Gentle Reader,
Today will be my last day in Pietermaritzburg. I shall go into semi-retirement and become a consultant! On 1 April nogal.
SWMBO and I will be moving to Lynnwood, Pretoria and I suspect that wet ink will be supplanted by a gardening fork.
I have written Snippets or its interim version Business Bytes, since September 1997. My writing of these has been enjoyable and educational.
If anyone has a part-time job for me – let me know!
Regards
Daan
Practice News
- The NPA has been much in the news of late; its new National Director has had to justify previous underperformance and has done so (and has been roundly castigated as a result) by quoting a conviction rate of 94% of cases, brought to court. This sounds very rosy, but the problem is that the NPA choose what cases they will prosecute and factually (so says the journalist) the total convictions from the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit are 15% of what they were 20 years ago.
- A welcome tax break is the doubling of the Single Discretionary Allowance giving taxpayers R2 million per year to move offshore.
- Syndicated, as opposed to bilateral lending – terms few of us would have come across in the past. The principles, however, are old: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Banking-Finance-Projects/Downloads/Banking-Finance-Projects-Alert-26-March-2026.pdf
- Construction guarantees may only be issued by registered insurers:
- A recent newspaper article held that most South African marriages fail between five and nine years’ duration. This article may be of interest to divorce practitioners: https://www.news24.com/life/relationships/weddings/the-scariest-years-for-south-african-marriages-why-most-fail-between-years-5-and-9-20260323-0994
- An interesting article by CDH deals with the ratification of the issue of shares in terms of section 41 of the Companies Act: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Corporate-Commercial/Downloads/Corporate-Commercial-Alert-18-March-2026.pdf
- Estoppel, a softer form of re judicata, in its form as issue estoppel, ameliorated by fairness and equity, is discussed in the following article: https://www.derebus.org.za/fairness-and-equity-in-the-application-of-issue-estoppel/
- Those of us who draw wills, will know that the insured cannot determine who receives benefits under a pension fund or retirement annuity; dependents do. So, who is a dependent: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Employment-Law/Downloads/Employment-Law-Alert-16-March-2026.pdf
- Of less interest to commercial attorneys but of great interest to those involved in criminal is a De Rebus article on the exclusion of evidence which police obtained :unlawfully”, worth a look: https://www.derebus.org.za/under-what-circumstances-does-justice-demand-the-exclusion-of-unconstitutionally-obtained-evidence/
- Directors of a company may be removed at “the whim of shareholders who do not need to give reasons for such removal”; the removal of a director by other directors do: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Corporate-Commercial/Downloads/Corporate-Commercial-Alert-25-March-2026.pdf
- An eviction order is suspended on appeal unless the court orders otherwise: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2026/31.html
- The difference between actual and implied authority as discussed in this case (at 34); what is of interest is an argument that interest, capitalised, does not fall foul of the in duplum rule. The court was not convinced: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2026/39.html
- Can the conduct of a bank, said to have been committed in breach of debt scheduling agreements, result in liability for damages (59 et seq): https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2026/38.html
- Can a foreign trustee claim a surplus in a South African insolvent estate? https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2026/32.html
- A non-variation clause cannot be ignored by arguing that the inaction of a party amounted to waiver of rights. Further, the discretion to refuse arbitration by a court is a high threshold, as the party who does not wish the matter to be referred to arbitration, seeks to deprive the other of the advantage of arbitration to which the latter is entitled. https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/153.html
- Does formal compliance with the requirements for the establishment of a universitas personarum clothe that entity with an eternal separate legal personality, despite non-compliance with its founding document? The difficulty with this is that contracting for the establishment of a separate legal entity emasculates a successful party from enforcing court orders in its favour. Such an entity is designed to facilitate commonality of purpose but not to provide a shield against consequences. https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2026/175.html
- Delivery by constitutum possesorium: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAFSHC/2026/106.html
- The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act provides for challenging and administrative action and not for a declaratory order; review proceedings: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAFSHC/2026/109.html
- Most of us would have noticed the introduction of a five-paper Competency-Based Exams; why this was introduced: https://www.derebus.org.za/raising-the-bar-no-why-the-attorneys-five-paper-competency-based-examination-model-is-better-than-four/
- The Labour Court does not have jurisdiction to consider a claim for compensation in protected strikes, only the High Court may consider such claims, based on delict: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2026/11.html
Conveyancing and Property
- About a week ago I was contacted by a foreigner regarding the generation of conveyancing work for conveyancers at payment of a price – call it a representation or advertisement fee. That this is not a new “business” became apparent. The line separating such work from touting is fine. The fact is that conveyancing has become much more of a business than a professional undertaking where your reputation carries the day.
- To what extent should a body corporate accommodate a resident who is sight impaired and who had used common property to assist him in his daily chores? Take a look – this is worth reading: https://stbb.co.za/all-about-property-when-conduct-rules-meet-disability-rights-how-a-washing-machine-dispute-ended-up-in-the-sca/
- Can one recover legal costs in a CSOS dispute? See: https://www.paddocks.co.za/paddocks-press-newsletter/can-csos-adjudicators-award-legal-costs/
- Our Deeds Offices will be closing on Thursday, 2 April at 10 AM.
- Consideration of a reserve price where the defendant files a plea but nothing else – if the property was used as a primary residence, a reserve price should be set: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/142.html
- This case emphasises that, when dealing with an option, care must be taken to specify the manner in which the option is to be exercised and brought to the attention of the Seller: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/152.html
Lighten up
Contributed by:
Daan Steenkamp Attorneys
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