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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2014 |
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Court dismissed attempt to enforce a principal‑debtor judgment against non‑party guarantors for lack of proper procedural process.
Civil procedure – enforcement of judgment – attempted enforcement of judgment against surety/co‑principal debtor who was not party to original suit – procedural form required – right to be heard (audi alteram partem) – no automatic liability of guarantor on principal debtor’s judgment.
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29 April 2014 |
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Summary judgment granted for admitted debt and agreed 50% interest; respondent failed to raise a bona fide defence.
Summary judgment – bona fide defence required – defendant must allege facts that, if proved, would succeed; Acknowledgement of debt enforceable – characterization as contract immaterial; Agreed high interest rate upheld where signed; Rule 73 – partie of claim may be abandoned or referred to trial; Costs on legal practitioner-client scale and collection commission.
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29 April 2014 |
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Rescission of a judgment does not automatically invalidate a confirmed sale in execution; equities may protect a bona fide purchaser.
Sale in execution; rescission of judgment; bona fide purchaser; balance of equities; jurisdiction to challenge magistrate's judgment; remedy for wrongful execution.
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29 April 2014 |
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Administrative authority was functus officio; failure to afford audi and unjustified departure from s 3(1) rendered cancellation invalid.
Administrative law – functus officio – official communication of decision; Administrative Justice Act s 3(1) – right to be heard; s 3(3)(b) – exceptions and reasonableness; s 4 relief; cession/assignment of municipal property; validity of administrative revocation.
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29 April 2014 |
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Sale by heir under customary succession upheld; subsequent re-registration and transfer of estate declared null and void.
Succession and estate administration – customary succession under s 68(2) Administration of Estates Act – eldest son as heir with personal capacity to inherit – restricted letters of administration concluding winding up – validity of sale by heir – nullity of subsequent re-registration and transfer – eviction counterclaim dismissed.
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29 April 2014 |
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Municipal authority may not summarily disconnect water without court process; by‑law provision permitting such discretion is ultra vires.
Administrative law – Municipal by‑laws – Ultra vires conduct – Disconnection of water; Constitutional right to water (s 77) – Protection against summary deprivation; Separation of powers – Courts’ exclusive role to determine disputes; Spoliation/interdict – Restoration of possession and interim protection; Contempt of court – Defiance of court order.
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29 April 2014 |
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Court registered arbitral awards, dismissing bias and public-policy challenges and awarding higher-scale costs to the applicant.
Arbitration — Registration of arbitral awards (Article 35) — Refusal/set-aside limited to public policy breaches — Public policy test restrictive — Alleged arbitrator bias assessed by objective reasonable-bystander test — Finality of arbitration; court interference only for gross irregularity or failure of justice — Costs awarded on a higher scale.
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29 April 2014 |
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Court declared vehicle sale unlawful; buyer failed to prove genuine purchase, applicant retained ownership.
Sale of vehicle — handwritten swap-and-top-up agreement — validity of sale — onus to prove genuine transfer — inadmissible hearsay — defaulting seller — declaration of ownership; costs.
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27 April 2014 |
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Bail refused where strong identification, recovered property and gravity of aggravated robbery create significant flight risk.
Bail — s 117 CPEA — factors: ties to jurisdiction, gravity of offence, strength of prosecution, likelihood to abscond, interference with witnesses, public confidence — admissibility of hearsay in bail proceedings — positive identification and recovered property weigh against bail.
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27 April 2014 |
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A stay of execution cannot be granted pending an unfiled rescission; security de restituendo must be provided per Order 4 rr 31–32.
Civil procedure — Urgent chamber application — Urgency must not be self-created — Stay of execution cannot be granted pending an unfiled rescission application — Order 4 rr 31–32 High Court Rules — security de restituendo — Registrar’s power to fix/require security — inappropriate use of counter urgent chamber application to challenge Registrar’s decision.
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27 April 2014 |
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Appellants failed to show the trial court misdirected itself in denying bail; appeal dismissed.
Criminal procedure – Bail pending trial – s 117 factors (ties to place of trial; assets; travel documents; strength of State case; nature and gravity of offence) – Appellate review of magistrate’s discretion – No misdirection where accused were heard and relevant considerations were addressed.
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24 April 2014 |
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Bail denied where strong prosecution case, material discrepancies and weak local ties created a real risk of abscondment.
Criminal procedure – bail pending trial – s 117 factors – foreign national with weak local ties – strength of prosecution case and severity of penalty – risk of abscondment v. risk of witness interference.
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24 April 2014 |
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High Court ordered employer to continue paying salary pending lawful finalisation of retrenchment, finding termination not yet effective.
Labour law – retrenchment – effective date of termination – employer must agree retrenchment package or have it determined before termination is effective; Civil procedure – High Court jurisdiction – High Court may grant interdicts in labour-related civil disputes where Labour Court lacks statutory power; Interim relief – entitlement to salary and benefits pending lawful retrenchment.
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23 April 2014 |
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Applicant, lacking means, awarded US$5,000 contribution and client-attorney costs as respondent could afford payment.
Family law – Divorce – Contribution towards legal costs under Order 35 r 274(1) – Requirements: subsisting marriage, matrimonial action, reasonable prospects, applicant’s lack of means and respondent’s ability to pay – Costs on client-attorney scale in exceptional circumstances.
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16 April 2014 |
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Court held university’s post‑graduation downgrading of awards irrational, breached contract, ordered re‑designation and re‑issuance of postgraduate diplomas.
Administrative law — Review of academic/administrative action — Wednesbury unreasonableness — University powers not immune from review — Declaration and re‑issuance of academic awards — Substitution of administrative decision in exceptional circumstances — Breach of contract by downgrading awards.
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16 April 2014 |
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Applicant cannot avoid binding fee awards by attacking void appointment; exceptional costs awarded for abuse of process.
Succession law – executor/curator appointment void but fees awarded – enforceability of prior court orders – abuse of court process – costs de bonis propriis and attorney-and-client scale.
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16 April 2014 |
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Court set aside an administrator’s refusal to grant leave to sue under s 6(b), finding it unreasonable and granting leave.
Reconstruction Act s 6(b) – leave to sue – Administrative Justice Act s 3(1)(a) – reasonableness and fairness of administrative decisions – judicial review – substitution of administrative decision in exceptional circumstances – post-reconstruction commercial loans – access to courts (constitutional challenge not decided).
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15 April 2014 |
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An urgent stay of execution was dismissed as premature and self-created because no appeal or rescission had been filed.
Civil procedure – Urgent chamber application – Stay of execution pending appeal – Relief premature where no appeal or rescission filed – Self-created urgency and material non-disclosure; dismissal with costs.
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15 April 2014 |
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Setting aside of arbitral award: indivisible building and equal land contributions made 70/30 rental apportionment contrary to public policy.
Arbitration — setting aside award for public policy — Arbitration Act art 34(2)(b)(ii) — receipt of award for limitation purposes — indivisible building on contiguous stands — partnership/co‑ownership contribution — palpable inequity.
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15 April 2014 |
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Bail pending appeal granted where the applicant lacks prospects on conviction but has arguable prospects on sentence regarding special circumstances.
Criminal law – stock theft – guilty plea – plea tendered by accused with counsel's confirmation – mandatory minimum sentence – 'special circumstances' as discretionary value judgment – prospects of appeal limited to sentence – bail pending appeal.
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13 April 2014 |
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The High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear matters committed exclusively to the Electoral Court by statute.
Electoral law — jurisdiction — s 161(2) Electoral Act confers exclusive jurisdiction on Electoral Court; Constitutional ss 162 and 174 permit creation and conferral of jurisdiction on other courts; High Court’s general original jurisdiction does not override legislatively conferred exclusive jurisdiction.
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9 April 2014 |
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Delay and self-created urgency precluded urgent relief and a stay of execution where rescission and condonation were not sought.
Civil procedure — Urgency — Self-created urgency — Default judgment and execution — Rescission and condonation — Interim stay of execution.
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9 April 2014 |
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Registered title prevails; bona fide purchaser entitled to ejectment absent convincing, recorded family claim.
Property law – Presumption of ownership in registered title – Rebuttal requires cogent corroborated evidence; Estate administration – Master’s consent and absence of proved objection; Bona fide purchaser – protection of purchaser who lacked knowledge of dispute; Ejectment – purchaser’s right to possession; Capacity – representation of minor on power of attorney.
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9 April 2014 |
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Bail pending automatic review refused where applicant failed to plead grounds of review or show prospects of success.
Criminal procedure — Bail pending automatic review — Distinction between review and appeal — Grounds of review: absence of jurisdiction, bias, gross irregularity — Applicant must show prospects of success and not prejudice administration of justice.
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9 April 2014 |
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Court interdicted disciplinary hearings pending resolution of civil vindication over disputed vehicle ownership.
Civil procedure/Employment law – interim prohibitory interdict – disciplinary proceedings used to achieve vindication of ownership – mala fides and delay – High Court jurisdiction to restrain internal disciplinary hearings pending civil vindication.
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8 April 2014 |
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Applicant entitled to mandament van spolie where sheriff completed eviction after being notified of a noted appeal, including changing keys.
Spoliation (mandament van spolie) — Appeal suspends execution — Sheriff’s duties — Completion of execution includes securing premises (changing keys) — Interim restoration of status quo ante.
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8 April 2014 |
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A stay of execution granted where the Labour Court rescinded the underlying judgment; attachment alone did not preclude relief.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending related labour proceedings — Effect of rescission of underlying judgment on registered writ — Attachment vs completion of execution — Urgent chamber relief — Costs on attorney-and-client scale for misleading affidavits and counsel's contempts.
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7 April 2014 |
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Bail pending appeal refused where strong evidence of participation and negligible prospects of success risked undermining the administration of justice.
Criminal law – Bail pending appeal after conviction – Factors: prospects of success on appeal and interests of justice (risk of abscondment) – Post-conviction presumption of innocence falls away – Factual findings of participation difficult to overturn.
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7 April 2014 |
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Applicant's year‑long delay and lack of reviewable grounds led to dismissal of condonation for review with costs.
Administrative law — Condonation for late review — factors: length of delay, reasons, prospects of success, prejudice — bare assertions insufficient — review versus appeal — disciplinary expulsion.
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1 April 2014 |