RIP Seychelles Justice Prithviraj Fekna
Justice Prithviraj Fekna, who served on the Seychelles Court of Appeal, died unexpected this week. He had been sworn into office as a non-resident member of the appeal court on 27 June this year. Previously he had been a member of the Supreme Court of Mauritius....
As common as contempt?
Successful contempt orders seem to be less rare than they once were, if two recent judgments are anything to go by. Just as courts are handing down more decisions finding public servants personally liable for part of the legal costs, so too, successful contempt orders...
Conflicting deadlines over school promotion disputes
Initially I was confused: how could SA’s highest labour court decide that subordinate agreements trumped the crucial Labour Relations Act (LRA)? Read the judgment The man who tested this issue, Leon Appels, is a teacher in Klerksdorp. During 2016 he applied for the...
Top Malawi officials face jail after contempt finding
Two top government officials are due to be sentenced for disobeying an order of Malawi’s Supreme Court. They had been told by the highest court to apologise to the nation for their role in the ‘Tractorgate’ scandal that has gripped the country – but they failed to do...
Who won this battle of judge vs judges in Seychelles?
For the last four years, the Seychelles judiciary has suffered division and disruption over the behaviour of a senior member of the bench, Durai Karunakaran. Recommended for dismissal by a tribunal that inquired into his behaviour, he resigned in March 2019,...
10 army officers to keep their seats in Uganda’s parliament – judges
Over the last few months Uganda’s courts have delivered a series of decisions that extended democratic practices. Judges have declared restrictive legislation unconstitutional and ordered compensation for a detainee killed by police. No wonder some observers hoped...
Creating safe courts – SA Minister
The safety of judicial officers and others using the courts had become a matter of serious concern to the SA government, according to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola. Speaking at the AGM of the Judicial Officers Association of South...
Stop ‘re-cycling’ of magistrates
Three issues were at the forefront of discussion when the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, attended the AGM of the Judicial Officers Association of South Africa (Joasa) this weekend. Why was ‘recycling’ approved when acting magistrates had...
‘Over-concentration of power in hands of Chief Justice’ – Joasa president
The Judicial Officers Association of South Africa (Joasa) has thrown down the gauntlet to South Africa's Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, saying there was ‘an over-concentration of power’ in the Office of the Chief Justice and calling for a symposium to establish a...
Uganda’s courts ‘too westernised’ to handle customary, cultural issues – judge
Prominent Ugandan high court judge Ssekaana Musa has told litigants in dispute over traditional leadership that they should ‘always’ refer such quarrels ‘to the King or traditional or cultural leaders’. Judge Musa was considering two disputes about traditional...