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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 2023 |
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17 July 2023 |
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Court treated rescission application as reinstatement, accepting COVID‑19 explanation and reinstating the dismissed prosecution.
Civil procedure – dismissal for want of prosecution under r 236(3)/r 59(15) – rescission v reinstatement – inherent jurisdiction – COVID‑19 as reasonable explanation for default – prospects of success and balance of convenience – mining claim disputes and non‑joinder
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14 July 2023 |
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Forfeiture set aside where decision‑maker failed to consider lesser penalties and unjustifiably treated transporter more harshly than importer.
Customs and Excise – seizure versus forfeiture – distinction for prescription periods; vicarious liability of transporter; reasonableness of forfeiture; failure to consider lesser penalties/enforcement discretion
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14 July 2023 |
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Leave to file further affidavit granted where answering affidavit raised new material allegations affecting fairness.
Civil procedure – High Court Rules r 59(12) – leave required to file further affidavit after answering affidavit – discretion exercised in favour of fairness – factors: explanation for late disclosure, absence of mala fides, and remediable prejudice
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14 July 2023 |
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Applicants retained standing to challenge suspension, but failure to state relief on the face of the review application was fatal; matter struck off with costs.
Administrative law – Review of internal party disciplinary decision – Locus standi after purported expulsion – Rule 62(2) High Court Rules – requirement that grounds and exact relief appear ex facie application – failure to comply fatal – contempt and interlocutory orders preserving proceedings
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14 July 2023 |
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14 July 2023 |
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Court dismissed preliminary points, finding non-joinder not fatal and no irremediable disputes of fact.
Civil procedure — preliminary points in limine — non‑joinder — court's discretion under rules — material disputes of fact — affidavits vs oral evidence — mining law — forfeiture and repegging extinguishing prior rights — declaratory relief
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12 July 2023 |
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Applicant not awarded sole ownership of matrimonial farm; s68F(2)(c)(i) inapplicable where co-spouse’s proprietary rights remained undetermined.
Succession law — Administration of Deceased Estates Act s68F(2)(c)(i) — surviving spouses’ entitlement to matrimonial houses — res judicata/estoppel — prior judgment addressing preliminary issue does not finally determine proprietary rights — award of sole ownership refused where co-spouse’s proprietary rights unresolved
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12 July 2023 |
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Applicant successfully challenged a presidential nomination under s23(3) Electoral Act for over‑eighteen‑month absence; High Court jurisdiction upheld.
Constitutional and electoral law — High Court jurisdiction for declaratory relief; standing under s85(1) Constitution; distinction between declaratur and statutory review; s23(3) Electoral Act — disqualification for continuous eighteen‑month absence; urgency; gazette not conclusive
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12 July 2023 |
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Default eviction judgment rescinded where an irregular opposition was on record and the judgment had been erroneously sought.
Civil procedure — Rescission of judgment — Default judgment — Irregular opposition filed outside dies induciae — Respondent’s duty to notify court or strike out irregular pleading — Erroneously sought/granted judgment — High Court Rules r449(1)(a) — Relief granted
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12 July 2023 |
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First defendant failed to prove contributions to improvements on pre-union property; immovable property not divisible, movable items allocated and eviction ordered.
Family law – Unregistered customary-law union – Tacit universal partnership – Property acquired before union – Requirement of proven contribution to improvements – Unjust enrichment – Eviction and division of movable property
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12 July 2023 |
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12 July 2023 |
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12 July 2023 |
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12 July 2023 |
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12 July 2023 |
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An application to dismiss for want of prosecution refused where delay was short and respondent showed prima facie prospects of success.
Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — r 236(3)(b) High Court Rules — factors: length and explanation of delay; prospects of success on merits; balance of convenience; prejudice — inherent power to condone non-compliance
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11 July 2023 |
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11 July 2023 |
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Procedural form and citation errors did not bar judicial review of the Master’s decision; points in limine dismissed with costs.
Insolvency Act — s79(2) discretion to remove corporate rescue practitioner; s79(3)(b) relates to suspension not removal — s191 permits High Court review of Master’s decisions in corporate rescue — citation in official capacity not fatal; curable procedural errors; substantive justice favored
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10 July 2023 |
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10 July 2023 |
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7 July 2023 |
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7 July 2023 |
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7 July 2023 |
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A beneficiary lacked locus standi to challenge the Trust’s estate distribution; application struck from the roll with costs.
Trust law — locus standi of beneficiaries to sue — beneficiary’s interest indirect; only trustees or authorised persons may litigate Trust rights; Administration of Estates — Master’s confirmation of liquidation account; Estate Duty Act — donations within five years potentially estate assets; procedural remedies — s 47 vs review
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6 July 2023 |
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Court granted divorce; awarded New Mabvuku stand to plaintiff, excluded inherited rural homestead and disposed Eastview stand from distribution.
Matrimonial Causes Act s7 — division of matrimonial assets; direct and indirect contributions; cooperative membership v beneficial ownership; disposal of property prior to proceedings; inherited property excluded from distribution; adverse inference from false evidence
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5 July 2023 |
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The applicant's claim failed: 1968 law conferred individual title on the respondent as heir; 1997 reforms are not retrospective.
Customary intestacy — African Wills Act s6 (then) — heir at African law — eldest son inherits immovable property in individual capacity — 1997 Administration of Estates Act amendments not retrospective
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5 July 2023 |
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4 July 2023 |
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Urgent application to stay execution dismissed as res judicata and abuse of process; costs awarded against the applicant.
Urgent chamber application; res judicata; execution pending appeal; stay of execution; hearsay insufficient to justify stay; abuse of process; costs on legal practitioner–client scale; warning to legal practitioner
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4 July 2023 |
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Appeal dismissed: delayed, inconsistent and non‑voluntary complaints, plus evidential gaps, made conviction unsafe.
Criminal law — Sexual offences — Admissibility of complaint: requirements of voluntariness, promptness and first reasonable opportunity; delay and inconsistent disclosures may render conviction unsafe; corroboration and proper exhibit chain of custody material to safety of conviction
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3 July 2023 |
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3 July 2023 |
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3 July 2023 |
| June 2023 |
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Application to set aside interim freezing order under s37J(2) dismissed for failure to show good cause.
Money Laundering Act s37J(2) – interim freezing orders – unexplained wealth orders – meaning of "good cause" – ex parte applications and notice – distinction between interim freezing orders and interdicts (s44) – material non-disclosure – risk of dissipation
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30 June 2023 |
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Applicants’ ownership and notice complaints did not amount to good cause to set aside the interim freezing order under the Money Laundering Act.
Money Laundering Act s37B, s371, s37J(2) – Interim freezing orders – Good cause standard for setting aside – Distinction between interdict (s44) and interim freezing order – s37K governs variation/exclusion – Non‑disclosure and ownership not automatically discharge interim freezing orders
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30 June 2023 |
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Applicant failed to show "good cause" to set aside an interim freezing order under the Money Laundering Act; application dismissed.
Money Laundering Act (Ch 9:24) – interim freezing orders (s 371) – setting aside under s 37J(2) – meaning of "good cause" – ex parte unexplained wealth orders (s 37B) – notice – exclusion from interdict (s 44) inapplicable – material non-disclosure – risk of dissipation – costs
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30 June 2023 |
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30 June 2023 |
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30 June 2023 |
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30 June 2023 |
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30 June 2023 |
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Application to set aside an arbitral award dismissed as time‑barred, res judicata, and lacking cause of action.
Arbitration – setting aside award – Article 34(2)(b)(ii) (public policy) – Article 34(3) time‑bar – res judicata and estoppel – abuse of process – interlocutory rulings – applicant lacking cause of action – positive relief not available under Article 34(1)
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29 June 2023 |
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Applicant’s challenge to an arbitral ruling refusing late evidence was dismissed as time‑barred, res judicata, and lacking cause of action.
Arbitration — setting aside award — Article 34(2)(b)(ii) public policy challenge; Article 34(3) three‑month time limit; res judicata/estoppel and functus officio; interlocutory arbitral rulings; lack of cause of action; prohibition on positive relief by court
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29 June 2023 |
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29 June 2023 |
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29 June 2023 |
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Exceptions, res judicata and prescription raised against commercial claims dismissed; defendants ordered to plead to merits within ten days.
Commercial division procedure – exceptions – requirement that no possible evidence can disclose cause of action before striking plea; Arbitration – foreign arbitral award – recognition vs registration/enforcement; Res judicata/issue estoppel – requirements of identity of issue, finality and parties; Prescription – burden to prove and interruption by prior proceedings or processes under Prescription Act; Corporate law – single economic unit/piercing veil considered but not resolved; Delict vs contract – collateral delictual claims may survive
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28 June 2023 |
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Applicant in peaceful possession despoiled by respondent's unlawful demolition; mandament van spolie granted and urgency upheld.
Property law — mandament van spolie — peaceful possession and unlawful deprivation — urgency of spoliation application — unlawful demolition of dwellings and s 74 constitutional protection — adverse inference for dishonest litigation conduct
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28 June 2023 |
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Substantial compliance with s26 via newspaper notice and registered-post service upheld; applicants' review and relief dismissed.
Town and regional planning — s26 change-of-use applications — statutory requirements for service and public notice — newspaper publication as valid public notice — registered post to correct address as substantial compliance — onus of proof and credibility in review of administrative decisions
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28 June 2023 |
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Prior provisional order did not bar issues; exception dismissed for Rule 42(3) non‑compliance; prescription and locus standi ruled for plaintiff.
Civil procedure — Exception — Rule 42(3) — Mandatory requirement to give written letter calling for removal of cause of complaint before exception — Failure fatal; Prescription — cause of action accrues when defendant's alienation/occupation occurs (2021), not necessarily on earlier sale (2017); Locus standi — direct and substantial interest from earlier sale confers right to sue; Res judicata — provisional order does not finally determine issues
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28 June 2023 |
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28 June 2023 |
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A r29(1)(a) rescission application cannot vary an order made under s47(1)(b) of the Money Laundering Act; application struck off.
Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act – s47(1)(b) ex parte applications – characterisation as criminal proceedings – rescission under High Court Rules r29(1)(a) – s38(4) balance of probabilities does not convert criminal proceedings to civil – s83(1)(b) property seizure (Chapter V) is a separate civil regime – service dispensation certificate not determinative
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27 June 2023 |
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Delay and self-created urgency barred urgent relief; applicants penalised with punitive costs for abusing court process.
Civil forfeiture – urgency – self-created urgency and delay – obligation to seek referral on constitutionality during original proceedings – abuse of court process – punitive costs (legal practitioner and client scale)
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27 June 2023 |
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26 June 2023 |
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26 June 2023 |