Professional Update
A
monthly newsletter for KZN Attorneys from the Kwazulu-Natal Law Society

12 June 2009

This professional service draws attention to current and important items of news
 and members are directed to the hosts' websites

InfoUpdate 12 of 2009
Government and Legislation

Legislation

Broadcasting Act

24 June 2009
Broadcasting Act to be amended : Nyanda
Bua News Online website

Companies Act

The Companies Act and ICT - 21 June
The administration of companies has been brought into the twenty first century - the information age.  It is worth taking note because these inclusions can save you time and money. However, there are also some issues and regulatory requirements - this article will help you avoid them. - Article by Jana van Zyl on the
Michalsons website

Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Draft Bill

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development intends introducing the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Draft Bill of 2009, in the National Assembly. The Bill is published for public comment in accordance with section 74(5)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
Comments can be emailed to Mr J Labuschagne at Jolabuschagne@justice.gov.za by no later than 17 July 2009

 

See also : South Africa. Zille slams Shiceka's 'do we need provinces?' statement

Draft Constitutional Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2009 and State Liability Bill

Draft Constitutional Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2009 and State Liability Bill
GN 689/GG 32289/01-06-2009

The Constitution : just a piece of paper? - 19 June
An uproar is brewing in legal and civil society circles who accuse the department of justice of challenging the supremacy of the Constitution. They say a draft Bill the department has quietly introduced aims to change the Constitution in a way that will make Parliament's decisions on one particular Act immune to the scrutiny of the Constitution. The public has until July 1 to comment on the Bill. "They are doing this pretty quietly," says Jonathan Berger, senior researcher at the Aids Law Project. "I saw it in the Government Gazette, but no one's really picked it up." The call for public comments was also published on the department of justice's website.  -
Mail & Guardian website

Second Hand Goods Act

The Second Hand Goods Act : keeping Steel, Ludlum, Grisham et al Safe - 28 May
There are dark and dangerous forces at work in the second-hand book industry that the Second Hand Goods Act hopes to destroy. South Africans have been oblivious of the growing threat of these unknown bands of criminals, who have been breaking into homes and stealing novels by illustrious authors such as Danielle Steel, Robert Ludlum, Wilbur Smith and John Grisham. The novels are fenced through second-hand book dealers, often rewarded by as much as R10 a book. Grisham in particular attracts a hefty resale price tag. - Article by Business journo Maya Fisher-French on the Book SA News blog

Draft State Liability Bill

Changes to liability act 'ineffective' - 12 June
The Department of Justice has defended its proposed amendment to the constitution and its draft State Liability Bill, saying they were "an attempt to prevent future Nyathi cases". Dingaan Nyathi fought a five-year battle for money the state acknowledged it owed him after incorrect treatment at a public hospital left him disabled. He died two months after it was eventually paid. Part of the problem was Nyathi's inability to get the government to pay up, despite a court order. Nyathi took issue with the 1957 State Liability Act, which prohibited the attachment of state property in order to satisfy a judgment debt. When the case came before the Constitutional Court, Judge Tole Madala found the 1957 act was unconstitutional "to the extent that it does not allow for execution and attachment against the state". -
Business Day website

Bid 'harks back to old order' - 11 June
Alarm bells are ringing about an attempt by the government to amend the constitution, with critics saying it's a move to get around a Constitutional Court ruling on the right of citizens to attach state assets to get debt judgments and other claims paid. The
draft 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill and State Liability Bill are a response to the Constitutional Court's ruling in a case involving a man named Nyathi, who had a stroke as a result of negligent treatment at two State hospitals in 2002. - IOL website

Proposed State Liability law provides key test for government - 17 June
Who in the government wants to make it harder for citizens to claim the money to which they are entitled when they successfully sue the state? The answer may tell us a great deal about the direction of the new government. The department is indeed proposing to change the law - but not to enable citizens to enjoy the right that the court had established. Instead, a proposed amendment to the constitution suggests inserting a clause that would read: "Despite any other provision in the constitution, an act of Parliament must prescribe . . . (procedures for litigating against the state and enforcing court orders)". The change would, for the first time since 1994, allow Parliament to pass a law that could not be constitutionally challenged. -
allAfrica website

Grondwethof bekyk kwessie van balju's wat nie staatsbates kan vat - 18 June
Die konstitusionele hof gaan in Augustus 'n aansoek aanhoor waarin die regering 'n jaar ekstra probeer kry om wetgewing oor sy aanspreeklikheid in siviele gedinge op die wetboek te kry. -
Beeld website

ALP opposes application to extend suspension of constitutional invalidity of State Liability Act - [23 June]
On 2 June 2008, the Constitutional Court – in Nyathi v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development – declared section 3 of the State Liability Act, 1957 to be unconstitutional "to the extent that it does not allow for execution or attachment against the state and that it does not provide for an express procedure for the satisfaction of judgment debts". In its order, the Court suspended the declaration of invalidity for 12 months so that Parliament would have a reasonable opportunity to address the constitutional defect in the law. In short, this meant that in the meantime, the unconstitutional law continued to operate. A few days before the 12-month deadline expired, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development approached the Court for an extension of the period of suspension. On 1 June 2009, the Court granted an interim extension of the suspension period to 31 August 2009, setting the matter down for oral argument on 12 August 2009. In summary, the ALP is opposed to the Minister being granted a further extension of the suspension period because . . . - Aids Law Project website

See :
Constitutional Court of South Africa
2 June 2008
CCT 19/07 [2008] ZACC 8 ; 2008 (5) SA 94 (CC) ; 2008 (9) BCLR 865 (CC)
Nyathi v Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Health Gauteng and Another

See also :
Northern Cape High Court. Minister in sop oor wanbetaling

New on Parliamentary Monitoring Group website

State Liability Draft Bill

New on Polity website

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act 11 of 2006
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Special Measures Safety and Security Regulations, 2009
GNR 680/GG 32326

Aviation Act 74 of 1962
Amendment : Civil Aviation Regulations, 1977
GNR 674/GG 32315

Civil Aviation Act 13 of 2009

Customs and Excise Act, 1964

Amendment of Rules (no.DAR/51)
GNR 620/GG 32287

Amendment of Rules (no.DAR/52)
GNR 645/GG 32304

Division of Revenue Act 12 of 2009

Financial Management of Parliament Act 10 of 2009

Income Tax Act 58 of1962
Determination of interest rate for purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of "Official rate of interest" in paragraph 1 of the seventh Schedule
GN 618/GG 32280

National Environmental Laws Amendment Act 14 of 2009

National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008

National Railway Safety Regulator Amendment Act 69 of 2008

National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996
Amendment of the National Road Traffic Regulations
GNR 589/GG 32258

Pharmaceutical Manufacturers/Importers : Revised procedure for updating single exit prices with the Department of Health
GN 575/GG 32245/22-05-2009

Prevention of, and Treatment for, Substance Abuse Act 70 of 2008

Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999
Ministerial Committee for the review of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme
GNR 675/GG 32317

InfoUpdate : an Information Service supplied by the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society