403 Forbidden

The proliferation of electronic documents makes electronic discovery imperative for the legal and corporate world, and mishandling such documents could spell danger for the success of your case.This was the overarching sentiment shared during the virtual launch on 30 March 2021 of Africa’s first legal text on eDiscovery, entitled A Guide to eDiscovery in South Africa.

The world is awash with data and has officially entered the Zettabyte era[1].  Hundreds of billions of emails are sent/received on a daily basis and it has been calculated that more than 97% of business documents are created electronically. South Africa is not immune nor exempt from the digital revolution.  In short, the very nature of what constitutes information and documentary evidence, types and sources, and how they are dealt with has changed.

As we well know, the volume of data being generated is growing rapidly. eDiscovery involves almost all information capable of being stored electronically, across multiple formats. It is not limited to conventional formats such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and email. It includes text messages, social media interactions on WhatsApp, Twitter, Skype and Zoom meetings. Add in LinkedIn, FaceBook and Google searches. In short it is the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting and producing electronically stored information (ESI) in a litigation case or investigation.

A force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.”

Jason Manyenyeni argues that the learned Judge erred in some principal and crucial respects in the case of De Beer and Another v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. A view which he contends is consistent with most of the views expressed by early commentators, and that the judgment is unlikely to pass the scrutiny of an appeal court.

The role of leadership in both the public and private sector has become pivotal amid the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic and the South African government’s reaction thereto under the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 as amended.

Many African infrastructure projects, such as those in the oil and gas sector, for example, have been put on hold due to Covid-19. Making sure that companies have the right people to get projects back up and running as soon as possible is a top priority for both the public and private sectors.

The survey gives a sense of how the lockdown is impacting expat workers and new assignees who were due to enter South Africa. More than 150 JSE-listed and large multinational companies operating across Africa participated in the survey. According to the survey, 37% of the participants have new assignees that were due to enter the country during the first quarter of 2020. They are waiting for the lockdown regulations to be lifted in order to enter South Africa.

COVID-19 restrictions have led to a lot of uncertainty about existing visas and ongoing visa applications, however, as lockdown measures are lifted across Europe seafarers are strongly recommended to utilise this time in lockdown to carefully prepare their visa applications, while they await the reopening of visa application centres, thereby avoiding the common pitfalls that lead to a rejected visa.

The Department of Home Affairs allows international travel in the following, albeit limited categories - work, study, to take up permanent residency, medical conditions and/or family reunions. This means that expats have an opportunity to help their parents stuck in South Africa.

On 23 May 2020 the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that international travel will be allowed for South Africans, who fall within limited categories. The main ones being: work, study, family reunion, to take up permanent residency and for medical reasons. These are indeed the most important categories and make provision for most cases where international travel is an important consideration.

The lockdown is unconstitutional! The North Gauteng High Court’s decision in De Beer and Others v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (21542/2020)

A critical analysis of the Judgment in De Beer and Others v Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (21542/2020) [2020] ZAGPPHC 184 (2 June 2020) with regard to the constitutional validity of both the  declaration of a state of national disaster and the regulations pursuant thereto.

Insights on the regulations and directives the South African government and schools implemented to protect children’s rights to education under national lockdown.

A force majeure is generally defined as “an act of God or man that is unforeseen and unforeseeable and out of the reasonable control of one or both of the parties to a contract, and which makes it objectively impossible for one or both of the parties to perform their obligations under the contract.”

Most businesses have been struggling to stay afloat and some have considered cutting the number of their employees while others are totally closing down as they have not survived the COVID 19 lockdown period. Before deciding on totally closing down your business or company you might want to consider a business merger with a company or business that offers or renders the same goods and services as yours.

COVID-19 – Companies placed in liquidation: Court leaves SARS weak, but retrenched employees are the real victims

Multi-tiered dispute settlement and the introduction of Rule 41A is a significant evolution of South Africa’s legal system

The new normal - A pandemic presenting us with an imperative to manage commercial disputes effectively. Appropriate, adaptive dispute resolution broadens the range of services a legal practitioner can deliver with the result that he/she can address a wider range of client’s needs. This is particularly important in this era of a ‘disrupted normal’. Reliance on legal mechanisms under these circumstances is akin to using a blunt instrument to perform delicate surgery.

Representing and advising clients in a mediation process – a new practice area for legal representatives. Mediation Advocacy is the technique of strategically presenting a client’s position, needs and interests in a non-adversarial way, and in recognizing that the negotiated outcome to a dispute is usually more flexible, satisfying and sustainable than an order imposed by a court or other tribunal.