Revel Without a Cause – Delictual Liability After Lee?

Revel Without a Cause – Delictual Liability After Lee?

Author Malcolm Wallis

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 136 Number 1, May 2019, p. 165 – 190

Abstract

The inability of science to give reasonably definitive answers to many questions of the aetiology of disease and to identify the source of infection poses intractable problems for courts in dealing with questions of causation. These problems came to the fore in Lee v Minister of Correctional Services 2013 (2) SA 144 (CC). The article analyses the various judgments and concludes that, while the decision ultimately leaves the law unchanged it has generated uncertainty about the proper approach to causation. It highlights the impact that possible changes in approach have to the underlying principles of the law of delict and the onus of proof and the difficulties that have arisen in the United Kingdom as a result of judgments creating an exception to conventional principles of causation in relation to industrial diseases.

The Constitutionality of the Regulation of Religion in South Africa – Untoward Restrictions of the Right to Religious Freedom?

The Constitutionality of the Regulation of Religion in South Africa – Untoward Restrictions of the Right to Religious Freedom?

Author Georgia du Plessis

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven, Belgium; Research Fellow, Centre for Human Rights, University of the Free State
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 136 Number 1, May 2019, p. 131 – 164

Abstract

In August 2015, the constitutionally empowered South African Commission for the Promotion and Protection for the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities launched an investigative study into what it called the ‘commercialisation of religion’ (the notion that certain religious institutions abuse ‘people’s belief systems’ for financial gain). This was in response to a number of media reports concerning untoward practices by various religious organisations. In the final report relating to the Commission’s investigation, a number of recommendations were made, proposing more stringent and formalised regulation of religious institutions within South Africa. The Commission’s recommendations received substantial opposition from most religious organisations in South Africa, mostly relating to the fear that these recommendations will result in an unjustifiable limitation of the right to religious freedom. This article provides a brief analysis of the Commission’s powers and mandate in order to determine whether the Commission was acting within the scope of its powers. A discussion of the reports and recommendations of the Commission follows, and the proposed organisational structures (and their consequences) are discussed and tested against the South African constitutional framework and jurisprudence pertaining to the right to religious freedom. In conclusion, the legal validity of the Commission’s recommendations is investigated in light of the Constitution and international commentary.

Balancing Financial Inclusion and Data Protection in South Africa: Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development

Balancing Financial Inclusion and Data Protection in South Africa: Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development

Authors Bronwyn Batchelor & Tinashe Wazvaremhaka

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Lecturer, Department of Mercantile Law, University of Fort Hare; Public Prosecutor, National Prosecuting Authority, Zimbabwe
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 136 Number 1, May 2019, p. 112 – 130

Abstract

The participation of many underprivileged social clusters in the financial services sector has invariably been problematic in South Africa. This may be attributed to the country’s laws and policies implemented before and during the apartheid era to ensure the exclusion of the majority populations from key areas of the economy. This article discusses the linkage between protection of social grant beneficiaries’ private information and financial inclusion in light of the case of Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development 2017 (3) SA 335 (CC). The article advances the argument that effective participation of social grant beneficiaries in the financial services sector can be realized if personal data protection measures are taken seriously. Nonetheless, it also points out that targeted financial literacy mechanisms together with effective policy implementation within the department of social development are also vital mechanisms that are central to promoting financial inclusion of social grant beneficiaries. Additionally, the authors discuss the new social grant distribution vehicle and suggest that staff training in relation to data protection is key to ensuring the protection of social grants beneficiaries’ personal information. The article concludes by emphasising the need to balance financial inclusion and data protection measures in order to ensure safe and effective participation of vulnerable social grant beneficiaries in the South African financial services sector.