Without Prejudice - latest Issue

The A, B, C's for generation Z

Converting your career ambitions into reality

Obtaining CV Gold; the power of vacation programmes

Joining the world of law

A changing market

12 Months a CA

Where an LLB took me…

Adjusting one’s course – from the attorneys’ profession to the bar

Starting out… Five Financial Planning tips

University of Cape Town

University of the Free State

University of Johannesburg

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

North West University

University of Pretoria

Rhodes University

Stellenbosch University

University of Venda

University of the Western Cape

University of the Witwatersrand

University of Zululand

In a break from tradition, without prejudice features the Top Students of 2016 in this May issue instead of April. The #Feesmustfall movement last year, the consequent disruption of both classes and exams meant that the universities were unable to guarantee being able to let me know the names of their top students in time to contact them and for the graduates to respond.

The Financial Markets Act, 2012 (the FM Act) creates a number of insider trader offences which may be committed by an insider who knows that he or she has "inside information" and who cannot prove any of the prescribed defences on a balance of probabilities. Notably, the FM Act also creates several offences relating to the manipulation of prices of listed securities and the publication of false and misleading information which fall outside the scope of this article.

Can a bank be held liable for reckless credit if the applicant is dishonest about their earnings during the application phase of a credit agreement?

In a catastrophic move for South Africa, credit rating agency Standard and Poor (S&P) downgraded South Africa's credit rating to "junk” status.

The imposition of personal liability on directors for reckless trading may be regarded as an important prophylactic against gross mismanagement of the business and affairs of a company. The burden of personal liability in this regard is well placed if one considers that the management of a company’s business and affairs is vested with its board of directors. However, South African corporate law currently regulates reckless trading under two different pieces of legislation, namely, s424(1) of the Companies Act No (61 of 1973) (1973 Act) and s22(1) of the Companies Act (71 of 2008) (2008 Act).

The trend to hold employers vicariously liable for the behaviour of their employees has taken an interesting turn. Whether it is for the better or the worse will depend entirely on which side of the table you are seated.

“Whenever any person (hereinafter called the insurer) is obliged to indemnify another person (hereinafter called the insured) in respect of any liability incurred by the insured towards a third party, the latter shall, on the sequestration of the estate of the insured, be entitled to recover from the insurer the amount of the insured’s liability towards the third party but not exceeding the maximum amount for which the insurer has bound himself to indemnify the insured” – s156 of the Insolvency Act (24 of 1936) (as amended).

Some of the proposed tax amendments announced in the 2017 Budget Speech have brought a renewed focus on the question of residence. A question often asked is: for how long after someone leaves South Africa will they still have to pay tax in South Africa? In this article, I will explain the concept of tax residence, what it means in terms of South Africa law and how it affects the way in which income earned by an individual is taxed in South Africa. The discussion is based on the Income Tax Act and due to space constraints, does not consider the provisions of any double tax agreements.

VDMA

Adams & Adams

Baker McKenzie

Fasken Martineau

Bowmans

Werksmans

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Clyde & Co

Smit Sewgoolam

Spoor & Fisher

Allen & Overy

Maponya

Herbert Smith Freehills

Cox Yeats

Shepstone & Wylie

Garlicke & Bousfield

ENSafrica

Von Seidels

Hogan Lovells

Norton Rose

Bowmans

Baker McKenzie

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Falcon & Hume

Webber Wentzel

Cox Yeats

Hogan Lovells

Mncedisi Ndlovu and Sedumedi

Norton Rose Fulbright

ENSafrica

Smith Sewgoolam

Von Seidels

CCASA

Lee-Ann is a Partner at Mostert & Bosman, a six partner firm in Bellville, Cape Town. She studied law at UWC, was admitted in 2001 and became a conveyancer in 2006. In 2007 she became the first female partner at Mostert & Bosman, a firm which began in 1893. Her time is currently divided between being law firm partner, wife, mother of two children, and marathon runner.

The Western Cape High Court in Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd v Magistrate for the District of Vredendal and others (18701/16) [2017] ZAWCHC 25 (20 March 2017) recently handed down judgement addressing an Australian mining company’s allegedly illegal activities at its West Coast Tormin Mine.

On 8 March, judgement was handed down in the Pretoria High Court following a review application brought by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg which challenged the environmental authorisation granted by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to the proposed 1200MW Thabametsi coal-fired power station to be built near Lephalale in the Limpopo Province (Thabametsi).

Part 1

Where there is a duty to cooperate under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court but a state has adopted a position of contempt, there must be some enforcement mechanism to ensure cooperation in respect of witness protection.

Forty eight days wrongful pre-trial detention is Fourth Amendment violation

Texas mental disability standards for death penalty

Lawyer admits $550M disability fraud and bribing a judge

Case for shot down drone dismissed

Amazon releases smart speaker data to court

Lawyer guilty of porn copyright extortion

Same-sex marriage validation is retrospective

Twitter user charged with assault for sending a strobe image causing a seizure

Contract lawyer disbarred so law firm’s fees slashed

TV news company sued for calling ground beef “pink slime”

Law firm fined for too many words

Civil Rights Act protects gay workers

Female justices interrupted more than males

Judge allows incitement to violence suit against Trump campaign

The World in April

Most people remember their wedding day for the rest of their lives – who they married, where and when it happened. Maybe even some of the guests. But not the woman in an unusual case recently heard by the high court in Port Elizabeth. She got it completely wrong.

It has always been the aim of the NEC suite of contracts to encourage a pro-active approach to the management of complex construction and engineering projects. This is indeed a standout feature of the NEC contracts which can lead to the achievement of successful projects when properly implemented and adhered to. There are various NEC contracts that may be used depending on the scope of works and the pricing structure adopted by the contracting parties.

In the past, our judiciaries have been plagued with a mass of eviction applications. A significant number have been for the eviction of farm workers. More often than not, the antecedent to these evictions is an employment relationship terminated through dismissal or retrenchment. These farm workers are then left not only jobless but homeless too.

Courts are facing a rising tide of defamation cases stemming from a new source – social media. Recording nearly 1.86 billion active monthly users, Facebook provides a platform to express and share views to an audience. Many other Social Networking Services (SNSs) provide similar platforms.