Legal Articles and Guides

The Panama leaks, last year’s HSBC leaks, and OECD’s “Automatic Exchange of Information initiative” all suggest that South African residents with accounts and investments in foreign tax jurisdictions should ensure that they are fully compliant with all their local and international tax and exchange control obligations.

Pyramid schemes are in the news again. They are easy to fall for, with not only desperate pensioners and low-wage earners but also Captains of Industry and many otherwise-savvy investors regularly tricked into "investing" in them. The reason of course is that the con artists behind these schemes are adept at hiding their true nature, coming up like clockwork with ever more creative cover stories to lure the unwary.

Even the most experienced businessmen have moments of short-sightedness when conducting business deals which may leave them in hot water. All too often, poor contract craftsmanship or legal oversight is the primary reason for their dismay. For example, what happens when you enter into a contract without express terms governing its termination? This is where the parties found themselves in the case of Plaaskem v Nippon Chemicals heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

At some point in one's life you are requested to provide certain FICA documentation, normally to your bank or to a conveyancing attorney as part of a property transaction. There is a lot of uncertainty regarding what documents are needed, especially when it comes to FICA documents for a minor, a non-resident individual, an estate late, a trust, a company, a non-resident company, a close corporation, a partnership, or an unincorporated entity.

You are a South African citizen. You decide to acquire dual citizenship. Your reasons for doing so are irrelevant – perhaps you are living/working overseas, perhaps you want a second passport just to make travelling easier, perhaps you have financial reasons. What is relevant is that you risk losing your South African citizenship.

“His demeanour at this time was highly aggressive, flying his arms about and it was clear to me that he had to prevent himself from lashing out at me physically” (Trustee quoted in judgment below) The irrational, aggressive and disruptive “Nightmare Next Door” owner is regrettably a well-known and much-disliked feature of all too many residential complexes. He or she makes trouble at every opportunity, attacking other owners and the body corporate"s trustees with equal abandon.

In a case of driving under the influence of liquor, the state must prove that the accused drove a vehicle on a public road while under the influence, or while the alcohol content of the accused's blood exceeded 0,05g per 100ml. When these elements have been established, a court will consider the following factors in imposing sentence, which are detailed in the rest of the article ...

The Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008 ('the CPA') has been hailed as the end of the voetstoots clause in sale agreements as we know it. While the provisions giving rise to the consumer protection bodies and those authorising the creation of regulations came into effect on the 24th April 2010, the remaining provisions, which apply to most businesses only came into effect on the 1st April 2011, this date being called the 'effective date' of the CPA. As such, the CPA is now the cornerstone of consumer rights in South Africa.

The implementation of the National Credit Act has drawn a lot of attention from credit providers and the Act is often blamed for the weak market conditions in retail, motor vehicle sales and the residential property market. The Acts application is far reaching. Implementing the new National Credit Act has also been a cumbersome and expensive exercise for many.

In terms of the new Consumer Protection 68 of 2008 (the Act), an agreement that is stipulated to endure for a particular amount of time is called a 'fixed term agreement', and the agreement therefore is regulated by the provisions of the Act. Are there examples of a fixed term agreement? The easiest example of a fixed term agreement is a cellphone contract. Most cellphone contracts are taken out for a period of 2 years (24 months), and as such they are fixed term agreements.

Besides laws which are contained in the South African common law, most (if not all) rules and laws in the South African legal framework are contained in National Legislation, which have effect on all people in South Africa.

Before the court will issue a divorce, it has to be decided who will look after the children. The parents can make an agreement or the court can decide. If you are in the middle of a divorce from your spouse, the most important consideration in deciding which parent should have custody is the best interests of the children. 

When a couple gets divorced, one party is often in a better financial position than the other. The person who has custody of the children will also have expenses that the other parent does not have. For this reason the court will issue a maintenance order requiring maintenance to be paid for the children and, depending on the circumstances, to the other party.

Marriage is a legal bond between two people, and provides those people with certain rights and obligations against each other. The only way to terminate these rights and obligations (as much as possible), is for the parties to obtain a divorce from each other. A divorce therefore legally terminates a marriage. Once a divorce is granted, each partner may then legally marry someone else.