Round Up | Inquiry Into State Capture Highlights

The Supreme Court of Appeal's recent judgment in the MV Haralambos case has sparked significant debate in South Africa's maritime community by upholding a vessel arrest based largely on commercial database evidence. The decision addresses the challenging question of proving common control between ship-owning companies when beneficial ownership information is not publicly available, potentially reshaping the evidentiary landscape for associated ship arrests. At the heart of the controversy lies whether comme

A Constitutional Court decision has clarified a critical procedural question in South African administrative law: whether respondents can raise dispositive legal objections before producing the Rule 53 record in review proceedings. The ruling addresses the tension between an applicant's right to supplement their case after receiving the administrative record and a respondent's ability to challenge the review on purely legal grounds at an early stage.

On the demand side, McKinsey expects a four-fold to six-fold increase in demand for African data centre capacity (to 1.5 to 2.2 GW) by 2030, which presents an investment opportunity of between...

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has published draft Regulations introducing formal provisions for electronic commissioning of affidavits in South Africa. This legislative modernisation proposes to allow commissioners to administer oaths remotely through audio-visual communication, fundamentally changing the traditional requirement for physical presence while maintaining essential safeguards.

The Western Cape High Court examined whether the Legal Practice Council could urgently suspend two legal practitioners without conducting a proper investigation into allegations of trust fund misappropriation exceeding R16.9 million. The case centered on the interpretation of section 43 of the Legal Practice Act and whether the LPC's expedited process, based solely on untested allegations from a complainant involved in divorce proceedings.

A High Court judgment has reinforced the protection of litigation privilege for expert reports commissioned by insurers during pending litigation. When a loss adjuster's preliminary report was requested for disclosure, the court examined whether it qualified for privilege protection and what implications this holds for the insurance industry's handling of expert assessments in claims disputes.

The Johannesburg High Court has published lead times for setting matters down for hearing, revealing significant delays across various case types. With opposed applications facing 18-week waits and long-duration trials not being heard until 2028, the bulletin raises questions about court capacity and potential solutions to address mounting backlogs.

The Gauteng High Court examined whether a non-patrimonial damages claim against the National Director of Public Prosecutions could survive the claimant's death when the NDPP was joined to proceedings...

A South African Labour Court has stayed disciplinary proceedings after discovering that the chairperson's ruling relied on AI-generated, fictitious case citations. The judgment examines whether blind reliance on artificial intelligence tools constitutes a failure to apply independent legal reasoning, and what consequences flow from submitting fabricated authorities to courts and tribunals.

The Gauteng High Court's judgment in TMM Holdings v Skycastle Securities examines when litigation privilege protects documents from disclosure, specifically addressing whether insurance claim forms and investigative reports created for multiple purposes qualify for privilege. The court applied the dominant purpose test to determine if documents prepared simultaneously for insurance claims, internal investigations, and potential litigation must be disclosed in discovery proceedings.