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on the Electronic Front |
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Recent
Judgments Available on the Internet |
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Constitutional
Court of South Africa
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www.constitutionalcourt.org.za
5 October
2007
CCT 51/06
KZN MEC of Education v Pillay
Right of a learner to wear a nose stud to school
5 October 2007
CCT 85/06
Sidumo v Rustenburg Platinum
Mines Ltd and
Others
3 October
2007
CCT 01/07
Masetlha v President
Masetlha,
co-accused plead not guilty - 2 October
Former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) director-general Billy
Masetlha continued to express his belief that his former boss,
Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, was responsible for removing
him from office. Masetlha, the agency's former technical manager
Funokwakhe Madlala and information technology salesman Muziwendoda
Kunene all pleaded not guilty yesterday to fraud relating to the
African National Congress (ANC) hoax-e-mail saga. In a statement
to the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court yesterday, Masetlha said
the case against him arose from Kasrils's efforts "to dishonour
and remove" him from office. His contract was terminated in March
last year. Masetlha said he was not given reasons for his
dismissal. The Constitutional Court will pass judgment tomorrow in
Masetlha's appeal against his suspension and dismissal. -
allAfrica website
2 October
2007
CCT 86/06
Shaik v State
Mbeki criticised for Masetlha move - 4 October
The president has been sharply criticised for the way in which he
fired intelligence director-general Billy Masetlha - with two of
South Africa's most powerful judges describing the axing as a
"violation". Constitutional Court justices Sandile Ngcobo and
Tholie Madlala on Wednesday slammed the spy boss's dismissal as
unfair and unconstitutional, arguing that President Thabo Mbeki
should at least have given Masetlha the chance to defend himself
against the as-yet-undisclosed reasons behind it. Deputy Chief
Justice Dikgang Moseneke said he could understand why Masetlha
turned down a R1,7-million financial settlement from the
government so as to fight for his reinstatement, as part of "his
personal quest to protect and restore his reputation" and search
for vindication. The court's 122-page judgment, in which the
justices unanimously found Masetlha should be paid out in full for
the entire duration of his three-year contract, also raised
questions about his rights and those of fellow presidential
appointee, suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi
Pikoli, to contest their suspensions or dismissals. According to
Justice Albie Sachs, such appointees' rights appeared to exist "in
a legal void". - IOL website
Shaik finding turns legal heat on Zuma - 3 October
Durban businessman Schabir Shaik will have to serve his 15-year
jail term after the Constitutional Court yesterday dismissed his
appeal against his conviction and sentence on two counts of
corruption and one on fraud.
The courts decision will probably help the state in
its efforts to charge former deputy president Jacob Zuma, but
prosecutor Billy Downer said the outcome of other cases was being
awaited before a final decision was made about Zuma. -
Business Day website
Former Zuma aide loses South Africa court appeal - 2 October
Schabir Shaik, former financial adviser to controversial South
African politician Jacob Zuma, on Tuesday lost his final appeal
against fraud and corruption charges and a 15-year prison
sentence. The Constitutional Court said it would not be in the
interests of justice to grant an appeal, a decision that analysts
say could clear the way for presidential hopeful Zuma to be
recharged in connection with the case. -
Reuters website
Ansac seeks ear of constitutional court - 1 October
The oldest case on the books of the competition authorities is set
to create another record by being the first competition case to
involve the constitutional court. The American Natural Soda
Corporation (Ansac) informed the competition authorities that it
would petition the constitutional court to hear a matter relating
to its eight-year battle with the competition commission. This
follows the recent decision by the supreme court of appeal (SCA)
to dismiss Ansac's petition to hear the matter. -
Business Report website
Careless
leaders betray Khutsong from all sides - 28 September
Khutsong's demarcation battle has at last moved from the streets
to the Constitutional Court. A great relief! Still, the war scenes
outside the court - with some protesters brandishing knives and
burning tyres - are worrying and should be condemned. Acts of
anarchy are undermining the struggle of Khutsong. -
allAfrica website
Court Roll - Fourth
Term (2007)
6 November 2007
CCT 37/07
Deliwe Muriel Njongi v Member of the Executive Council
Department of Welfare, Eastern Cape Province
8 November 2007
CCT 42/07
M M Mphela and 217 Others v Haakdoorbult Boerdery CC and Others
13 November 2007
CCT 40/07
CUSA v Toa Ying Metal Industries and Others
15 November 2007
CCT 54/07
Jonathan Zealand v The Minister of Justice and Constitutional
Development and Another
22 November 2007
CCT 38/07
Billy Lesedi Masetlha v President of the Republic of South
Africa and Another (Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd intervening
and Minister of Intelligence Services intervening)
27 November 2007
CCT 03/07
Tinyiko Lwandhlamuni Philla Nwamitwa Shilubana and Others v
Sidwell Nwamitwa
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Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
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http://www.supremecourtofappeal.gov.za/index.html
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http://www.uovs.ac.za/apps/law/appeal/
28
September 2007
43/2007
Pakane v The State [2007] SCA 134 (RSA)
Murder defeating the ends of justice A police officer killing
the deceased during a police patrol in the presence of his junior
colleagues and subsequently concealing his actions to evade
detection convicted of murder and defeating the ends of justice
and sentenced to 15 and eight year terms of imprisonment his
colleagues failing to report the incident and consequently
convicted of being accessories after the fact to murder and
sentenced each to eight years imprisonment putative private
defence raised by appellants rejected by the trial court no
misdirection by the trial court the convictions and sentences
confirmed on appeal
28
September 2007
377/2006
Stalwo v Wary Holdings [2007] SCA 133 (RSA)
Contract of sale of land whether suspensive condition a
tacit term whether tacit term offends against sec 2(1) of the
Alienation of Land Act 68
of 1981 meaning of 'agricultural
land' as defined in section 1 of the
Subdivision of
Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970
28
September 2007
560/2006
Hack Stupel & Ross v Kgang [2007] SCA 132 (RSA)
The Respondent claimed damages by way of motion proceedings
- no basis for damages appears from
affidavits or how damages were computed
28
September 2007
470/2006
KwaZulu CMS Monitoring Systems v KZN Gambling Board [2007] SCA
131 (RSA)
Regulation 156(8), PN 1087 PG, 7 November 2003, promulgated under
s 87 of the Kwazulu-Natal
Gambling Act 10 of 1996 provides for a single central
electronic monitoring system for the Province -
the Provincial Gambling Board had authority to contract for the
procurement of the system
28
September 2007
487/2006
Minister of Local Government, Housing & Traditional Affairs (KwaZulu-Natal)
v Umlambo Trading 29 CC [2007] SCA 130 (RSA)
Local Government
: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, ss 106(1)(b) and
(2) appointment of person(s) to investigate maladministration,
fraud, corruption or other serious malpractice in a municipality
in KwaZulu-Natal in order for investigator to have powers of
subpoena, commission must be appointed by the Premier by
proclamation in the Provincial Gazette in terms of s 2 of the
KwaZulu-Natal Commissions
Act 3 of 1999
28
September 2007
338/2006
Mngomezulu v NDPP [2007] SCA 129 (RSA)
A direction granted ex parte in terms of the
Interception and
Monitoring Prohibition Act 127 of 1992 is provisional and
subject to reconsideration, but there must be a legitimate purpose
for its reconsideration. Where the purpose is to protect fair
trial rights it is premature to seek, in advance of a pending
trial, to have the direction reconsidered with a view to obtaining
a declaratory order that information obtained pursuant to the
direction, was unlawfully obtained
28
September 2007
482/2006
Tetra Mobile Radio v MEC, Department of Works [2007] SCA 128 (RSA)
Interpretation and application of the
KwaZulu Natal Procurement
Act 3 of 2001 Access to information under the said Act
28
September 2007
677/2006
Scott-Crossley v S [2007] SCA 127 (RSA)
Criminal appeals - reassessment of
credibility of witnesses - corroboration
- inference when version not put in
cross-examination - accomplice evidence
'Lion killer' : judges take dim view - 30 September
The three judges of the supreme court of appeal, who this week
slashed the jail sentence given to the "lion killer", Mark Scott-Crossley,
from life to five years, have issued a stern warning against
racial and social stereotyping in the country's courts. The judges
also said the approach to Scott-Crossley by the trial judge, Judge
George Maluleke, had in at least one instance been "unfortunate
and misconceived", because he had given his opinion on Scott-Crossley's
credibility while Scott-Crossley was still testifying - which was
to be considered "plainly undesirable" behaviour on the part of a
judge. - IOL website
28
September 2007
324/2006
Just Names Properties v Fourie [2007] SCA 126 (RSA)
Written agreement of an immovable property, whether the sale
agreement complied with the requirements set out in section 2(1)
of the Alienation of Land
Act 68 of 1981, in circumstances where offer signed and
delivered by offeree in incomplete form
28
September 2007
598/2006
Dissel v The State [2007] SCA 125 (RSA)
Criminal law Conviction and sentence murder 15 years'
imprisonment whether appellant acted in self-defence
substantial and compelling circumstances justifying imposition of
lesser sentence than prescribed minimum sentence imposed by High
Court set aside and appeal and sentence imposed by regional
magistrate reinstated
27
September 2007
627/2006
Van Niekerk v Favel [2007] SCA 124 (RSA)
Alienation of Land Act 68
of 1981 Notice in terms of s 19(2) to purchaser to remedy
breach Interpretation of s 19(1)(c) Seller required, under s
19(2)(c), to refer in the notice to the remedies in s 19(1) he
intends to invoke if breach not remedied Such reference may be
in the alternative Mere reference to clause in contract not
adequate
27
September 2007
503/2006
Vari-Deals 101 (Pty) Ltd v Sunsmart Products (Pty) Ltd [2007]
SCA 123 (RSA)
Patent Interpretation of specification and claims 'Purposive
approach' Patent and Registered Design Anticipation
Infringement
27
September 2007
03/2007
Legh v Nungu Trading 353 [2007] SCA 122 (RSA)
Winding up - s 20(1)(c) of the
Insolvency Act 24 of 1936
not rendered applicable to a Company in winding up by s 339 of the
Companies Act 61 of 1973
27
September 2007
218/2006
Republican Press v CEPPWAWU [2007] SCA 121 (RSA)
Appeal direct from Labour Court - competent when Labour Appeal
Court has declined to entertain appeal reinstatement of
dismissed employee - retrospective effect not limited
27
September 2007
461/2006
Raol Investments v Madlala [2007] SCA 120 (RSA)
Dismissal of employee automatic unfairness differentiation in
treatment not necessarily racial discrimination
27 September 2007
75/2007
Mngqibisa v The State [2007] SCA 119 (RSA)
Criminal law fraud appellant making false representation to an
employee of the complainant subsequently he stated correct facts
to another employee initial statement calculated to prejudice
complainant
'Landmark' ruling on illegal building - 1 October
In a landmark ruling said to have major implications for unlawful
buildings, cottages and guest houses throughout South Africa, the
Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has dismissed an
application by a Port Elizabeth guest house owner to prevent her
place of business from being demolished. The application by
Parapanjakam Naidoo and other members of her business trust
against a Port Elizabeth High Court ruling ordering the demolition
of her illegal guest house was dismissed. Port Elizabeth lawyer
Colin de Villiers of De Villiers and Partners in Summerstrand said
the precedent-setting move would go a long way to prevent illegal
buildings, oversized guest houses and the uncontrolled provision
of student accommodation. -
Daily Dispatch website
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Commercial Crimes Courts
Port Elizabeth
Man stole R600 000 using internet banking facilities - 2
October
A Graaff-Reinet man was found guilty in the Port Elizabeth
commercial crimes court yesterday of stealing more than R600 000
from his former employer. Jan Wiese pleaded guilty to stealing
R647 081 from A B van den Bergh between August last year and June
this year. Wiese was employed as an administrative manager and
entrusted with a password that allowed him to pay creditors using
the business's internet banking
facilities. Instead of paying creditors, Wiese electronically
transferred various amounts of money to his own banking accounts
and to other banking accounts for his own benefit. -
The Herald Online
website
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Labour Courts
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http://www.saflii.org/
Johannesburg
Samwu heads for Labour Court - 3 October
South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) members are
expected to converge on the Labour Court in Johannesburg on
Wednesday to hear a final ruling on a secondary strike. -
Mail & Guardian website
Rain on Jo'burg strikers' parade - 2 October
Striking Johannesburg municipal workers will not be marching along
the city's streets on Tuesday - because it's raining. "We will
gather outside the Metro Centre for a short while to hand over
another part of our memorandum and that will be it," South African
Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) spokesperson Dumisani Langa said.
- Mail & Guardian website
Joburg
condemns intimidation in strike - 2 October
The City of Johannesburg has condemned the acts of intimidation by
striking municipal workers. The municipality expressed concern
over incidents of intimidation on Monday, the first day of the
planned two-day strike by the South African Municipal Workers
Union (SAMWU). SAMWU embarked on a march in the Johannesburg city
centre on Monday, with demands including the reinstatement of free
transport to work and back and an end to casualisation of jobs. -
BuaNews Online website
Ten thousand municipal workers to strike - 29 September
Ten thousand municipal workers in Johannesburg will down tools for
three days starting on Monday, the South African Municipal Workers
Union (Samwu) said. The Johannesburg Labour Court on Friday
overruled the city's application for an interdict to prevent the
strike. The decision was made on the basis that the city had not
complied with a five-day notice period. -
Mail & Guardian website
Municipal workers set to oppose strike interdict - 28
September
Municipal workers would oppose the City of Johannesburg's attempt
to interdict them from embarking on a strike on Monday, a union
said on Friday. The South African Municipal Worker's Union (Samwu),
which represents over 10 000 municipal workers, planned to strike
on Monday over wages, transport, performance management systems
and permanent contracts for workers. -
Mail & Guardian website
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Land
Claims Court of South Africa
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www.law.wits.ac.za/lcc/
Alexkor share under scrutiny - 27 September
A Land Claims Court judge on Wednesday questioned Alexkors
majority share in the joint mining venture the parastatal is to
set up with the Richtersveld community. The questioning came
during a hearing in Cape Town on a settlement agreement between
the state, which owns Alexkor, and the Richtersveld Sida !hub
Communal Property Association. The agreement proposes the creation
of a "pooling and sharing"
joint venture, in which Alexkor will have a 51 percent stake and
the Richtersvelders mining company the rest. -
The Citizen website
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Cape
Provincial Division
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http://law.sun.ac.za/cgi-bin/list.php
Surprise move in Lotz murder trial - 2 October
Murder accused Fred van der Vyver's legal team has told the Cape
High Court it wants him to testify in his own defence. The
surprise move came after the state had already delivered its
closing arguments, and Van der Vyver's advocate Dup de Bruyn had
begun his. De Bruyn became involved in an extended exchange with
Judge Deon van Zyl over Van der Vyver's alibi that he was at work
at Old Mutual at the time the killing took place. Van Zyl said the
court had no evidence on the alibi, only an explanation of plea
submitted by Van der Vyver. This did not constitute evidence that
could be cross-examined, and important testimony was missing in
the case. De Bruyn said the law required the state to produce
evidence destructive of the alibi, and it had not done so. The
alibi was supported by records of the security systems at Old
Mutual and of Van der Vyver's own computer and cellphone
activities, and was not only reasonably possibly true, but had
been proved beyond all reasonable doubt. -
Mail & Guardian website
Patients ordered to go back to hospital - 1 October
Two highly contagious extreme drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis
patients are expected back at the Brooklyn Chest Hospital on
Monday - by readmitting themselves or compelled to return under a
Cape High Court order. On Friday, the court granted an order
allowing authorities to make the four patients with XDR
tuberculosis to go back to hospital, Health MEC Pierre Uys said.
Uys's department sought the order after the patients with the
contagious and potentially lethal disease "absconded" from
quarantine in the Brooklyn Chest Hospital on the Cape Flats, which
specialises in the treatment of TB. -
IOL website
Leisurenet
Leisurenet duo 'punished enough' by state - 4 October
Convicted LeisureNet duo Peter Gardener and Rodney Mitchell had
been taught a lesson "many times over" in various actions brought
by the state, the Cape High Court was told yesterday. Gardener and
Mitchell are back in court to defend a state bid to recoup R10m
for benefits they got from a German gym deal. Francois van Zyl SC,
who is representing the two men, asked whether a confiscation
order would be appropriate, considering that the two had already
paid about R29,5m to liquidators, and had received 12-year jail
terms. Van Zyl asked what purpose could be served with the
imposition of additional punishment. He said Gardener and Mitchell
"will leave prison as elderly men". -
allAfrica website
Judge reserves LeisureNet ruling - 3 October
A Cape High Court judge on Wednesday reserved his ruling on a
forfeiture application against former LeisureNet joint chief
executives Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell. Though the two men,
according to their legal team, have already paid over
R29,5-million to liquidators, the state says there is a shortfall
of at least half a million rands each. -
Mail & Guardian website
State
seeks R10m from Leisurenet duo - 3 October
The state has taken LeisureNet duo Peter Gardener and Rod Mitchell
to the Cape High Court in a bid to recoup as much as R10m for
benefits they received from a German deal. The confiscation order
has been sought in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
In the case of Gardener, the state is seeking repayment of between
R466000 and R6,5m, while in Mitchell's case this ranges from
R592000 to R3,2m. LeisureNet's collapse in 2000, with liabilities
of R1bn, was SA's biggest corporate failure at that time. -
allAfrica website
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Natal
Provincial Division
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http://www.uovs.ac.za/apps/law/highcourt/
Freed to
attack again - 3 October
Two traumatised families and a High Court judge are asking how a
murderer sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment was freed after
serving only six years and then went on a shooting spree in which
he critically wounded his fiancee before
killing himself. Pietermaritzburg traffic officer Makhosazana
"Ruth" Ntuli was critically injured on Saturday night when she was
shot in her Westgate home by her fiancι Sibusiso Vilikazi, who
then turned the gun on himself. It has since been established that
Vilikazi is a former SA National Defence Force reserve soldier,
who was previously convicted of shooting dead Lieutenant Carol
Herbst, a clerk at Pietermaritzburg's Commando headquarters in
Oribi Village, in January 2000. Vilikazi was initially sentenced
to seven years' imprisonment for Herbst's murder, which was later
overturned by a full bench consisting of Judges Pete Combrinck,
Willem Booysen and Dumile Kondile in February 2003. His jail
sentence was increased to a term of 20 years. -
Daily News website
Life for man who hired assassin - 3 October
Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Kevin Swain sent out a strong
message on Tuesday to those who take the law into their own hands,
when he sentenced a man to 25 years' imprisonment for the murder
of his fiance's lover. Swain said that it was incumbent on the
court to send out a message to jilted lovers. "Too often in our
society, we hear of jilted, rejected lovers and husbands who seem
to think they can take the law into their own hands, and dispatch
their competition at will. This type of behaviour will not be
tolerated by the court," Swain said. Mnyandu was not regarded as a
suspect in the murder, and turned himself in purely out of
remorse, Swain found. -
IOL website
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Transvaal
Provincial Division
- (Court rolls at
http://www.courtroom.co.za/roll.php)
Siener is right, says Boeremag accused - 4 October
Boeremag accused Mike du Toit on Thursday told the Pretoria High
Court he did not trust the state or police because he believed
they were controlled by former terrorists. Du Toit, a Herstigte
Nasionale Party (HNP) supporter, said not only did he and many
others distrust the police, he also believed the ANC government
was behind farm attacks and murders. Du Toit has an honours degree
in history and a master's degree in philosophy. He was a high
school teacher and also a lecturer in history at Vista University
for many years. -
IOL website
'Advocate Barbie' trial delayed again - 2 October
The
trial of Cezanne Visser, also known as "Advocate Barbie", has once
again been delayed because no judge was available to preside in
the case. The defence and the state were only informed this week
that no judge had been assigned to the case. Judge Khami Makhafola
provisionally postponed Visser's trial to October 12 to allow the
state to arrange for the appointment of a judge. Visser's bail of
R4 000 was extended. The trial will have to start anew after the
previous trial judge, Judge Essop Patel, died in April this year.
After the disappearance of her former co-accused and lover Dirk
Prinsloo in May last year, she appointed top criminal defence
advocate Johan Engelbrecht to defend her. Visser is still on the
run and is presently on Interpol's most-wanted list after failing
to return from a trip to Russia. -
Mail & Guardian website
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Witwatersrand Local
Division -
http://www.saflii.org/
Child rapist gets 192 years, not castration - 4 October
Convicted paedophile Gordon Joubert was given a collective jail
sentence of 192 years in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
Joubert was earlier found guilty of eight counts of raping minor
children. Acting Judge Naren Pandya sentenced him to 24 years in
jail on each rape charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Joubert was also sentenced to 20 years in jail on 10 counts of
indecent assault, 15 years on 15 counts of crimen injuria, and
five each on contravention of the Films and Publications Action
and the contravention of the Reserve Bank Act. The court ordered
that he must remain in jail for a total of 39 years. After his
conviction earlier, Joubert suggested to the court the appropriate
sentence for him was to be castrated, but Pandya ruled otherwise.
- Mail &
Guardian website
Anglo being sued for R20m - 30 September
Former gold miners suffering from a debilitating lung disease want
their former employers to compensate them for pain and suffering.
The case was brought by 10 former miners against the Anglo
American Corporation in the Johannesburg High Court in August
2004. No date has yet been set for the trial. This is billed as a
test case by their legal team. If the eight surviving miners, and
the widows of two who have died since the case was filed, win the
R20-million they are claiming, the implications would be
significant. - IOL website
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Magistrates Courts
Cape Town
Fidentia duo in court - 3 October
Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and financial director Graham Maddock
appeared briefly in the Cape Town magistrates court on Wednesday.
The case was postponed to December 7 for a regional court date, and
for the state to give the defence teams a charge sheet. The
appearance follows their rearrest in August on fresh fraud and theft
charges. - IOL website
Johannesburg
Agliotti case postponed to January - 5 October
The case of Glenn Agliotti, accused in the murder of mining
magnate Brett Kebble, was postponed to January 22 in the
Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Friday. -
Mail & Guardian website
Judge's drunken-driving trial postponed - 2 October
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata's drunken-driving trial has
been postponed for the court to rule on the defence's application
for a trial within a trial on admissibility of evidence.
Magistrate Desmond Nair will give his decision when the trial
resumes at the end of October. - Mail & Guardian website
Motata's defence wants trial within a trial - 2 October
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata will be "severely
prejudiced" should magistrate Desmond Nair fail to allow a trial
within a trial to decide on the admissibility of evidence. -
Mail & Guardian website
Motata defence fights to keep recordings out of court - 2
October
Judge Nkola Motata's legal team is doing everything to prevent the
Johannesburg Magistrate's Court from listening to five recordings
entered as evidence by the state. Defence attorney Danie Dorfling
argued that allowing the court to hear the recordings, which are
video recordings with no visuals, would deprive the accused of his
constitutional right to a fair trial. -
Mail & Guardian website
Port Elizabeth
Perlemoen accused steadfast in denial - 3 October
A state witness who gave intricate details about the dealings of
an alleged perlemoen syndicate faced a gruelling cross-
examination from the defence attorneys yesterday. Ockert Olivier
was in the dock for the second day yesterday in a groundbreaking
racketeering case in the Port Elizabeth magistrate's court. -
The Herald Online
website
Court hears how illegal perly was transported - 2 October
Intricate details of how perlemoen was allegedly transported
illegally to Japanese buyers in Johannesburg came to light in a
groundbreaking racketeering case in the Port Elizabeth
magistrate's court yesterday. Thirteen alleged syndicate members
face a total of 40 charges, to which they have all pleaded not
guilty. - The Herald Online
website
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Pension Funds Adjudicator
- http://www.pfa.org.za/
Cash boost for divorced women - 4 October
Divorced women can now demand half the pension of their former
husbands, following a decision by the pensions adjudicator on
Wednesday. Mamodupi Mohlala, the adjudicator, ruled that an
amendment to the
Pensions Fund Act that came into effect on September 13
would apply to all divorce orders in which the parties had
agreed that the non-member of the pension fund was entitled to
half the pension of the paying member. -
News24 website
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SA Institute of Race
Relations
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Report : race-based policies undermine black middle class - 1
October
Racially based policies disempower the people they seek to
promote, reveals a South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR)
report released on Monday. "These policies reinforce the
apartheid-style ideology that value is not associated with
capability, but with the colour of one's skin," said SAIRR
researcher Hannah Botsis. - Mail &
Guardian website
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Government
and Legislation |
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South
Africa Government Information
-
http://www.gov.za/
Statements and
Speeches
3 October
2007
Opening address by Dr EG Pahad, Minister in the The Presidency
at the Global Initiative to Counter Human Trafficking -
International Forum, Cape Town
3 October
2007
Farmers Union and government foster relations
Excerpt :
"Contravention of labour laws,
injuries and deaths of farm workers as well as their ruthless
evictions, will now become a thing of the past, following the
recent collaboration of the Department of Labour, Land Affairs
Department and the North West Farmers Union"
2 October 2007
Notes following media briefing by Deputy Director-General Jerry
Matjila, Pretoria
India-Brazil-South Africa Summit (IBSA)
2 October
2007
Working Group Meeting
Excerpt :
"President Thabo Mbeki chaired the
Presidential Trade Union Working Group at the Union Buildings
today. The meeting discussed ongoing work being undertaken by
the Government-Trade Union task team agreed to in March this
year"
Bemused Mbeki shuns questions on Selebi arrest - 3 October
Shortly after being ushered out of the room, journalists were
told that a media briefing on the outcome of Mbeki's
interaction with union leaders was cancelled. -
The Sowetan website
28 September
2007
Congratulatory remarks by Deputy Minister Sue van der Merwe on
the occasion of the 41st Anniversary of the Independence of the
Republic of Botswana
27 September
2007
Procedures for the application, administration and allocation of
export permits to the European Community (EC)
Excerpt :
"A Trade, Development and Co-operation
Agreement (TDCA) between the European Community (EC) and the
Republic of South Africa has been established and entered into
force on 1 January 2000. This agreement provides for the
establishment of a Free Trade Area between the EC and South
Africa in accordance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
rules and the strengthening of European development assistance
to South Africa"
18 September
2007
Notes following joint media briefing following South
AfricaMozambique Heads of State Economic Bilateral Meeting,
Presidential Guesthouse, Bryntirion Estate, Pretoria
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Parliamentary Monitoring Group
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http://www.pmg.org.za/
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Documents may generally be accessed immediately by clicking on the
underlined hyperlinks. Subscription-protected documents are
indicated by * * * Subscription required * * * ; KZNLS
members who require access to restricted documents should
cut-and-paste the reference/s into an e-mail to
help@lawlibrary.co.za. |
Interesting
Documents and New Bills
Electronic
Communications Amendment Bill [B38-2007]
http://www.pmg.org.za/bills/071004electronicbill.pdf
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Legislation
Choice on
Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill
Abortion bill : lobbyists unhappy - 3 October
Pressure groups are threatening to take the government to court
over a controversial abortion law recently approved by the
National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The Choice on Termination of
Pregnancy Amendment Bill which allows children as young as 12 to
terminate a pregnancy without the consent of a legal guardian is
expected to be signed into law soon by President Thabo Mbeki. In
August 2006 the bill's original adoption by the NCOP was declared
invalid by the Constitutional Court after Doctors for Life
International successfully challenged it. The court found that
insufficient public participation had taken place before the bill
was approved. - IOL website
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Useful
Links and Items of Interest |
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Legal System and
Research on the Hauser Global Law School Program
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http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/
Angola
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Angola.htm
Swaziland
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Swaziland.htm
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Mahatma Gandhi
celebrations
Play at historic prison marks Gandhi Jayanti in South Africa -
3 October
Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace and his struggle against
inequality came alive on his 138th birth anniversary with puppets,
masks and actors telling his tale in the backdrop of the prison
where he was imprisoned during his days in South Africa. An
enthralling performance by the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust led by
master puppeteer Dadi Pudumjee and the launch of a children's book
on the life and times of the Mahatma marked Gandhi Jayanti in
South Africa Tuesday. The play "Images of Truth" was performed at
Constitutional Hill, once the Old Fort Jail where Gandhi and later
Nelson Mandela were imprisoned during their fight for freedom in
South Africa. - Khabrein
website
Centenary of Gandhiji's book - 30
September
Preparations are afoot to celebrate the centenary of
'Hind Swaraj'
(Indian Home Rule) written by Mahatma Gandhi. It is his seminal
work ; his first book considered the
seed for Gandhism. The Mahatma spells out his powerful message of
'ahimsa'. It
was this text that Tolstoy, Romain Rolland, Nehru and Rajaji read
and commented upon. The year-long celebrations, marked by special
meetings and seminars, will be held from November 8 throughout the
country. Ankush Sawant told The Hindu that the meetings
would propagate Gandhiji's views on
satyagraha, democracy, education, communal harmony, and protection
of environment, while taking up the challenge of explaining
Gandhism even to those who interpreted it negatively. -
The Hindu website
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Legal Profession
South Africa
Rules
set to change - 30 September
A quick update for my blog with an article I have written for the
next edition of Order News on rules and ethics :
The Rules and Ethics committee continues to have a major role in
the shape and future of our profession. It does astound me, as I
have written before that attorneys do not read the rules and
continue to lay complaints about adverts or report firms of
attorneys to the Law Society for having TV
adverts! Sometime, somewhere my personal opinion is we need
to consider a charge for those who 13 years after the rules have
changed, still do not know that, and put in "complaints". -
Michael de Broglio's blog
Australia
Preserving client legal privilege a priority for new Law Council
President - 29 September
Client legal privilege is an essential component of access to
justice and it must not be eroded, according to new Law Council
President Ross Ray QC. Mr Ray, who takes over today from out-going
Law Council President Tim Bugg, has more than 30 years experience
at the Bar. He said client legal privilege, which is under review
at the national level, is the foundation upon which the
lawyer-client relationship is built and must therefore be
preserved. "If a client does not feel
comfortable in fully divulging information to their lawyer, the
courts will be impeded and the legal process adversely affected,"
he said. -
Law Council of Australia
website
Canada
Paralegal sentenced for unauthorized practice of law 2
October
The
Ontario Superior Court has sentenced North Bay paralegal Maureen
Boldt to four months house arrest for the unauthorized practice of
law. She was also ordered to pay $35 000 in costs. Over the past
13 years, Boldt has defied the law and put consumers at risk by
continuing to provide legal services that she was not authorized
or qualified to provide. "This is the first time in living memory
that someone has been sentenced to house
arrest as a result of unauthorized practice," says Law Society
Treasurer Gavin MacKenzie.
Newswire website
United Kingdom
Solicitors should regulate accountants under 'Tesco
Law' - 1 October
Scotland's chartered accountants should submit to regulation by
solicitors if they want to join fully-fledged multi-disciplinary
partnerships (MDPs), one of the nation's most respected lawyers
has proposed. Douglas Connell, co-founder of private client
advisers Turcan Connell, wants the Law Society of Scotland to
assume regulatory oversight of MDPs if practice restrictions are
eased. - The Herald [UK]
website
Law Society lashes out at 'outrageous' ruling on in-house counsel
privilege - 27 September
The Law Society has branded as "outrageous" and "foolish" last
week's European ruling that communication between in-house lawyers
and internal clients should not benefit from the same legal
protection as that between companies and their external advisers.
Commenting on last week's judgment in the European Court of First
Instance, Law Society chief executive Des Hudson expressed deep
concerns that the ruling would set back developments made in
improving business practice. -
Law.com website
United States
Law : brief encounters - 3 October
The Human Rights Act
is a foundation of Britain's fight against terrorism, the Lord
Chief Justice said yesterday. Addressing the American Bar
Association's international law section in London, Lord Phillips
said terrorism was spawned by ideology. Respect for human rights
must be a key weapon in the ideological battle, he continued. Also
speaking at the ABA conference was the Master of the Rolls and
Head of Civil Justice, Sir Anthony Clarke. "Effective funding
arrangements, whether they are legal aid schemes, supplementary
legal aid schemes, or conditional or contingency fee arrangements,
must be in place so that access to justice is denied to none
purely on the basis of cost," he said. -
Telegraph website
Animal lawyers share passion to protect helpless - 29
September
For a young, overworked lawyer practicing in a big Manhattan firm,
it was a "transformative experience". Eighteen years ago, James
Gesualdi took a week off from his job to swim with pediatric
cancer patients and dolphins. That inspiration led Gesualdi to
combine his two passions in life - the law and animals. Today,
Gesualdi is one of an increasing number of attorneys specializing
in animal law, legal experts say. Indeed, the boutique field of
law has grown so rapidly that the Suffolk County Bar Association
recently established an entire committee dedicated to animal law.
- Newsday website
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South Africa
Agriculture
Bursaries
offered for enviro, land studies - 3 October
Bursaries are now available for students in Mpumalanga who want to
work with animals, the environment or shape the towns and cities
they live in. The provincial Department of Agriculture and Land
Administration is offering bursaries for next year, for courses
ranging from veterinary biology, veterinary technology and
veterinary nursing, to town planning, land surveying and
environmental management. -
BuaNews Online website
Animal Rights
Teen accused of beheading dog may walk free - 4 October
The teenager accused of beheading his grandmother's pet Chihuahua
earlier this year might just sidestep the criminal justice system.
Jacques Wensel is facing charges of being in the possession of
dagga and cruelty to animals. But if he completes a diversion
programme by November he may escape prosecution. His lawyer, Peter
Jay, had Wensel interviewed by a probation officer to see if he
was a suitable candidate for the programme, and on Wednesday
Wensel was given the green light. He must report to a probation
officer and start the programme before Friday. Before entering a
diversion programme, an accused must admit his wrong-doing. -
IOL website
Auditing
"Integrity" regulations cause concern amongst accountants - 3
October
In repealing the Public
Accountants' and Auditors'
Act no.80 of 1991, Parliament's
finance committee listened in 2005 to extensive submissions made
by South Africa's auditing majors and
accounting institutions. At the time, the prohibition of
non-auditing specialists employed by auditing firms, rotation of
auditors appointments and the extent of liability that is placed
upon auditors both personally and financially, were the issues.
SARS then submitted to the finance committee in 2006. In the
intervening period, the
Auditing Professions Bill and various anti-money laundering
processes in the form of legislation were introduced adding to the
regulatory load, not the least being the introduction of the
National Credit Act.
But most contentious still remains the new
2007 regulations
regarding the independence of accountants from the clients in
matters of consultancy on financial matters and audit. -
Sabinet website
Education
2 October 2007
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) redesign to strengthen
support for schools, teachers and learners
SA Government Information
website
Emigration and
Immigration
Transit
shelter plans good news for refugees - 4 October
In what is certain to bring comfort to refugee rights groups, the
home affairs department has confirmed plans to set up transit
facilities for asylum seekers, making an apparent about-turn. SA has
been facing a deluge of asylum seekers from Africa and abroad.
Zimbabweans make up the largest numbers because of the political and
economic situation there. -
allAfrica website
Employment Equity
Commission
Manyi wants
stronger fines 2 October
The pace of transformation in South Africa is so
"painfully slow" that Jimmy Manyi,
commissioner of the Employment Equity Commission, wants to recommend
to the minister of labour a "quantum of
fines" like "10%
of turnover" and for remedial action to
start sooner in order to force companies to comply with employment
equity. Manyi, speaking at the University of Stellenbosch Business
School's monthly Leader's
Angle talk, shot straight from the hip when commenting on issues
surrounding the employment of white women, coloured people, young
whites and people with disabilities, and whether employment equity
is reverse racism. - Cape Business
News website
See also
http://www.labour.gov.za/programmes/programme_display.jsp?programme_id=2670
Environment
Brokovitch brigade visit Bay to check on pollution - 5 October
The "bucket brigade"
community air pollution monitoring system launched with funding
from the famous Erin Brokovitch case in the US is due to be
rolled out in Nelson Mandela Bay. The introduction of the system
is being managed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Local Environmentalists
(Nimble) with co-funding by the Pietermaritzburg-based NGO
Groundwork and the international US-based group Global Community
Monitoring (GCM). Nimble spokesman Greg Smith said one of the best
things about the bucket brigade system was its simplicity. It
consists of a 19-litre (five-gallon) bucket, a pump and a sterile
bag. The pump is used to suck air out the bucket. The bag inside
snaps open and air is sucked into it. "The
bag is then removed and sent to a central laboratory in the US
that does the sample testing for all the bucket brigades installed
around the world. The lab has specific accreditation and all
possible discrepancies are eliminated in this way".
-
The Herald Online website
4 October 2007
Serious environmental transgressions found at Highveld Steel
SA Government Information
website
Shock pollution findings at Highveld Steel - 4 October
A swoop by environmental inspectors on the giant Highveld Steel
and Vanadium Corporation's Vanchem plant outside Witbank in
Mpumalanga has uncovered shocking levels of air, ground and water
pollution. - Mail & Guardian
website
Sinkhole swallows house in Khutsong - 28 September
A three-bedroom house in Khutsong, near Carletonville, caved in as
a result of a sinkhole on Friday, the Merafong municipality said.
Spokesperson Seabo Gaeganelwe said nobody was injured as the
occupants were relocated two months ago. "We are happy that we
saved lives by having evacuated occupants of the affected house in
July," he said. - Mail & Guardian
website
Gender Issues
Govt, US
unite against gender-based violence - 28 September
Law enforcement against gender-based violence is to be
strengthened, following the signing of a cooperation agreement
between South Africa and the United States of America. US
Ambassador to South Africa, Eric Bost and Safety and Security
Minister Charles Nqakula signed an agreement set to combat
gender-base violence in South Africa. The US has handed over R12
million to ensure the provision of the prosecutorial assistance to
strengthen the country's legal system and therefore ensure the
protection of women and the punishment of violators. -
allAfrica website
Health
Stop defaming me, Qunta tells TAC - 3 September
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board deputy
chairperson Christine Qunta has demanded the Treatment Action
Campaign (TAC) stop publishing defamatory material about her.
Qunta's legal representatives sent a letter in this regard to the
TAC on Wednesday, her lawyer, Athol Gordon, said. -
Mail & Guardian website
Discovery could face millions of rands in claims - 28
September
Three hundred former and present members of Discovery Health are
suing the insurer for R852 000 in connection with an ancillary fee
that they believe was charged illegally. But the group
spearheading the action believes the company could be sued for up
to R692-million should it succeed in its action, which they say
could establish a precedent. It says up to 244 000 members may
have been affected by the practice. They claim that the company
illegally charged its members close to R114-million a year in
terms of the ancillary fee.The action is being spearheaded by
Pietermaritzburg-based financial services provider Wynsam Wealth
on behalf of the claimants. - Mail
& Guardian website
Judicial Service
Commission
Hlophe goes scot-free - 4 October
No impeachment proceedings will be instituted against Cape Judge
President John Hlophe, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said on
Thursday. Chief Justice Pius Langa said although the JSC members
were divided on whether there was sufficient evidence to justify
proceedings that could lead to impeachment, it was generally agreed
the proceedings should not be pursued. "Ultimately the majority view
was that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed with a public
enquiry in regard to the main count of receiving payment from Oasis
without consent from the minister," Langa said, briefing the media
after a JSC meeting on Hlophe. The commission, however, expressed
dissatisfaction over some of the explanations it had received from
Hlophe. - IOL website
Hlophe off the hook - 4 October
You're in the clear for now, but don't do it again. This is the gist
of findings by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which has been
deliberating over complaints against Cape Judge President John
Hlophe. The commission found that Judge Hlophe had not fully
explained his failure to disclose his relationship with the Oasis
Asset Management group at the time he gave it permission to sue Cape
High Court Justice Siraj Desai, and that this conduct was
"inappropriate". - IOL website
Judge applauds tribunal - 4 October
The head of the Competition Appeal Court, Judge Dennis Davis,
yesterday paid tribute to the work done by the Competition Tribunal.
Davis was being interviewed by the Judicial Service
Commission for judicial appointments when he was asked about a
recent article in which the way the appeal courts overturning of a
few tribunal decisions was criticised. Human rights lawyer George
Bizos then asked Davis to comment on the suggestion that after the
tribunal had given the appeal court mounds of documents, the court
made its decision very quickly. Davis said such remarks could only
come from those who did not fully understand the nature of appeal
work. Adv Marumo
Moerane asked Davis about a number of judgments of his
that had been reversed on appeal. Davis said he accepted a lot of
complicated cases and it was no surprise some were reversed.
- Business Day website
Commission voices doubts over candidate judges - 3 October
A former politician and a controversial figure were the only
candidates interviewed in Cape Town on Tuesday for a vacant judge
position in the Bophuthatswana (North West) provincial division.
They are former Democratic Alliance MP Lawrence Lever, who left
politics three years ago, and former North West acting judge Cecile
Zwiegelaar. According to documents submitted to the Judicial Service
Commission (JSC) by Bophutatswana Judge President Moegoeng Moegoeng,
Zwiegelaar had failed to deliver judgements on time on a number of
occasions. She had also written an offensive letter to one of the
permanent judges. - Mail & Guardian
website
Depressed judge
wants transfer - 2 October
Hostile Free State advocates have turned a once confident judge into
a weeping devastated woman, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)
heard on Monday. Shamin Ebrahim, a Free State High Court Judge, who
is seeking to be transferred from the province, told the JSC panel
interviewing judge candidates in Cape Town that hostile and
acrimonious advocates in the Free State bar had made life miserable
for her. Ebrahim, who was a Johannesburg-based advocate before being
appointed to serve as a judge in the Free State Provincial Division
five years ago, said she had never received any form of cooperation
from the advocates since her appointment. The advocates had on
several occasions refused to accept her decisions on court matters.
- iafrica website
Labour Issues
The right to a fair hearing under the common law - 1 October
In Old Mutual vs Gumbi (2007) SCA 52 (RSA), the respondent
employee had
previously been dismissed in his absence, but
the dismissal was withdrawn and a fresh hearing was scheduled in
light of the fact that he had apparently been ill. The employee did
not return to the hearing and his representative produced a
medical certificate showing that the employee could not proceed with
the hearing. The chairman decided that the hearing would be
adjourned for another hour to allow the employee an opportunity to
recover and return. At this point, the representative informed the
tribunal that the employee would not return. The employee was
subsequently dismissed in his absence. The employee chose not to
refer the matter to the CCMA, but instead launched an application in
the Transkei High Court, on the basis that he had been denied a fair
hearing and that the employer was contractually bound to conduct a
pre-dismissal hearing. The application was subsequently dismissed
and the employee appealed to the Full Court, which found in his
favour. Following special leave, the matter was heard before the
Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Articled by Aadil Patel & Rudy Chetty.
- Cliffe Dekker website
* * * Free subscription required * * *
Labour
dept unveils new income threshold - 1 October
The Department of Labour has announced a new maximum income
threshold of
R149 736 per annum for contributions towards the Unemployment
Insurance Fund (UIF) for 2007, with immediate effect. The
previous threshold was set at R139 944 per annum. -
BuaNews Online website
Land Affairs and
Property
Unlock the value of your property
28 September
Commercial property owners who are using term loans of between 10
and 15 years now have access to an innovative way of maximising on
the potential value of their properties. "Both
owner-occupied and tenanted properties, in marketable areas and
with non-specialised use up to a R10 million valuation, will be
considered," explains Gys Woest, who
heads up Term Loans for Commercial Property Finance at First
National Bank (FNB). Both FNB and non-FNB
banked clients who have an existing loan can now get additional
value on the increased value of their property. The facility or
loan will grow by a certain percentage each year, provided of
course that the client has not missed payments, to cater for
property value increases. "The amount
will not exceed the maximum loan amount and will be in place
indefinitely, so until property is sold or the bond cancelled,"
he adds. Cape Business News
website
State
should stop eradicating informal settlements : study - 4
October
The government should reconsider its policy of eradicating
informal settlements as these play a critical role in enabling the
poor to access land in urban areas, providing a route to formal
housing for many poor people. This is among the conclusions in a
new study of informal settlements, backyard shacks and
Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing projects,
Making Urban Land Markets Work for the Poor. The study, by Urban
Landmark, finds that plenty of buying and selling goes on in these
areas, and that there is a functional market that enables the poor
to access land quickly, cheaply and relatively easily. But the
transactions are not legally registered, and social values, rather
than pure financial logic, tend to dominate the nature and pricing
of these deals. - allAfrica
website
Gauteng
aims to clear shacks by 2014 - 3 October
Gauteng plans to bring dignity to its poorest citizens by
providing decent housing and eradicating informal settlements in
seven years' time. Housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane announced that
government has set 2009 as the deadline for the formalisation of
informal settlements, and 2014 as the target for the eradication
of informal settlements. -
allAfrica website
Land Claims and
Restitution
'Renting may stop land grabs' - 30 September
Subsidised housing for rent was one way of addressing problems
associated with rapid urbanisation, Gauteng's Housing MEC said
in Pretoria on Sunday, SABC news reported. "Some people are in
Gauteng not because they want a house, they are in Gauteng for
economic reasons. They need shelter [and] if we don't respond
[by] providing alternative accommodation, people will end up by
invading land," Nomvula Mokonyane said at the launch of national
housing week in Mamelodi. This was one part of the government's
"breaking new ground" strategy, which aimed to accelerate new
housing delivery to the poor. -
Fin24 website
Farmer ignores land claim notices - 2 October
A Vryheid farmer, who has been at the centre of a land claims
dispute, twice ignored notices from the provincial land affairs
department office and refused to sign any documentation allowing
for evaluation of his property, a senior department official
said on Tuesday. Land affairs district manager Thembeka Ndlovu
said 76-year-old Jaap de Villiers was first informed in March
2001 that there was a "labour tenant claim" on his farm, Uitval,
near Vryheid. She said that De Villiers was again informed in
writing of the claim in November 2006. -
IOL website
Farmer gives in to land threats - 30 September
The KwaZulu-Natal farmer who has been threatened with land
invasions says his situation has become so intolerable that he
has reluctantly agreed to sell. "The people living on
surrounding tribal land are giving me a terrible time. I can
still take it, but I have to think of my wife and children,"
Jaap de Villiers, 76, owner of the cattle farm Uitval said on
Sunday. Prembeka Ndlovu, district manager of the Department of
Land Affairs in the Vryheid area, said a total of 147 families
had filed a claim on a section of De Villiers' farm in terms of
the Land Reform (Labour
Tenants) Act. - News24
website
State to annex farmers' land - 28
September
The Land Claims Commission yesterday said it would expropriate
eight farms in Gauteng and North West.
Tumi Seboka, regional land claims commissioner for
the two provinces, said owners of Deelkraal and Machavie farms
in Potchefstroom ; and Rysmierbult in Ventersdorp, were
disputing the prices and validity of the claims.
"They argue that the
claimants were adequately compensated when they were removed and
that the occupation of the land was not based on race", said
Seboka.
She said owners of Liliefontein and Klippan farms,
who had disputed the claims, had indicated their willingness to
negotiate. Denmark and Middlevlei in Bophirima district and
Bahurutse Ba Moilwa, Tshwane and Geluk were also earmarked for
expropriation. Landowners in Buffelspoort in Brits were also
challenging restitution claims. "We
are left with four rural claims : Bakgatla Ba Mosetlha,
Kafferskraal, Krokodilspruit and Klipfontein,"
said Seboka. AmaNdebele wa KwaManala under Chief Makhosoke
Mabena is regarded as a labour tenancy claim. -
The Sowetan website
Media
Media24 admits to cooking circulation numbers - 4 October
Africa's largest media company, Media24, has admitted to
falsifying the circulation figures of 12 of its 60 magazine
titles. "There have been irregularities in two of our 12 magazine
divisions," Media24 group managing director Hein Brand told
reporters on Wednesday. "I would have loved to tell you they were
errors but they were irregularities . . . this is an absolutely
horrifying experience". "This was a
deliberate manipulation of figures by certain individuals. It
certainly wasn't sanctioned by top management and no editorial
staff are implicated," said Patricia Scholtemeyer, CEO of Media24
Magazines. The affected magazines are :
Men's Health, Sports Illustrated, Wisden
Cricketer, Shape, Kick Off, True Love Babe,
InStyle SA, True Love, Lιιf, Fairlady,
SARIE and True Love Bride. In some cases, circulation
figures were inflated by almost 50 percent. -
IOL website
Media24 titles
to be scrutinised - 4 October
On 2 October Media 24 reported back to the ABC on the result of a
forensic audit which they commissioned on all their magazine
titles. Based on this evidence, the ABC Board has suspended the
following titles, and withdrawn their circulation certificates :
Men's Health ; Sports
Illustrated ; Wisden Cricketer ; Shape ;
KickOff. - Cape Business News
website
Media24's big fat mea culpa - 3 October
Today, in a small, crowded room at the Sandton Convention Centre,
Media24 made a full confession about the drama of its recently
discovered creative circulation accounting. Now, in the media
business, image is, quite literally, everything. If people don't
think a newspaper or news website is trustworthy, they won't read
it. If people don't think a music magazine is cool, they won't buy
it. And most importantly, if advertisers don't think a particular
media product is the right vehicle for their brand, they won't
pour their juicy ad budgets into it. One thing advertisers really
don't like is finding out that something they thought was a good
vehicle is in fact not. -
Moneyweb website
See Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) at
http://www.accessabc.com/
Interdicting the media : a losing strategy - 1 October
When faced with the prospect of being implicated in a story by an
investigative journalist, many influential business people
instruct their lawyers to urgently apply to court to prevent the
publication of the story. Generally such applications for an
interdict are ill-advised, because our courts approach attempts to
restrain publication with caution. When dealing with an
application to suppress publication, our courts weigh up the right
to freedom of expression entrenched in section 16 of our
Constitution (which
includes freedom of the press and freedom to receive or impart
information and ideas) with the rights of human dignity and
privacy entrenched in sections 10 and 14 of the Constitution.
Article by Aslam Moosajee of Deneys Reitz on
Mondaq website
* * * Free registration required * * *
Minerals and Energy
Bernard Swanepoel : Former CEO, Harmony Gold [Interview] - 2
October
Well, Bernard Swanepoel, your ears would have been ringing on the
day that you announced your resignation - or rather, it was
announced for you. David was saying it's just unacceptable that you
didn't say anything to us. Are you going to give him a clout now, or
can you explain to him why you weren't able to talk? -
Moneyweb website
See also :
Graham Briggs : Acting CEO, Harmony Gold [Interview] - 6 August
Moneyweb website
Excerpt from
InfoUpdate no.23 - 10 August 2007
Municipal Management
and Procedure
Cape Town
State properties are Cape's worst debtors - 2 October
National and provincial government departments' properties owe
the City of Cape Town at least R424-million in outstanding
rates, making them the council's biggest debtors. The worst
offender is the department of public works, with an outstanding
rates account of R321-million. At provincial level, the
department of public works and transport owes more than
R56-million, housing owes R28-million and the health department
owes more than R12-million in outstanding arrears. Trevor Blake,
manager for debt management, said the city had appointed a team
to recoup these arrears. - IOL
website
Cape's
"gated" policy nears completion - 1 October
The City of Cape Town's policy on "gated" development is likely
to be adopted by the end of this year. A "gated" development
refers to a physical area or development that is walled or
fenced off from its surroundings and where general public access
is monitored, controlled, restricted or prevented in any way.
This is often carried out by means of gates or booms at a
specific point. According to Councillor Owen Kinahan,
Chairperson of the Steering Committee dealing with the draft
policy, it has been subjected to an extensive public
consultation process. Gated communities can result in an
exclusionary environment with large areas closed off from public
access, causing fragmentation and segregation. The draft policy
looks at issues such as security measures, access monitoring and
control, public access and traffic implications, pedestrian and
other non-motorised movement. -
BuaNews Online website
See submissions
and draft policy at
http://www.capetown.org.za/clusters/viewarticle3.asp?conid=17200
Name Changes
Grahamstown or iRhini? - 4 October
Whether it costs the Makana Municipality 2c or R100-million to
change Grahamstown and names of other places and landmarks, the
names will change, said Grahamstown mayor Phumelelo Kate on
Thursday. "You cannot equate the transformation of our country to
costs. Change must happen and nothing is going to stop it," Kate was
reported as saying in Grocott's Mail. Grahamstown Councillor Theo
Fulani said it was "disturbing" that people were using the issue of
costs as a threat to transformation. -
IOL website
New name for NWest municipality - 2 October
The Southern District Municipality in the North West would be named
after the former Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the
municipality said on Tuesday. Two other names - Kopanong and
Tshwaraganang - were submitted to the committee. Mayor Boitumelo
Moloi said Dr Kenneth Kaunda had played a role in the liberation of
most African states, including South Africa. -
News24 website
National Prosecuting
Authority
Mpshe moves to cancel Selebi warrants - 5 October
Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mokotedi
Mpshe has taken steps to cancel both an arrest and search warrant
for police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. This was confirmed
on Friday by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). On September
28, Mpshe "decided that it would be prudent to make an application
for the cancellation of the arrest and search warrants, pending the
outcome of his reconsideration of the decision", the statement said.
Mpshe approached the Randburg Magistrates' Court and the magistrate
agreed to the cancellation of the arrest warrant. He also approached
the deputy judge president who indicated he was not prepared to
retract the warrant. - Mail &
Guardian website
When will the
President break his silence? - 5 October
In light of this morning's developments in
the Pikoli saga, this week's SA Today
newsletter was changed in order to respond to these very serious
developments. This week's newsletter is
written by Sandra Botha MP, the parliamentary leader of the
Democratic Alliance. - Helen
Zille's blog
Four Selebi warrants traced - 4 October
National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has been the subject of
four different warrants - and they were granted by a Johannesburg
High Court deputy judge president and a Randburg magistrate and
academic. - IOL website
Ginwala
outlines process of Pikoli enquiry - 4 October
Dr Frene Ginwala has outlined the process which she will follow
during the enquiry into the fitness of Advocate Vusi Pikoli to hold
the position of National Director of Public Prosecutions.
"Government will be submitting its report detailing the
circumstances and events leading up to the suspension of Adv Pikoli
within the next ten days," said Dr Ginwala in a statement Thursday,
detailing how matters were to proceed. "I will thereafter solicit a
response from Adv Pikoli, together with any additional submission he
may wish to make". - BuaNews
Online website
Government
releases terms of reference for enquiry into Pikoli - 3 October
President Thabo Mbeki has approved the Terms of Reference for the
enquiry into National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate
Vusumzi Pikoli, by Dr Frene Ginwala. Government spokesperson Themba
Maseko said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the Terms of
Reference covered two broad areas: the fitness of the national
director to hold office and the irretrievable breakdown of the
working relationship between the Minister and the national director.
With regard to Advocate Pikoli's fitness to hold office, Dr Ginwala
will be tasked with finding out whether he, in exercising his
discretion to prosecute offenders, had sufficient regard to the
nature and extent of the threat posed by organised crime to the
national security of the Republic. -
BuaNews Online website
see Government media release at
http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2007/07100316451001.htm
Mbeki may give evidence during Pikoli hearing - 3 October
President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday maintained his silence about the
crisis involving top cop Jackie Selebi, ostensibly because he may
have to testify in suspended prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli's
disciplinary hearing. It is believed he could be called to make a
submission to the Ginwala inquiry into whether Pikoli is fit to hold
office. - IOL website
Zuma goes under the microscope again - 2 October
The case against ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma will be one of
the high-profile cases to be reviewed by new acting national
director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe. President Thabo
Mbeki asked him to review all pending cases being investigated by
the National Prosecuting Authority, mostly involving political
figures. The National
Prosecuting Authority Act of 2000 does allow for the
National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to "intervene in
the prosecution process when policy directives are not being
complied with, and review a decision to prosecute or not
prosecute". - IOL website
Inquiry
will not hinder integrity of criminal justice system - 1
October
The integrity of the nation's criminal justice system will not be
compromised by an independent inquiry into the fitness of Advocate
Vusi Pikoli to hold office as the National Director of Public
Prosecutions. Addressing the media at the Union Buildings Monday,
Government spokesperson Themba Maseko assured that the inquiry,
being headed by former Speaker of Parliament Dr Frene Ginwala,
would not have a negative impact on the criminal justice system
and crime fighting in general. -
BuaNews Online website
1 October 2007
Further statement on the suspension of the National Director of
Public Prosecutions
SA Government Information
website
Probe into NPA boss to start soon - 1 October
The inquiry into suspended National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)
boss Vusi Pikoli is expected to start "within the next few days".
- IOL website
Pikoli saga : Mbeki snaps - 30 September
A visit to the chambers of a Gauteng judge by Scorpions
investigators several weeks ago sparked the events that have
plunged the country's top law enforcement agencies into crisis.
Leading the Scorpions team was their Gauteng head, advocate Gerrie
Nel. The judge concerned is said to be Phineas Mojapelo, the
Transvaal deputy judge president. The consultation ended in the
issuing of a warrant of arrest for Jackie Selebi, the national
police commissioner - a move that well-placed government sources
this weekend described as the last straw for President Thabo
Mbeki. - IOL website
Ginwala to judge Pikoli's fitness to hold office - 29
September
President Thabo Mbeki has appointed former National Assembly
speaker Frene Ginwala to conduct the enquiry into whether National
Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli is fit to hold office,
the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said on
Saturday. GCIS spokesperson Themba Maseko said the former National
Assembly speaker had been appointed in terms of section 12(6) of
the National Prosecuting
Act 32 of 1998. - Mail &
Guardian website
Pension Funds
A new breed of trustees likely to emerge - 1 October
Historically, many viewed being a trustee as an enviable position.
However, with the tightening up of practices and the enforcement
of consequences for those trustees not acting appropriately, a new
breed of trustees is likely to emerge. This change has resulted in
many boards looking at their fellow trustees, and themselves often
as trustees, and pertinent questions being asked. -
Business Day website
Public Protector
Public
Protector opens mobile office - 2 October
Public Protector Advocate Lawrence Mushwana is bringing services
closer to the people, especially in rural areas, by unveiling the
Mobile Office of the Public Protector (MOPP). Advocate Mushwana,
National Council of Provinces Chairman Johannes Mahlangu and Premier
Nosimo Balindlela will on Tuesday visit Lusikisiki to open the
mobile office. - BuaNews Online
website
Sports and Recreation
Manuel, Absa resolve PSL-sponsorship matter - 5 October
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel says he has been assured by Absa
there will be no individual enrichment in its sponsorship deal
with the Premier Soccer League (PSL). -
Mail & Guardian website
Manuel blasts Absa Bank - 1 October
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has slammed banking giant Absa for
allegedly proposing to pay members of the Premier Soccer League
executive committee R50-million for awarding it a
half-a-billion-rand sponsorship deal. This comes just days after
the PSL awarded Absa a R500-million deal to sponsor the league
over the next five years. The bone of contention for Manuel is a
proposal that the five members of the PSL executive CEO Trevor
Phillips, consultant Peter Mancer, Mato Madlala, Kaizer Motaung
and PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza receive a 10 percent commission
for striking the deal. - IOL
website
PSL commission payments in spotlight - 1 October
It has been described by one newspaper as "splitting the Premier
Soccer League [PSL] down the middle." But what Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel described as "morally reprehensible and corrupt"
commission payments amounting to hundreds of millions of rands to
PSL officials has seemingly united 45-million South Africans in
outraged opposition to the professional soccer organisation. -
Mail & Guardian website
Statistics
NGO : statistics show fight against crime not working - 5
October
Recent crime statistics show that whatever is being done to fight
crime in South Africa is not working, an expert said on Friday. "It
shows us that there is something wrong with our approach to this
fight in which we present our crime situation," researcher Johan
Burger said at the Institute of Security Studies seminar on the
country's crime-prevention strategy. He said police allowed
themselves to be blamed for the failure of other government
departments across the board. - Mail
& Guardian website
Trade and Industry
SA in
talks to swap minerals for new factories with China - 2 October
The South African and Chinese governments are in talks to move some
Chinese manufacturing to South Africa in return for the Asian
powerhouse gaining greater access to this country's minerals. Deputy
president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka made the talks public yesterday,
saying the pollution problem in China would give added impetus to
the talks. However, she stressed that stricter environmental
regulation here would address harmful emissions. -
Business Report website
Small
business to gain from GP slot machines - 2 October
The Gauteng Gambling Board is to roll out limited payout (slot)
machines across the province, aimed at enhancing economic growth and
development, through the participation of small micro and medium
businesses. "It is critical for us to continue to facilitate the
entry of small and medium sized business and expand participation in
the gambling industry ; and the licensing
of limited payout machines presents us with a perfect opportunity to
do this," Chief Executive Officer of the Gauteng Gambling Board
Advocate Benito Lekalakala said. -
BuaNews Online website
Clothing and Textiles
Clothing sector tries to iron out wage problems - 5 October
Of 1 239 clothing factories in South Africa, more than half did not
comply with wage and working condition agreements reached at the
national bargaining council for clothing manufacturing industry, the
fifth annual general meeting heard yesterday. The bargaining
council's members consist of the trade unions active in the clothing
industry and employer organisations. -
allAfrica website
Transport
Controlling land points of entry - 3 October
The key roleplayers in terms of regulatory functions on South
Africa's borders are : the South African Police Service,
Department of Home Affairs, South African Revenue Services,
Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transport,
Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture. -
Servamus website
To
land or not to land - 1 October
Owners of licensed airfields have an onerous obligation to ensure
that services provided to pilots are adequate, safe and reliable.
There is little room for error. There is a general statutory and
common law duty to maintain an airfield in a proper manner and to
warn pilots of problems that may endanger safe operation to and
from the airfield. It is trite that obstructions on runways and
taxi ways should be properly marked. The owner of an airfield may
discharge such duty in a number of ways. He may arrange for an
entry in the AIP and, in addition thereto, request the CAA to
issue a notam warning pilots of potential problems. Additionally,
the owner of the airfield may be compelled to mark runways and
taxi ways as unserviceable. The well known St Andrew's
Cross would be familiar to many pilots. Failure to warn of
potential hazardous and dangerous conditions may lead to legal
liability on the part of the owner of the airfield. Our Courts
have pronounced on the nature and extent of the owners'
duties on a number of occasions in the past. Article by Pierre
Naude of Deneys Reitz on Mondaq
website
* * * Free subscription required * * *
Cape Town
expansion welcomed 28 September
The Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
welcomed the decision to go ahead with work on the port container
terminal to increase the handling capacity by nearly threefold
over the next six or seven years. This will mainly be achieved by
installing new cranes, equipment and stacking systems to increase
efficiency. In addition the berths and the Ben Schoeman basin will
be deepened to accommodate a new generation of larger container
ships which will be worked by as many as five cranes at a time.
The work will take place over five years.
Cape Business News website
Miscellaneous
DA hopes to see some apartheid crimes expunged - 4 October
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has tabled a private member's Bill
seeking to expunge from the record crimes committed during the
apartheid era that would not be crimes today. An example is a man
who had applied for a job for which a clean criminal-conviction
record was a prerequisite, but had a criminal conviction for
breaking the curfew regulations imposed by the former Transkei. -
Mail & Guardian website
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Africa
Rwanda
Court hears details of Rwandan genocide - 3 October
The Canadian general who headed the United Nations peacekeeping
force during the 1994 Rwandan genocide gave a chilling account on
Tuesday of how roadblocks popped up like mushrooms and served only
to pick out and murder Tutsis. Romeo Dallaire testified at the
Canadian war crimes trial of Desire Munyaneza, who is accused of
leading attacks on members of the Tutsi ethnic minority at the
National University of Rwanda and south of the capital, Kigali. -
Mail & Guardian website
Swaziland
Reed dance marks Zulu king's territory - 1 October
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini used the weekend's Reed Dance
ceremony to spread his influence at Ngwavuma, in the far north of
KwaZulu-Natal, an area that is claimed by the Swazi government and
where a local traditional leader wants to be declared a king. -
IOL website
Zimbabwe
I should have spoken out sooner : Asmal - 5 October
Former Cabinet minister Kader Asmal on Thursday night delivered a
devastating attack on the Zimbabwe government, accusing it of
conducting a tyrannical war on its own people, and dramatically
confessed that he should have spoken out sooner. Asmal, a human
rights lawyer, MP and senior member of the ANC's executive,
acknowledged that silence had made him complicit. He also
questioned Pretoria's view that only Zimbabweans themselves could
decide on their own future. - IOL
website
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Asia
China
Geographic
info system widely used in China - 5 October
China's self-developed geographic information system (GIS)
technology has been widely used in the spheres of land survey and
minerals amongst others. The GIS has also been applied to water
conservancy and many other sectors resulting in 400 billion yuan in
aggregate output value. China's geographic information industry
registered 400 billion yuan in aggregate output value last year and
hired more than 300 000 people. -
BuaNews Online website
China
to relocate Tibetan nomads - 2 October
China is ordering 100 000 nomadic Tibetans to move from grasslands
into towns and villages in a bid to protect the environment, state
media said. The Tibetans are being relocated to protect the source
area of key Chinese rivers in north-west China's Qinghai province,
Xinhua news agency reported. The grasslands are suffering from
overgrazing, desertification and the effects of climate change, it
said. Some 60 000 people will be moved by year-end and 40 000
more by 2010. - BBC News
website
India
Apex court stays Tamil Nadu bandh - 1 October
The
Supreme Court on Sunday restrained the DMK and its allies from
going ahead with a bandh in Tamil Nadu on October 1 or on any
other date. It held that political parties have no right to call
or enforce a bandh which interferes with the fundamental freedom
of citizens and caused inconvenience to them. A Bench, comprising
Justices B N Agrawal and P
P Naolekar, in a rare instance of a sitting on a holiday,
passed the order on a special leave petition filed by the AIADMK
challenging the Madras High Court order declining to interfere
with the bandh. -
The Hindu website
Court
puts on hold HIV decision - 28 September
A court in India's Rajasthan state has put on hold a controversial
decision by a lower court denying an HIV-positive woman the
custody of her daughter. Last week, a court in Jaipur ruled that
the mother was unfit to look after her nine-year-old girl on
account of her HIV-positive status. The woman contracted the virus
from her husband who died of Aids in 2003. -
BBC News website
Myanmar
Caution : sensitive
readers may wish to skip this section [click
here]
http://www.myanmar.com/
http://www.geographia.com/myanmar/
Amnesty
International
Myanmar's political prisoners : a
growing legacy of injustice
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa160192005
Burma : Union of
Myanmar
http://www.politicalresources.net/burma.htm
The Irrawaddy :
covering Burma and Southeast Asia
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
Mizzima News :
specialising in Burma-related news and multimedia
http://www.mizzima.com/
Search Google News
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-37,GGLG:en&q=myanmar
29 September 2007
Deputy Minister van der Merwe summons Myanmar Ambassador to
express South Africa's concern at developments in the country
SA Government Information
website
Ko Htike's prosaic
collection
http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/
Satellite images corroborate eyewitness accounts of human rights
abuses in Burma, AAAS reports - [1 October]
A new analysis of high-resolution satellite images completed by
the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) pinpoints evidence consistent with village destruction,
forced relocations, and a growing military presence at 25 sites
across eastern Burma where eye-witnesses have reported human
rights violations. - AAAS
website
Backpacker turns Myanmar activist via Facebook - 30 September
A chance encounter in a Myanmar coffee shop turned teenage
backpacker Alex Bookbinder into a political activist at the
forefront of an Internet campaign that has attracted tens of
thousands of supporters. - CNet
News website
See
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24957770200
What's in a name? Burma vs Myanmar - 29 September
Burma or Myanmar? As the military regime has cracked down on
pro-democracy protests in the Asian country this week, a war of
words has flared again over what to call the troubled nation.
Political exiles, the United States and the BBC prefer the old
name, Burma, which stems from British colonial days, while the
United Nations, Japan and many other nations have adopted Myanmar
as the official name. - Mail &
Guardian website
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Australasia
Australia
Australia in African refugee ban - 3 October
A freeze on the settlement of refugees from Africa - including those
from Sudan's Darfur region - has been announced by the Australian
government. Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews said the refugees had
trouble integrating, and other parts of the world such as Iraq and
Burma were greater priorities. The freeze will last until mid-2008,
and there are no guarantees that Africans will be admitted after
then. - BBC News website
New Zealand
Mother admits
stealing money from trust fund - 3 October
A South African woman denies any wrongdoing even after pleading
guilty to a charge of stealing about $20 000 in donations for an
operation on her daughter's leg. Lyndell du Toit said she had
pleaded guilty against the advice of her lawyer, Anne-Marie McRae,
to the charge of theft by a person in a special relationship. The
police say none of the money was used for treatment for her
eight-year-old daughter Charley, whose foot was bitten off by a
dog three years ago. Police prosecutor Sergeant Dave Murray said
that from February to August $21 735 was paid into the Charley du
Toit Appeal account for which Lyndell du Toit was the sole
signatory. From April to August, $20 803 was withdrawn from the
account and $18 748 was paid into Lyndell du Toit's account. None
of the money had been paid for consultations for surgery. Du Toit
said it had been spent on "other things". Mrs McRae told Judge
Erber : "My advice is that she has a
defence to these charges, but my instructions are to get this
matter over and done with. She has her reasons for that". -
Stuff website
New
Zealand call to Maori expats - 1 October
New Zealand is urging an army of Maori expatriates in Australia to
return home. The government in Wellington has launched a new push
to try to tempt them back. One in seven Maoris now lives in
Australia. - BBC News website
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Europe
UK exit charges face EU court challenge - 4 October
Lawyers and accountants who have examined recent rulings believe
that as the current UK exit rules stand, they are vulnerable to a
challenge in the European courts. In a paper, which has been
submitted to the European Commission for consideration, the Law
Society has argued that the UK exit charge could be found to be in
breach of article 43 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits any
restrictions on a companys right to freedom of establishment. -
vnunet website
Europe rights groups urges racial profiling ban - 4 October
Racial profiling by police should be banned as it alienates the very
communities whose cooperation police need to beat crime and
terrorism, a European rights group said on Thursday. The European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) report said only
intelligence-based police action could win public support and
produce results. - Reuters
website
EU lawyers
agree on treaty text - 2 October
Legal experts from the 27 countries of the European Union have
agreed on a draft reform treaty. The treaty is set to replace the
defunct European constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters.
Portugal, which holds the EU presidency until the end of the year,
hopes to get agreement on the treaty at an EU summit in Lisbon later
this month. Possible domestic opposition to the treaty in Poland and
Britain mean they may present the biggest hurdles. -
BBC News website
See
http://europa.eu/abc/treaties/index_en.htm
France
France
approves migrant DNA tests - 4 October
France's Senate has approved a controversial law allowing voluntary
DNA tests for would-be immigrants seeking to join family in France.
Supporters of the move say it will speed up the process for genuine
applicants and argue that 12 other
European countries have similar rules. Critics have attacked the law
as racist and question the use of genetics as a basis for
citizenship. - BBC News website
Germany
German court overturns eBay shopper's conviction - 30
September
A German court on Friday overturned the conviction of a man who
was found guilty of purchasing stolen goods over eBay, in a case
which may have hurt the online auctioneer's business in its top
market after the United States. A state court in the southwestern
city of Karlsruhe ruled in favor of the 47-year-old software
engineer because he had not known that a car navigation system he
bought over eBay two years ago had been stolen, a representative
for the court said. - CNet News
website
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Middle East
Saudi Arabia
Saudis
to overhaul legal system - 5 October
Saudi Arabia has announced an overhaul of its judicial system,
including the allocation of $2bn (£981m) for training judges and
building new courts. The reforms, by royal decree, will lead to the
creation of a supreme court, an appeals court and new general courts
to replace the Supreme Judicial Council. -
BBC News website
Turkey
Women
condemn Turkey constitution - 2 October
Women's groups in Turkey have condemned a new draft constitution,
saying it sets the country back years in terms of gender equality.
A new constitution is being prepared to replace the current one,
introduced after the military coup of 1980. The document describes
women as a vulnerable group needing protection. The proposed
constitution has already sparked fierce debate with a clause to
allow women to attend university wearing the Islamic headscarf. -
BBC News website
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United Kingdom
Health
Doctors
oppose care opt-out plans - 28 September
Doctors' leaders have called for stricter rules on when medics can
"conscientiously object" to procedures. The British Medical
Association heavily criticised draft GMC guidance that would allow
doctors to opt out of any procedure for ethical reasons. It is
currently widely accepted that doctors can "conscientiously
object" to certain procedures associated with life and death
issues, such as withdrawing life-prolonging treatment, the BMA
said. - BBC News website
Land Affairs and
Property
Tories pledge to abolish stamp duty - 1 October
Conservative leader David Cameron will launch a determined
fightback by unveiling proposals at his party's annual conference
in Blackpool to abolish the tax for homes up to £250 000. As a
result, the Tories claim, nine out of 10 would-be home owners will
not pay the levy, saving an average of £2 000 for some 285 000
people. - Telegraph
website
Buy-to-let crisis as new flat prices fall 40 pc - 1 October
Investors have been left facing losses of thousands of pounds on
their properties. A study of nearly all the new-build flats that
have come up for auction in recent weeks shows they are selling
for, on average, just 60 per cent of what property investors paid
for them. - Telegraph
website
Poll shows some Britons say property is their pension - 1
October
Seven percent of all UK adults - 3.2 million people - are relying
on their homes to fund their retirement, leaving them dangerously
exposed to changes in property prices and in interest rates, a
report said on Monday. - Reuters
website
Minerals and Energy
Advisers approve tidal power plan - 1 October
An influential government advisory body has endorsed plans for a
tidal barrage across the Severn estuary. The Sustainable
Development Commission (SDC) says the project should meet "tough"
environmental conditions and remain in public ownership. Last week
the government announced an inquiry into the Severn scheme, which
is opposed by a number of green groups. The SDC, chaired by
Jonathon Porritt, says the UK could get at least 10% of its
electricity from tidal power. -
BBC News website
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United States and Canada
Canada
BC judges get lessons from abroad in setting up community courts
- 29 September
BC judges working to establish Vancouver's first community court
heard this week from the front lines of problem-solving justice in
South Africa, Britain and Australia. More than 500 judges from
across the United States and Canada gathered in Vancouver for a
joint conference of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court
Judges and the American Judges Association. Julius Lang is the
technical director at the Center for Court Innovation in New York
and is fresh from the experience of establishing 17 community
courts in South Africa. After starting
as an experiment in the United States, community courts have
evolved very quickly in Canada to include courts that specialize
in aboriginal justice, mental health issues and drug-related
offences, BC Provincial Court Chief Judge Hugh Stansfield said. -
Vancouver
Sun website
Courts
Supreme Court faces an array of divisive cases - 1 October
The Supreme Court has so many polarizing cases on the docket for
its new term that the deep ideological divisions that
characterized the last term are all but certain to remain on
display after the justices reconvene on Monday. -
New York Times website
Keyphrases
:
Death penalty - Cruel and unusual punishment
Discrimination, Racial
Guantαnamo detainees
Voting - Photo identification
Criminal Justice
System
House's Iraq Bill applies US laws to
contractors - 4 October
With the armed security force Blackwater USA and other private
contractors in Iraq facing tighter scrutiny, the House of
Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that
would bring all United States government contractors in the Iraq
war zone under the jurisdiction of American criminal law. The
measure would require the FBI to investigate any allegations of
wrongdoing. - New York Times
website
Exoneration using DNA brings change in legal system - 1
October
State lawmakers across the country are adopting broad changes to
criminal justice procedures as a response to the exoneration of
more than 200 convicts through the use of DNA evidence. All but
eight states now give inmates varying degrees of access to DNA
evidence that might not have been available at the time of their
convictions. Many states are also overhauling the way witnesses
identify suspects, crime labs handle evidence and informants are
used. - New York Times
website
Criminal justice resources : sex offender laws - 27 September
2007
LLRX website
Health
More doctors in Texas after malpractice caps - 4 October
Four years after Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment
limiting awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, doctors are
responding as supporters predicted, arriving from all parts of the
country to swell the ranks of specialists at Texas hospitals and
bring professional health care to some long-underserved rural areas.
- New York Times website
Acquittals
in Canada blood trial - 1 October
A Canadian judge has acquitted four doctors and a US drug company of
criminal negligence in a long-running tainted-blood scandal. At
least 20 000 people were infected with hepatitis C or HIV in the
1980s and 1990s before Canada used up-to-date blood screening
practices. At least 3 000 people are known to have died as a result
of receiving tainted blood products. -
BBC News website
Human Rights
Congress seeks Justice Dept documents on interrogation - 4
October
The disclosure of secret Justice Department legal opinions on
interrogation set off a new, acrimonious round of debate today over
the treatment of suspected terrorists in American custody and
whether Congress has been adequately informed of administration
legal policies. Democrats on Capitol Hill demanded to see the
classified legal memorandums, first disclosed by The New York Times,
which in 2005 gave the Central Intelligence Agency expansive
approval for harsh interrogation techniques. -
New York Times website
Texas ruling signals halt to executions indefinitely - 3 October
Signaling an indefinite halt to executions in Texas, the states
highest criminal appeals court late Tuesday stayed the lethal
injection of a Honduran man who was scheduled to be put to death
Wednesday. The reprieve by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was
granted a week after the United States Supreme Court agreed to
consider whether a form of lethal injection constituted cruel and
unusual punishment barred under the Eighth Amendment. On Thursday,
the Supreme Court stepped in to halt a planned execution in Texas at
the last minute, and though many legal experts interpreted that as a
signal for all states to wait for a final ruling on lethal injection
before any further executions, Texas officials said they planned to
move ahead with more. - New York
Times website
Land Affairs and
Property
Barred from public housing, even to see family - 1 October
Nobody covers public housing quite like The Journal, the
New York City Housing Authority's
monthly tabloid newspaper, delivered to 178 000 apartments. There
is one widely read feature that residents hope they never appear
in : the Not Wanted List. It names former residents who are
"permanently excluded"
from Housing Authority buildings - and barred from even an
afternoon's visit to a family member.
The Not Wanted are barred for a wide variety of reasons, some of
them for criminal arrests and others for being nuisances. -
New York Times website
Trusts
Donors gone, trusts veer from their wishes - 29 September
With no family members to encourage gifts to the original donor's
favorite causes, the banks and lawyers have wide latitude to
change the way the trusts operate and to decide which charities
will receive grants. Banks can reduce gifts and increase the
foundation's assets, thus increasing
their fees. At the same time, banks and lawyers stand to gain
personal influence and prestige by selecting new charities. -
New York Times website
Miscellaneous
US men in custody battle over amputated leg - 1 October
A South Carolina man who stored his severed leg in a barbecue
smoker that was later auctioned off is locked in a custody dispute
with a North Carolina man who found it. John Wood's leg was
amputated near the knee after a 2004 airplane crash. He asked
doctors to give it to him so he could be buried as a whole man
when he died. - Mail & Guardian
website
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International
Environment
Global warming
: a comparative
guide to the EU and the US and
their approaches
to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto
Protocol
Hauser
Global Law School Program website
Standing on principle : the global push for environmental justice
- 3 October
Climate change, acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, species
extinction-all of these issues point to one thing: environmental
health is a global issue that concerns all nations of the world.
Now add environmental justice to the list. From South Bronx to
Soweto, from Penang to El Paso, communities all over the world are
finding commonality in their experiences and goals in seeking
environmental justice. Environmental justice was defined by Robert
Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at
Clark Atlanta University, in his seminal 1990 work Dumping in
Dixie : Race, Class, and Environmental Quality as "the
principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal
protection of environmental and public health laws and
regulations". - Yubanet
website
Bush on climate change attack - 29 September
President George W Bush went on the offensive on climate change on
Friday, proposing a summit among major emitters of greenhouse
gases that would set a long-term global goal for curbing this
dangerous pollution. Bush also endorsed the UN as the final arena
for tackling global warming, but gave not an inch of ground to
those demanding the United States slap a legally-binding cap on
its own massive carbon emissions. -
News24 website
Human Rights
Call for
lethal injection boycott - 4 October
Amnesty International has urged doctors and nurses not to
participate in executions by lethal injection as it breaches their
ethical oath. In a report the group says the cocktail of drugs
used is not always quick and painless and can cause "excruciating
pain and extreme mental suffering". The execution method is common
in the US and is on the rise in China. However, the US Supreme
Court last week agreed to hear a challenge that lethal injections
violate the constitution. - BBC
News website
Sports and
Recreation
ICC 'gave in' to Asian bloc, says Hair's lawyer - 1 October
Darrell Hair, the Australian umpire, was prevented from umpiring
in top-level international cricket so as to appease non-white
cricketing countries, it was claimed in the Central London
Employment Tribunal on Monday. Hair is suing the International
Cricket Council (ICC) for racial discrimination. -
Mail & Guardian website
Trade and Industry
EU, China agree on way to avoid new 'Bra Wars' - 5 October
European Union (EU) and Chinese trade officials, hoping to avoid a
repeat of the 2005 "Bra Wars" row, have agreed on a new way to
handle Chinese textile exports to the bloc when quotas expire on
December 31, trade officials said. The officials said the plan
might help improve cooperation between the EU and China over the
Asian economic powerhouse's snowballing trade surplus with the
27-nation bloc. - Mail & Guardian
website
Miscellaneous
SA woman dies after US airport arrest - 5 October
Police in the US state of Arizona are investigating the death in
de-tention of a South African woman who was arrested at the
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Carol Gotbaum, a mother
of three small children, was found dead in a detention room at the
airport about 15 minutes after she was arrested for disorderly
conduct at the airport last Friday. A Phoenix police statement
stated that Gotbaum, the daughter of a former commander of the SA
Navy Dive School in Simon's Town, the late Commander Henry Brian
Stiger, had been on her way to Tucson to admit herself to an
alcohol rehabilitation centre. Now her husband's prominent,
politically active New York family has accused Phoenix police of
manhandling her. - Cape
Argus website
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