| News
on the Electronic Front |
|
|
|
|
Recent
Judgments Available on the Internet |
|
|
|
|
|
Constitutional
Court of South Africa
- www.constitutionalcourt.org.za
'Judge' Justin joins the greats -
20 January
From manufacturer of satirical T-shirts to Constitutional Court
"judge" - that's exactly what Justin Nurse, of Black Label/Black
Labour, White Guilt-fame, did this week. But only for three days,
until a security guard recognised the new "judge" and kicked him
out. "Just a joke, man, to make people smile a bit," explained the
young businessman from Cape Town. He said the ruling on his case
mentioned that "humour was the elixer of the constitutional court
and I wanted to quickly prove it". -
News24
website
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
- http://www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za/index.html
; wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/sca/index.php ;
http://www.uovs.ac.za/fac/law/appeal/index.php |
|
|
|
|
|
Labour Courts
Standard Bank : counterblow - 20
January
When a senior compliance officer reported irregularities involving
an operations director at Standard Bank stock brokerage Andisa
Securities, the career of the accused man apparently suffered no
setbacks. But Allison Pedzinski, who blew the whistle on Talbot and
others in November 2002, was dismissed several months later as part
of alleged retrenchment proceedings. A labour court judgment has
found her dismissal unfair and described the reason given as
"spurious and a sham". -
Financial Mail website
|
|
|
|
|
|
Land
Claims Court of South Africa
- www.law.wits.ac.za/lcc/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tax Courts
- http://www.sars.gov.za/tax_judgments/tax_judgments.htm |
|
|
|
|
|
Cape
Provincial Division
- http://law.sun.ac.za/cgi-bin/list.php
|
|
|
|
|
|
Durban and Coast Local
Division |
|
|
|
|
Zuma Case
24 January
Different venue for Zuma corruption case?
The corruption trial of sacked deputy president Jacob Zuma could
move to the Pietermaritzburg High Court, KwaZulu-Natal judge
president Vuka Tshabalala said on Monday. -
IOL
website
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern
Cape Division -
http://wwwserver.law.wits.ac.za/echc/index.php
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free
State
Provincial Division
- www.uovs.ac.za/fac/law/highcourt/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Natal
Provincial Division
- http://www.ukzn.ac.za/law/npd.html |
|
|
|
|
|
Transvaal
Provincial Division
Drainpipe murders
: family slain in cold blood - 24 January
Horrific details about the cold-blooded killing of a Chinese
family, including their four-year-old daughter, unfolded in the
Pretoria High Court on Monday in the trial of two men charged in
the so-called drain pipe murders. A former accomplice described
how the four members of the Li family died. -
IOL
website
|
|
|
|
|
|
Witwatersrand Local
Division
'Zuma afraid for rape accuser' -
29 January
Michael Hulley, the attorney for Jacob Zuma, the former deputy
president, has written to the South African Police Services,
saying he wants to note his client's concern about the safety and
whereabouts of the woman who made a complaint of rape against Zuma.
She is said to have briefly "absconded" from protective custody.
After consultations with the rest of the Zuma defence team, Hulley
apparently wanted to ensure that no finger would be pointed at the
former deputy president or his supporters if anything negative
were to happen to the complainant before the trial. That is set
down in the Johannesburg High Court for February 13.
- IOL
website
|
|
|
|
|
|
Magistrates Courts
Cape Town
Alleged tik dealers from Russia denied bail
- 27 January
Two Russian men who allegedly supplied a police trap with the
chemical ephredrine for the manufacture of the drug "tik" in
Russia, were denied bail in the Cape Town magistrate's court on
Friday. -
IOL website
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertising
Standards Authority
- http://www.asasa.org.za/ |
|
|
|
|
Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa
- http://www.bccsa.co.za/ |
|
|
|
|
Competition
Commission, Tribunal and
Appeal Court
- http://www.compcom.co.za/ ; http://www.comptrib.co.za/ |
|
|
|
|
Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board
- http://www.paab.co.za/ |
|
|
|
|
Wireless Application Service Providers' Association - http://www.waspa.org.za/ |
|
|
|
Government
and Legislation |
|
|
|
|
|
South
Africa Government Information
- http://www.gov.za/
Statements and
Speeches
New
regulations to control lead in paint underway
27 January 2006
Keyphrase :
Hazardous Substance Act
National Lead Prevention Awareness Campaign |
1 March
2006 declared a public holiday
27 January 2006
South
African Revenue Service (SARS) announces the new face of Customs
26 January 2006
The
Department of Health is inviting national non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) working in the field of HIV, AIDS and
tuberculosis (TB) to apply for funding for 2006/07 financial
year, which commences on 1 April 2006
25 January 2006
Labour
Minister "concerned" at latest employment figures
25 January 2006
see
Labour Force Survey September 2005.
- StatsSA website
Embargo lifted : 13:00, 24 January 2006
Labour
Department appoints new spokesperson
23 January 2006
Keyphrase :
Mokgadi Pela
Speech by
the Minister of Health at Meeting of Stakeholders on Cancer
Surveillance in South Africa
23 January 2006
Health on
new dispensing fee for medicines
18 January 2006
|
|
|
|
|
Legislation
Auditing Bill
'Harsh' auditing bill signed into law
- 24 January
The auditing profession faces a whole new regulatory framework to
make it more accountable and less concerned with profits now that
President Thabo Mbeki has signed the Auditing Professions Bill into
law. According to announcements tabled in parliament yesterday, the
bill was signed into law on January 12 but it will probably take a
while for it to be implemented in full under new regulations. -
Business
Report website
Constitution
Fourteenth Draft Amendment Bill 2005 and Superior Courts Bill
Making the case for judicial freedom in a
democracy - 23 January
A proposed constitutional amendment will give general appellate
jurisdiction to the Constitutional Court, whereas since 1994 that
court has had jurisdiction in constitutional matters only. The
proposed amendment is one of many tabled by the justice department
for the first time in April 2005, without any prior discussion with
members of the judiciary. -
Business Day website
'Judiciary' Bills
Law by stealth imperils values - 24
January
SA is a remarkably better place for all its inhabitants in 2006 than
it was in 1993. In the light of this universally admired progress,
the tortuous saga of the various bills dealing with changes to the
judiciary is unsettling. It is also inconsistent with the values and
spirit of our constitution.
I am less concerned here with the details of the bills
than with the manner in which the changes have been pursued. I would
argue that this demonstrates a shift in approach to governance by
the executive.
Contribution by Hugh Corder. -
Business Day website
Justice's big
Christmas package needs to be handled with care - 24
January
Whenever government ministers try to put through big packages of
controversial legislation all at once, they should be treated with
wariness, if not outright suspicion.
Contribution by Hilary Joffe. -
Business Day website
Road Accident Fund
Amendment Act
Lawyers to challenge new accident fund law
- 24 January
Some personal injury lawyers on a collision course with the
government about the recent signing into law of the Road Accident
Fund Amendment Bill, say they will go to the Constitutional Court
to overturn the legislation. Various legal groups including the
Coalition On the Road Accident Fund claim the new law will "erode
the rights of motorists". -
IOL website
DA slams road accident law - 23
January
The DA criticised President Thabo Mbeki yesterday for signing into
law the Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill which disallows injured
people from suing negligent drivers. The new law also restricts
the amount of claims for loss of earnings by victims of road
accidents to R160 000. -
The Mercury website
Accident fund : 'no' to changes -
22 January
Resistance to proposed amendments to the Road Accident Fund (RAF)
is gaining momentum, with almost 100 000 people signing an online
petition to "stop the Bill". -
Sunday Tribune website
RAF still battling R19.8bn deficit
- 20 January
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) remains R19.8 billion in the red and
a solution has yet to be found, the department of transport has
said. -
Business Report website
Statistics Act 6
of 1999
Jail for ignoring Stats survey -
20 January
It appears that people are still so ignorant about the new survey
by Statistics South Africa (SSA) regarding the income and spending
patterns of South African households that they regard threats of
being prosecuted for non-participation as a joke. -
Fin24
website
18. Offences and
penalties.— (3) Any individual other than an employee of an
organ of state, business or other organisation that—
(a) fails to answer a question put in terms of section
16 (2) (a) or furnishes an answer to such a question which is
false or misleading in any material respect, knowing the answer
to be false or misleading;
(b) fails to furnish information or sign a declaration in terms
of section 16 (2) (b) or furnishes such information which is
false or misleading in any material respect, knowing the
information to be false or misleading;
(c) incites any other person to act as contemplated in paragraph
(a) or (b);
(d) refuses—
(i) the Statistician-General or any authorised officer of
Statistics South Africa, acting in terms of section 15, entry on
any land or premises; or
(ii) to permit the Statistician-General or that authorised
officer to inspect anything on or in that land or premises;
(e) wilfully obstructs the Statistician-General or any officer
of Statistics South Africa in the exercise of a power, or the
performance of a duty, in terms of this Act,
is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction—
(i) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding
R10 000, or such higher amount as is determined from time to
time by the Minister of Justice as contemplated in section
1 (1) (a) of the Adjustment of Fines Act, 1991, or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both
such fine and such imprisonment; and
(ii) in the case of a business or other organisation, to a fine
not exceeding R20 000 or an amount determined by the Minister
from time to time by notice in the Gazette.
(4) (a) A conviction of an offence referred to in subsection
(3) (a) or (b) does not relieve any individual, business or
other organisation of the obligation to supply the correct
information.
(b) If after 14 days from the date of sentencing for that
offence, the information has still not been furnished, that
individual, business or other organisation is guilty of a
further offence and liable on conviction for each day after the
expiry of that 14 day period—
(i) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding R500
or an amount determined by the Minister from time to time by
notice in the Gazette; or
(ii) in the case of a business or other organisation, to a fine
not exceeding R2 000 or an amount determined by the Minister by
notice in the Gazette.
|
|
|
|
Useful
Links and Items of Interest |
|
|
|
|
Legal Profession
New Zealand
Minister to look into justice report
- 23 January
Justice Minister Mark Burton says he will look into a report that
calls for the creation of an independent body to investigate
miscarriages of justice. After a two-year investigation retired
high court Judge Sir Thomas Thorp has warned that up to 20 people
could be wrongly incarcerated in New Zealand's jails. -
tvnz
website
'Miscarriage of justice' authority gathers
support - 22 January
The Law Society says an independent body to investigate
miscarriages of justice would fill an important gap in New Zealand
law. A report by retired High Court judge, Sir Thomas Thorp, which
analysed 53 applications to the Justice Ministry claiming
miscarriages of justice, has recommended the establishment such a
body. -
Radio New Zealand website
Scotland
Law society official injured in frenzied
knife attack - 25 January
One of Scotland's top legal figures was
the victim of a frenzied knife attack by a hooded assailant
outside his home.
Leslie Cumming, 62, chief accountant with the Law Society of
Scotland, was stabbed several times on the body, head and face
outside his home in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh just after
5pm on Monday. -
The Herald website
Police target rogue lawyers after bid to
murder Law Society official - 26 January
Police investigating the attempted murder of a senior legal
official have drawn up a list of aggrieved clients and rogue
lawyers amid a growing belief that his work holds the key to the
vicious knife attack. -
Scotsman website
Cash laundering link to law chief stabbing
- 29 January
Four Scottish solicitors suspected of money laundering are to be
interviewed by detectives investigating a frenzied knife attack on
a top law official. Leslie Cumming, who survived 12 stab wounds,
is understood to have headed an inquiry into corruption among
lawyers which resulted in the four solicitors facing trial. -
Scotsman
website
|
|
|
|
|
Same-sex Marriages
Nigeria
Same-sex marriage banned as intolerance grows - 22
January
The Nigerian government last week
announced laws that will ban same-sex marriages and dictate
five-year jail sentences for anyone who has a gay wedding or
officiates at one. Nigeria, like many former British colonies, has
laws dating back to the Victorian era that make sodomy punishable
by up to 14 years in prison. -
Sunday Herald website
Nigeria takes 'pre-emptive' step to outlaw
same-sex 'marriage' - 21 January
The Nigerian government is taking a “pre-emptive step” toward
introducing a specific ban on same-sex marriages as Europe and the
United States become increasingly pro-gay marriage. Nigeria’s
information minister, Frank Nweke, told the BBC this week that the
government was taking the “pre-emptive step” because of
developments elsewhere in the world. "In most cultures in Nigeria,
same-sex relationships, sodomy and the likes of that, is regarded
as abominable,” said Nweke. It is already illegal to engage in gay
sex in Nigeria. Under a new proposed ban, gay couples who join in
a wedding ceremony, as well as anyone who officiates at one, will
risk five years in jail. -
Christian Post website
|
|
|
|
|
South Africa
Courts
Porritt Cases
The shadier edges - 25 January
in the time it has taken for US prosecutors to investigate,
charge, try, convict and hear the appeal of a perpetrator of
white-collar crime, and for the accused to serve her sentence, the
South African judicial system has yet to put its charges in a
white-collar criminal suit. -
allAfrica website
Tigon, Regal fraud trials put on hold yet
again - 24 January
The long-awaited confrontation between the state and the alleged
masterminds of corporate frauds worth millions of rand failed to
happen yesterday as the criminal trials of Tigon CEO Gary Porritt
and Regal Treasury Bank CEO Jeff Levenstein were postponed yet
again. -
Business Day website
Tigon fraud case postponed - 23
January
The hearing of fraud charges against Tigon Limited financial
services company's chief executive officer and an employee was
postponed until August in Johannesburg High Court on Monday. -
iAfrica website
Education
Student to put university in dock over
degree delay - 22 January
Disillusioned doctoral student Hilton Evens is taking legal action
against the University of KwaZulu-Natal for delays in getting his
degree. He blames the university for registering too many doctoral
students for which it had too few supervisors. According to a
source at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Graduate School of
Business has set a world record over the past two years by
registering 71 doctoral students for which it has only two
full-time members of staff. -
Business Report website
Emigration and Immigration
When is a refugee not a refugee?
- 27 January
Refugees are classified as people who have crossed an
international border in flight from their home country and are
eligible for assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
and other agencies. -
IOL website
Home affairs in a sorry state, says experts
- 23 January
The department of home affairs has failed to properly implement
the immigration regulations which came into effect seven months
ago, resulting in a crisis, according to several prominent
immigration lawyers and practitioners. -
IOL
website
Firearms
Gun licences valid until 2009 - 28
January
The Department of Safety and Security has allayed fears of firearm
owners that they will be prosecuted for failing to renew their
licences, saying the validity of current licences issued under the
old Act remained in force until June 30 2009. -
IOL
website
New gun lobby to fight weapons restrictions
- 26 January
South African gun lobbyists were launching a new organisation on
Thursday to press their case that more - not fewer - weapons are
needed to curb crime in a country notorious for murders and armed
robberies. The outspoken executive director of Gun Owners of
America, Larry Pratt, was drafted in to back demands for the
scrapping of post-apartheid legislation restricting ownership of
firearms. -
IOL website
Foreign Affairs
Africa's apartheid lackeys owe SA R76m in
loans - 26 January
The apartheid ghost is seemingly coming back to haunt the new
dispensation, particularly the department of foreign affairs as it
struggles to recover millions of rands loaned to African countries
that consorted with white minority rulers before 1994. -
Business
Report website
Health
Private hospitals defend rise in ward and
theatre fees - 23 January
Private hospitals yesterday defended any increase in ward and
theatre fees that might have occurred to compensate for lower
medicine dispensing fees, which fell as a result of government
introducing a set dispensing fee. -
Business
Report website
Human Rights
Woman sues for being held in a cell with men
- 28 January
A young Cape Town mother who was locked up in a police holding cell
with four men before being handcuffed to a chair for nearly four
hours, plans to sue the police. The police officer allegedly wanted
to make an "example" of Adams by locking her up when she declined to
provide him with information about a gangster that he wanted. She
was only let out when a passing woman officer noticed her inside
with the men and let her out. -
IOL website
Children
Kids still suffer under corporal punishment
- 26 January
Corporal punishment was still being meted out to school children at
every grade, a non-governmental body said on Thursday. Joan van
Niekerk of Childline South Africa said this was happening in public
as well as private schools. -
IOL website
see also
"Appropriate
discipline in a constitutional South Africa"
above
Jali Commission
Former prisons chief is acquitted on fraud
charge - 26 January
The suspended head of correctional services in the Eastern Cape was
yesterday acquitted of fraud, four years after he was first accused
of cheating the department out of R50 000 in false travel claims.
Raphepheng Mataka was cleared in the Port
Elizabeth commercial crimes court of all five counts of fraud
amounting to R55 355. -
Herald Online website
Labour Issues
SETAs
Concern at Seta behaviour - 25
January
The Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
protested to the Minister of Labour, Membathise Mdladlana, at the
way some Setas (Sector Education and Training Authorities) are
developing their own criteria for the payment of grants to
businesses. -
Cape Business News website
Workmen's Compensation
Doctors boycott disability fund -
23 January
South Africans who are injured in work-related accidents are
increasingly being denied treatment by doctors and pharmacists
because the labour department’s Workmen’s Compensation Fund has not
processed their claims for payment. -
Mail & Guardian website
Liquor Laws
Spirit of South Africa's liquor laws gets
tested in court - 25 January
Interpretation of the country's liquor laws is set to come under
close scrutiny in the next few months when a legal battle between a
city nightclub and the Western Cape liquor police plays out in the
Cape High Court. -
Cape Argus website
Municipal Boundaries
Historical links
Proceedings of the Senate - 18
September 1996
Proceedings of the Senate - 4
November 1996
Polity
website
The Determination of Metropolitan and District
Council Boundaries. Municipal Demarcation Board - 4
October 1999
EC helps Griqua get services - 19
February 2000
In view of traditional leaders' rejection of the Demarcation Board's
new municipal boundaries, Daily Dispatch reporter Mkhululi
Titi spoke to the head of African languages at the University
of Fort Hare, Dr Ntalenyane Lesoetsa, about the history of the
boundary disputes. -
Dispatch Online website
Municipal Management and Procedures
Cape Town
Cape Town firefighters in open revolt
- 26 January
Firefighters have come out in open revolt - rejecting the City of
Cape Town's denial that the fire service was in a crisis - and
have defied a gagging order imposed on them. -
IOL
website
Ekurhuleni
Ekurhuleni mayor lists delivery successes
- 27 January
Reflecting on the past five years of local government in
Ekurhuleni, the executive mayor, Duma Nkosi, said the biggest
challenge was amalgamating the nine towns and cities into one
large metro. -
IOL website
uMgungundlovu
New burials still banned - 24
January
Govt denies notice about water problems has been withdrawn. A
notice warning the owners of the Ethembeni Cemetery in Lincoln
Meade that burials at the current site are illegal and outside the
30 ha demarcated for burials still stands. -
Witness
website
Council ignores advice : legal team warns
sales conditions are unfavourable - 23 January
Consultants paid R100 000 by the uMgungundlovu District Council to
get the best deal for the municipality in the purchase of the
Ethembeni Cemetery in Lincoln Meade also stand to make a hefty
commission by being agents for the seller. According to the sales
agreement they are entitled to a commission of R782 040 to be paid
by the seller. -
Witness website
No water problem, say consultants
- 23 January
In response to a previous Witness story on the graveyard, the
consultants hired by the Mgungundlovu Municipality say the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and the KZN
Department of Agriculture and Environment Affairs are to rescind
their notice to the owner of the Ethembeni Cemetery to stop all
further burials. -
Witness website
uMsekeli
Anger over shutdown of board - 23
January
With just two months left until the impending closure of
government entity uMsekeli Municipal Services, its 90 employees
are still in the dark as to their future. So is the KwaZulu-Natal
Legislature. -
Witness website
eThekwini
Durban transport tender wrangle continues
- 29 January
Hundreds of disgruntled former Durban Transport employees have,
through a court order, stopped the privatisation of the city's
bus service. The Itheku Services Trust - a body representing 600
disgruntled former employees - obtained an interim order in the
Durban High Court two weeks ago which halted the conclusion of
the deal between Remant Alton and Ebhodwe Transport Services, a
body formed by 329 of the 1 200 former employees. -
IOL
website
Reparation
US Judge deals blow to apartheid claims
cases - 26 January
A New York appeal court judge this week questioned the actions by
a lobby group seeking damages from companies that did business
with apartheid-era SA, saying not even the current government
supported the group. -
allAfrica website
US court hears apartheid reparations
argument - 24 January
Oral argument starts on Tuesday in a New York appeal court, when
lawyers for victims of apartheid human rights abuses plead their
case for reparations from multinational companies. The case of
Khulumani et al vs Barclays et al pits 87 South African
victims against 23 foreign corporations, who are charged with
aiding and abetting the apartheid regime. -
IOL
website
South Africans sue Barclays over apartheid
- 23 January
Oral arguments begin tomorrow in a US court case which threatens
to sully the names of Barclays Bank, BP, and other big companies
for their activities in South Africa during apartheid. The case
has been brought to the court of appeal in New York by 87 South
Africans who say they were victims of human rights abuses. -
Guardian Unlimited website
TRC joins fight as apartheid victims and
state clash - 22 January
As the government prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), two pending clashes
show just how wide the gulf between civil society and the
government over the commission's legacy has grown. -
Sunday Independent website
Self-Defence
'Self-defence' shooter won't be arrested
- 24 January
A Pretoria man facing a murder charge after he shot dead a
late-night intruder in his home will not be arrested, police said on
Tuesday. "We have opened a case for investigation before we send it
to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)," said spokesperson
Brenda Kgafela. "We haven't arrested the victim. It is up to the NPA
to decide whether to prosecute". -
IOL
website
Man charged after intruder dies -
23 January
A man who allegedly shot dead his attacker in self-defence at his
home in Sinoville, Pretoria on Sunday has been charged with murder,
Pretoria police said on Monday. -
News24 website
Sexual Offences
'Sex Tourist' Case
Swiss sex tourist facing civil claim
- 28 January
Swiss paedophile Peter Zimmermann could soon be back in court -
either to be prosecuted again for indecently assaulting a young
South African boy or to face a civil claim. Zimmermann first escaped
a criminal trial in South Africa after a plea bargain with the
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Now Muzi Msimang, of Maluleke
Msimang and Associates and president of the Black Lawyers'
Association, intends suing Zimmermann, either here or in
Switzerland. The key to the suit is that the plea bargain was based
on the premise that the boy was 16 at the time and was therefore of
the age of consent. Now it emerges that the boy was actually 14. -
IOL
website
SMMEs
How SMMEs can obtain ISO - 23
January
Small and medium sized businesses are often faced with a lack of
resources, time constraints, lack of finance and little or no
access to contracts. Many tenders and contractors require formal
certification of quality standards such as ISO 9001:2000 to be in
place before they award a contract. But complying with these
standards can be a mammoth task, within the reach only of mostly
bigger companies. This problem seems insurmountable for SMMEs. So
what can an SMME do? Help is at hand thanks to an innovative
scheme launched by SABS Western Cape in November 2004. -
Cape
Business News website
'Travelgate'
Travelgate : evidence of huge new fraud
- 27 January
The Travelgate scandal is growing. Investigators are working
through a new list of 100 names that could implicate senior MPs,
including two Cabinet members, members of the whippery and
parliamentary office-bearers. New information gleaned by the
legislature’s axed finance chief, Harry Charlton, and liquidators
indicates that Parliament may be owed as much as R36-million by
travel agents and MPs for fraudulent travel claims - more than
double previously published estimates. -
Mail &
Guardian website
Truth and
Reconciliation Commission
Apartheid criminals beware : NPA
- 24 January
The noose is tightening around perpetrators of apartheid crimes
who shunned the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) or were
refused amnesty, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said. -
News24
website
Miscellaneous
Oilgate man sues State for R150 mn
- 29 January
Sandi Majali was to have received a contract to dispense social
grants on behalf of the government. Majali's consortium was sent a
letter stating that his information technology company IT Lynx
Consortium was the Department of Social Development's first choice
for the R500 million contract. However, the department pulled out
of the deal after intervention from the National Treasury, which
thought it too costly. -
African News Dimension website
|
|
|
|
|
Africa
African Court on
Human and People's Rights
Top SA judge to sit on human rights court
- 24 January
The Judge President of the Pretoria High Court, Bernard Ngoepe,
has been appointed to a newly established 11-member African Court
on Human and People's Rights. -
IOL website
Africa names judges for new human rights
court - 22 January
African foreign ministers have elected judges to preside over a
new human rights court for the continent which legal experts
expect will give individuals redress against government abuses,
officials said on Sunday. The judges elected were from Ghana,
Libya, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa,
Burundi, Algeria and Burkina Faso, AU delegates said. -
Reuters
website
Senegal
Belgium ask Senegal to extradite Habre
- 26 January
Belgium said on Wednesday it would consider going to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague if Senegal refused its
request to extradite Chad's former leader to stand trial for
torture and mass murder. -
IOL website
Zimbabwe
Mugabe to evict neighbours - 29
January
Human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe on Sunday said government plans
to take over homes adjacent to President Robert Mugabe's new
mansion in a plush northern suburb of Harare were "unlawful". -
News24
website
|
|
|
|
|
Australasia
Australia
HIV-positive man faces jail for 'unsafe' sex
- 24 January
A HIV-positive Cape Town-born chef faces up to 45 years in jail in
Australia for having sex with three women without telling them he
had the virus. The 34-year-old man, who faces a maximum of 15
years for each count of endangering life if convicted, admitted to
the South Australian District Court on Tuesday that he had had
unprotected sex with one of the women after being diagnosed as
HIV-positive. -
IOL website
|
|
|
|
|
Europe
Germany
Judge's love offer in contempt of court
- 25 January
A judge who fell for the defendant's girlfriend is in trouble
after offering to put his rival away for a long time. -
IOL
website
|
|
|
|
|
Middle East
Iraq
Saddam Hussein Trial
29 January
Saddam trial resumes with new Kurdish
judge
The trial of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for crimes
against humanity was set to resume on Sunday with a new chief
judge, amid growing concerns about the credibility of the
court. -
IOL website
Saddam walks out in protest
Saddam Hussein walked out of court on Sunday, soon after his
defence team had also stormed out, to protest against the
proceedings of his trial, a witness said. -
IOL
website
|
|
|
|
|
United Kingdom
Courts
Thatcher's legal problems continue
- 23 January
Mark Thatcher, son of Britain's former prime minister, reportedly
continues to be hounded by problems arising from a botched 2004 coup
in Equatorial Guinea. Lawyers for Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the
dictatorial president of the oil-rich African state, plan to ask an
appeals court to allow their client to seek damages against the
alleged backers of the coup, The Times of London reports. -
United Press
International website
'Happy slap' killer aged 14 is jailed
- 24 January
A girl who was 14 when she took part in a "happy slapping" attack in
which a man was beaten to death was jailed for eight years
yesterday. Chelsea O'Mahoney filmed her friends on her mobile phone
as they battered David Morley. She then ran at the bar manager and
"kicked his head like a football". Her counsel, Anthony Berry, QC,
said her parents were heroin addicts. -
Telegraph website
Health
Mother loses 'right to know' abortion battle
- 24 January
Girls under 16 can have abortions without their parents' knowledge,
a judge ruled yesterday. Sue Axon, 51, a divorced, single parent of
five children from Wythenshawe, Manchester, lost a High Court case
challenging Government guidelines that allow health professionals to
give sexual health advice to under-16s without parental consent. -
Telegraph website
Labour
Singletons cry foul - 27 January
Singletons in the United Kingdom complain of bias in the workplace
with pressure to attend after-hours dos and work weekends, a survey
revealed this week. Most single people are happy being single but
many feel picked on at work, left out of couple-dominated social
occasions and penalised financially. -
Mail & Guardian
website
Traffic and Transport
Town
halls defy law to milk millions from parking ticket fines
- 23 January
Town halls are illegally using motorists as a cash cow by flouting
government guidelines and turning parking control into a
money-making business. An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has
uncovered an array of abuses. They include the issuing of
thousands of illegal parking tickets, many of which are quashed on
appeal. Some contractors have set "benchmarks" for the number of
penalty charge notices that each attendant should issue on their
shifts. -
Telegraph website
Miscellaneous
Diana probe complex, says former police
chief - 27 January
The British inquiry into the death of Princess Diana is more
complex than anticipated, the retired police chief conducting the
investigation has said. Sir John Stevens, the former chief of
London's Metropolitan Police, who is leading the British
investigations, said in a TV interview that Dodi's father,
Mohammed al Fayed, had been "right to raise concerns" over the
crash. - IOL
website
Passengers plot mutiny on Queen Mary 2
- 23 January
Passengers on board the Queen Mary 2, the world's largest cruise
ship, are threatening to stage a sit-in protest after three
Caribbean stop-offs were cancelled. -
Telegraph website
|
|
|
|
|
United States and Canada
Arctic
Who is right on Arctic sovereignty?
- 27 January
The dispute between Canada and foreign countries, particularly the
United States, over Arctic sovereignty has gone on for decades.
Canada says the waters have long been used by the country's Inuit,
who gave their support to Canada's sovereignty claims in the 1993
Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. The United States and others insist
that while the islands belong to Canada, they are surrounded by
international waters. -
Globe and Mail website
Courts
US Supreme Court rejects RIM's appeal
- 23 January
The prospect of a wide-scale shutdown of the BlackBerry mobile
e-mail service is closer to becoming reality, as the US Supreme
Court on Monday turned down a request to review a major patent
infringement ruling against BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion. -
CNet News
website
Human Rights
Death row blogger describes last days
- 28 January
From death row in Baltimore Vernon Lee Evans doles out philosophy
and advice to the curious, confused and lonely around the world on a
unique blog, but his blogging days are numbered with the approach of
his execution early next month. -
Mail & Guardian website
see also
Meet Vernon [blog]
Privacy
US lawmakers seek review of eavesdropping
rules - 22 January
US surveillance laws should be reviewed and possibly rewritten to
allow the type of eavesdropping that US President George W. Bush
has been criticized for authorizing, lawmakers from both parties
said on Sunday. Democrats and some Republicans have said the Bush
administration's classified warrantless eavesdropping program is
illegal. The White House has strongly defended the National
Security Agency surveillance as both legal and essential. The
Senate Judiciary Committee starts hearings on the issue on Feb 6.
- Reuters
website
Taxation Law
Survivor winner faces jail time over taxes
- 26 January
Richard Hatch, who won $1-million in the debut season of the hit
reality show Survivor, was found guilty on Wednesday of
failing to pay taxes on his winnings and taken straight to jail. -
Mail & Guardian
website
'Survivor' testifies - 24 January
Survivor Richard Hatch decided not to pay taxes on the $1m he
won on the reality show's first season after discussions with
producers, fellow contestants and his accountant, he testified on
Monday. -
News24 website
|
|
|
|
|
Miscellaneous
Madiba could chair Bush 'trial' -
29 January
International activists and lawyers involved in the defence of
Saddam Hussein said on Sunday they would organize a mock trial of US
President George W Bush and the British and Israeli prime ministers
for alleged war crimes committed in Iraq and the Palestinian
territories. -
News24 website
Battle looms over Not Made in China mark
- 23 January
A Chinese law firm has pledged to oppose an application to register
the phrase "Not made in China" as a trade mark. Alvito Holdings,
whose registered headquarters is in Gibraltar, has applied to
register the mark as both a word mark and a logo in the US and
Europe, and has already got the go-ahead from Office for
Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM). On January 11, the
Community trade mark regulator accepted the last of three
applications for the mark. One application was for a word mark and
two were for logos. But Dennis Bi, a trade mark attorney with BTA
Trademark and Patent Law Office in Beijing said that allowing
someone to register the phrase as a trade mark was "not good for
China". -
Managing Intellectual Property
website
|
|