On this page, we provide our insights about the latest judgments. We share our thoughts and make connections between them.
Minutes of meetings: Fairly terse synopsis
Matters of importance Minutes of meetings: “In addition, as is clear from what I have already said, the respondents’ argument is based in various respects upon what was or was not said at a number of NSM board meetings, relying on the minutes kept of those meetings...
read moreEconomic determinism contested: Excerpts from Obama lecture
Economic determinism: Barack Obama, the former US President, delivered the 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the Wanderers cricket stadium in Johannesburg on 17 July 2018. Here is an excerpt from the lecture. "Now, I don't believe in economic determinism. Human...
read moreUSA agency fees: Extraction violates Constitution
USA agency fees: The extraction of agency fees by the State of Illinois from public-sector employees who did not consent violates the First Amendment and Abood erred in concluding otherwise and stare decisis cannot support it. Abood was consequently overruled....
read moreLegal writing pointers: Understanding the needs of readers
Labour court justice Anton Steenkamp, a graduate of Stellenbosch University, wrote a letter in January 2013 to the University concerning Strategic Legal Writing and provided 'legal writing pointers' that are still very relevant today, given the statutory need for...
read moreEffective reasonable dissuasive: Fines imposed under GDPR
Fines for violating provisions of the GDPR must be effective reasonable dissuasive and strict vicarious liability is not imposed, unlike section 99(2) of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) which reads: "(2) In the event of a breach the...
read moreNe Bis in Idem principle: GDPR includes term for protection
The ne bis in idem principle (prohibiting double jeopardy) is applied in various international instruments such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Literally translated it means ‘not twice about the same’. In principle nobody should be judged twice for...
read moreLabour relations architecture: NMW means turning point
Eddie Cottle argues that the labour relations architecture has changed with the introduction of a national minimum wage and that amending the LRA is a turning point in South Africa, but that South Africa is sitting on an industrial relations time bomb. Time will tell...
read moreWritten employment particulars: Requirements of BCEA
Significantly the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) only requires written employment particulars to be given to employees and does not require employers to have signed employment contracts. Section 29 simply requires employers to provide all employees with...
read moreInformational self-determination: GDPR and dignity or liberty
The right to decide what to disclose about oneself is called by Germans informational self-determination according to an article by Hannah Kuchler, an FT correspondent in San Francisco, and published in the FT over the weekend: “Home truths for the Zuck era”. Excerpt...
read moreLegal writing and drafting: Tips from top professionals
Legal writing and drafting is important because plain and understandable language is now a legal requirement thanks to sec 22 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that came into effect 17 years ago. It will surely be of considerable use to record the advice of a...
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