Duty of care? – What’s that?
WHEN Ramatharee Pather and her lawyers launched a claim against Gauteng’s MEC for health, Qedani Mahlangu, the last thing they would have expected was an answer from the state re-writing legal history. Pather’s action relates to what she alleges was a botched...
Bad week for justice in Namibia
A trying month so far for justice in Namibia, with a four-fold fiasco in the courts that has left egg on the face of the judiciary as well as the country’s top anti-corruption agency. Not to mention a judgment showing that the body responsible for disciplining members...
“Facially unacceptable” after shooting, so top employee told to go
FROM the very first paragraph it’s clear this is no ordinary case. The opening remarks of acting labour court judge Sean Snyman, sitting in Johannesburg, were these: “This matter was born out of a tragic event, which, instead of being resolved on the basis of...
Raped child’s evidence leads to landmark labour court decision
INITIALLY it seems strange perhaps: a child rape case combined with a dismissal dispute at the Labour Court. Yet it has resulted in a landmark decision that could benefit many vulnerable witnesses in future. The case concerns a young woman, raped by her police officer...
What did Icasa say to the SABC?
IMMEDIATELY after Icasa’s watershed media conference on the SABC’s ban on footage of violent protest, conflicting reports emerged of exactly what Icasa had said. According to some reports Icasa “recommended” the SABC lift its ban, others said the broadcaster was...
A little girl’s birthday and the shame of rape in South Africa
CONFIRMATION this week that 75 year old former South African tennis star Bob Hewitt must serve time in prison for rape and sexual assault was hailed as a victory for the women involved. Their courage in speaking about events of many years ago, when they were young...
Lesotho’s top judge not above the law says court
FIVE judges of Lesotho’s highest court have laid it on the line for no less a person than the head of that same court: not even an exalted judicial position shields you from facing prosecution or an impeachment tribunal, they say. Their keenly awaited decision...
How SA country living became a nightmare for Canadian journalist
Country living is a dream for many city people, but as Canadian journalist Douglas Mason has discovered, it may easily become a nightmare. On his way to Afghanistan some years ago, he spent Christmas Eve at a guest farm in the middle of the Free State. One thing led...
Al-Bashir judgment: what the court actually said
NO doubt about it, the government has sustained a serious moral and legal setback with today’s judgment from the Supreme Court of Appeal slamming Pretoria’s failure to arrest and hand over Sudan’s President Al Bashir to the International Criminal Court when he visited...
Do SA’s artists need legal help?
IMAGINE this picture: the President of South Africa announces the names of a new crop of judges he has just appointed. Not unusual, you might say. But suppose this is the first the public has heard about the appointments. Suppose the open hearings, required by law,...