few judges for the number of civil matters enrolled, with the earliest available court dates in 2031. A draft directive by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo proposes that cases will only be set down for trial if they first undergo mediation. Some...

Minister of Justice opposed the case to have “defence of subjective consent to rape” scrapped By Geoffrey Allsop The Johannesburg High Court has delivered a significant judgment. It has declared unconstitutional the defence of “subjective consent” to a charge of rape. Judge Selby Baqwa said such a defence unjustifiably violates the constitutional rights of rape survivors and complainants to equality, human dignity, privacy and...

The laws “have not deterred … the selling or buying of sex … and are not rationally capable of doing so. They merely create greater stigma and vulnerability among sex workers and violate their rights.” By Tania Broughton A Cape Town sex worker, with the support of the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), has launched a constitutional challenge to...

Three years after the landmark Concourt ruling, very little has changed with their access to compensation By Kimberly Mutandiro It’s been three years since the Constitutional Court’s landmark ruling for domestic workers to be covered by the provisions of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). But activists say very little has changed for most workers. According to...

The short answer The Director-General of Home Affairs can issue an order that will allow a foreign ex-spouse who applies for a visitor’s or relative’s visa to stay in the country. The long answer There was a recent case (June 2022) brought to the Western Cape High Court by several foreign ex-spouses wanting to stay in South Africa as they were contributing to their...

A shortage of judges and insufficient research and secretarial support are among concerns raised about the judiciary By Marecia Damons Judge Jacqueline Henriques took three years to deliver a judgment. In her judgment, she said that a lack of adequate secretarial and research support were among the reasons for the delay. According to civic organisation Judges Matter, systemic issues affecting the...

“The holding of political office and remaining registered as a medical practitioner are not mutually exclusive” says judge By Tania Broughton Last year in a widely circulated video, Limpopo Health MEC Dr Pophi Ramathuba told a hospitalised Zimbabwean patient: “You are killing my health system. It’s unfair.” A preliminary committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) found that...

Ruling on the display of the flag in private homes to be determined at another hearing, if brought before a court By Tania Broughton The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that displaying the old South African flag is hate speech, unfair discrimination on the basis of race, and harassment, upholding an Equality Court ruling. The SCA however amended the...

The legislation was sent to the president more than two months ago 2 December 2022 | By Chris Gilili Domestic workers were excluded from claiming for compensation for work injuries until the Constitutional Court ruled in 2020 that a section of the Compensation Act was invalid. The amendment bill correcting this was sent to the President in September this year but has not...

Land Claims Court says the Constitution requires that ESTA be given a “generous interpretation” 21 November 2022 | By Tania Broughton The Land Claims Court has ruled that removing grazing rights can amount to an eviction. Courts have previously ruled that grazing is only permitted by consent of the landowner. The Constitutional Court has said that a “blinkered” approach must be avoided when...