Finding against COSATU’s Bongani Masuku overturned By Wilmien Wicomb The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) this week delivered a judgment that provided much needed clarity about the meaning of “hate speech” as prohibited in the Equality Act. Understanding what constitutes hate speech is crucial to properly protecting and promoting the right to freedom of expression. Besides being a fundamental human right in section 16...

Interdict application to halt operations at the Somkhele coal mine thrown out with costs By Fred Kockott A high court bid to close down Somkhele coal mine on the border of Hlhulhuwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal was yesterday dismissed with costs. The interdict application to halt operations at the Somkhele coal mine – one of the country’s largest suppliers of anthracite – was brought...

The ruling will help people hold peaceful protests without fear of getting criminal records By Wilmien Wicomb On Monday, after five years of court battles, ten people who protested without permission in 2013 finally could rest easy that they would not get criminal records. Here’s an explanation of what the Constitutional Court judgment in the case known as SJC10 means. Section 17 of the Bill...

Ten Social Justice Coalition members who chained themselves to Cape Town civic centre will not have criminal records 19 November 2018   By Zoë Postman The Constitutional Court has ruled that the failure to give notice of a protest should not be made a criminal offense. The judgement, delivered on Monday morning in a case that has become known as the SJC10, was unanimous....

Our court system is frustrating, slow and technologically backward  By GroundUp Editors South Africans are rightly proud of our independent judiciary. It has, with some notable individual exceptions, avoided the descent into corruption and disintegration of state institutions that took place in the Zuma era. But our court system is frustrating, slow and technologically backward. This is unnecessary. Here are some ways it...

Woolworths should have considered alternatives, says country’s highest court By Mluleki Marongo Dozens of workers retrenched by Woolworths in 2012 must be reinstated. The Constitutional Court ordered this on 6 November, nearly six years after the retrenchment. The case was between the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (SACCAWU) and Woolworths. Woolworths employees used to work full-time for the company, 45 hours a...

The Constitutional Court is deciding if Alex Ruta can seek asylum By Zoë Postman Alex Ruta is a Rwandan national who worked for the Rwanda National Security Services. He was sent to South Africa by his superiors in 2014 but he had to enter the country illegally because he did not have a visa. Once in South Africa, Ruta learned that his...

Holomisa vs Holomisa is a victory for women living in the Transkei 1 November 2018   By Geoffrey Allsop Women in the Transkei have won a big victory in the Constitutional Court. If married under the old Transkei Marriage Act they will be less likely to be left destitute if they get divorced. Holomisa vs Holomisa dealt with the constitutionality of the Divorce Act....

Frequent postponements are frustrating and emotionally draining for both the accused and accuser By Kelly Vinett and Saam Niami Jalinous The magistrate, prosecutor, and two bailiffs joke with one another as they rush through cases at Court 16 at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. Sexual offence cases come here first, a court which deals with contact cases such as murder, assault, and rape. There...

“The courts had spoken. We had to do it,” says Deputy Minister of Home Affairs By GroundUp correspondent The Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office was officially re-opened on Friday by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. The province has been without such a facility since Home Affairs unilaterally closed it in 2011. Following years of legal action, public outcry and civil society activism,...