US Supreme Court debates gay marriage
NO-ONE could have been surprised, when, in December 2005, the South African Constitutional Court held that same sex couples had a right to marry. Angry and affronted, perhaps, but not surprised. That’s because our constitution makes it clear we can’t discriminate...
The dispossessed should not suffer twice
YOU would imagine, wouldn’t you, that once the court battles over a land claim were sorted and an award was made returning the land to the people who originally lived on it, their legal troubles would be over. Surely this would start a constructive new era for the...
Rough Guide to Swaziland’s judicial scandal
WHEN Lesotho appointed an impeachment inquiry into that country’s top judge, Michael Ramodibedi, citing alleged fraud and other serious misconduct, it seemed the standing of the judiciary in this region could sink no lower. But not so. Almost exactly a year ago that...
Chief Justices from southern Africa offer help to resolve Swazi judicial crisis
Chief Justice of Namibia, Peter Shivute, has offered the help of the Southern African Chief Justices Forum to resolve the Swazi judicial crisis. Shivute issued the offer in his capacity as chair of that forum, as the crisis in Swaziland continued. According to the...
Somali hijack of vessel causes global legal conundrum
WHEN Somali pirates captured the vessel Asphalt Venture off the coast of Mombassa during September 2010, no-one could have foreseen the far-reaching human and legal dramas that would result. These have spanned the globe, and, with further legal action scheduled for...
Planned new SADC court ‘unconstitutional’ say lawyers
Lawyers say South Africa should not be supporting a planned new regional court that ‘disregards the human rights of individuals’. IN a move of crucial importance for human rights in southern Africa, lawyers are challenging Pretoria’s attempts to join with other...
Chief Justice’s regulations declared unconstituitonal
REGULATIONS the chief justice has used to compel retired judges into disclosing their financial interests have been found unconstitutional. This follows a case heard in the high court earlier this week, brought by retired former deputy president of the Supreme Court...
E-Toll costs Sanral didn’t want the public to know – here they are
CONTROVERSIAL proposed toll roads into Cape Town will cost motorists nearly three times what they now pay to use Gauteng’s discredited e-toll system. These figures were released today by the City of Cape Town, following a judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal,...
Urgent need to stop SA ‘traditional child marriages’
THE case of a 14 year old girl abducted, ‘married’ to a man twice her age, locked up and raped, all in the name of traditional practice, has caused shock reaction. The real horror is that this is no one-off crime. Calling it no less than ‘sexual slavery under the...
Sanral ‘files forged docs’ in Wild Coast toll road court battle
AS if the South African National Roads Agency doesn’t have enough to worry about after last week’s tough hearing in the Supreme Court of Appeal, it is now also being accused of forging court documents to promote its proposed Wild Coast toll road. Sanral came under...