Legal Articles and Guides
Judge asked to hear children's voices in custody case
Judgment was reserved in the Western Cape High Court yesterday in what a News24 report describes as a potential landmark case involving the voices of children being heard in court cases.
Frustration over delays in anti-abortion doctor's case
The lawyer for an anti-abortion doctor facing a disciplinary hearing for unprofessional conduct has expressed frustration over further delays in the matter.
Dementia and Incapacity: What is a Power of Attorney and is it Forever?
Although the actual prevalence per capita of dementia is reportedly on the decline, aging populations ensure that it is becoming more and more of a problem in society – for older people, their families and caregivers.
Doctors threaten legal action over exam failures
Lawyers are demanding written explanations as to why would-be surgeons at four medical schools failed their final written exams.
R3m suit over botched gender reassignment op
The transgender manager of a hardware store is claiming R3m from the Gauteng Health Department after a complication of a gender reassignment operation meant to give him a penis led to the amputation of his left leg, says a City Press report.
City files on homeless people contempt row
The court case between the City of Cape Town and a group of homeless people over fines issued to them took another turn as the city filed its responding papers to a contempt of court application at the eleventh hour, says a Cape Argus report.
Another step in the protection of children
The Constitutional Court judgment on corporal punishment at home – Freedom of Religion SA v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others – is a decision that has the country on ‘tenterhooks and in heated conversation’.
Medics scarce-skills allowances challenged in ConCourt
The Western Cape Department of Health has appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn a Labour Court victory of 50 doctors that forced the department to pay them R28m in backdated scarce-skills allowances, says a Cape Argus report.
Court action over right to bury foetuses
At what point should a foetus be legally considered human? That issue will come before the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) in November when an NGO, Voice of the Unborn Baby, will argue to have the law changed.
Doctor bids to stop online claims of sex assaults
Popular Port Elizabeth medical practitioner and talk show host, Mthembeni Tebelele, has turned to the courts in a bid to stop sexual assault allegations made by a string of women on social media, according to a report in The Herald.
Silicosis class action settlement a win-win situation
The silicosis class action – which the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) recently approved of as ‘reasonable, adequate and fair’ (see Ex Parte Nkala and Others) – has consistently been referred to as a ‘compromise’.
Doctors to be targeted to pay back negligence claims
The financially embattled Gauteng Health Department has warned employees it will recover some of the billions in damages claims it is facing from those responsible for the medical negligence, says a Times Select report.
NHI Bill is constitutional, insists state law adviser
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is constitutional, state law advisers told the National Assembly’s Health Committee yesterday. Acting chief state law adviser Ayesha Johaar said the Bill had been certified as ‘constitutionally aligned’ last month, notes a News24 report.
ConCourt to be asked to rule on soaring claims
The Eastern Cape Department of Health will approach the Constitutional Court for a ruling on whether it should pay multibillion-rand medico-legal claims at the expense of funding health services.
NHI Bill and the constitutional hurdles
‘The need for a better healthcare system for all South Africans is nowhere in dispute, but the idea that members of the private system will have no choice but to be served by the dysfunctional public system is, well, heart-stopping.’
