October 2022 Law Reports

A discussion of recent reported judgments originally published in the October 2022 De Rebus and which have been discussed as and when they were published in the South African Law Reports - the All South African Law Reports, the South African Criminal Law Reports and the Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports.

August [2022] 3 All South African Law Reports (pp 311 – 639); August 2022 (8) Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports (pp 907 – 1053)

Readers should note that some reported judgments may have been overruled or overturned on appeal or have an appeal pending against them: Readers should not rely on a judgment discussed here without checking on that possibility – De RebusEditor.

Abbreviations

CC: Constitutional Court
ECG: Eastern Cape Division, Makhanda (Grahamstown)
FB: Free State Division, Bloemfontein
SCA: Supreme Court of Appeal
WCC: Western Cape Division, Cape Town

1. In Trustees for the time being of the Humane Society International – Africa Trust and Others v Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Others [2022] 3 All SA 616 (WCC) manifestly unfair to invite a party to consult on an issue in which the decision-maker is statutorily time bound only to apply that participative process to a time period in respect of which there has been no consultation.
2. In Nedbank Limited v Houtbosplaas (Pty) Ltd and Another [2022] 3 All SA 361 (SCA), whether Nedbank was entitled, under FICA, to certified copies of the trust deeds of four trusts, which were not customers of Nedbank.
3. In Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and Others v AngloGold Ashanti Ltd t/a AngloGold Ashanti and Others 2022 (8) BCLR 907 (CC), substantive requirements for lawful secondary strikes.
4. In Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Another v British American Tobacco South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Others [2022] 3 All SA 332 (SCA), prohibition on the sale of tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and related products an unjustifiable limitation of the rights to dignity, and bodily and psychological integrity.
5. In S v SN [2022] 3 All SA 497 (ECG), rape of a minor – circumstances justifying a lesser sentence than the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment imposed in terms of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007.
6. In Rapp van Zyl Incorporated and Others v FirstRand Bank and Others [2022] 3 All SA 437 (WCC), firm of attorneys claimed damages arising from statements made by a bank employee -  objective test for defamation; a so-called privileged occasion, is qualified and not absolute.
7. In Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs: Free State v Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality and Others [2022] 3 All SA 403 (FB), application by MEC for court to review and declare on the alleged unlawful appointment of municipal managers.

Note: Select the OCTOBER 2022 LAW REPORTS tag for a link to a full discussion of each of the above cases.

Other cases

Apart from the cases and material dealt with above, the material under review also contained cases dealing with –

• application for review of decision to seize goods;
• appointment of municipal managers and acting municipal managers;
• ban on alcohol sales during national state of disaster;
• default judgment dissolving partnership;
• right to have access to adequate housing; and
• right to protest.

Merilyn Rowena Kader LLB (Unisa) is a Legal Editor at LexisNexis in Durban.
This article was first published in De Rebus in 2022 (Oct) DR 23.