The need to address the challenges regarding the transfer of assets between occupational retirement funds operating in the municipal sector

by | May 22, 2022 | JCCL, JCCL V7 I1

The need to address the challenges regarding the transfer of assets between occupational retirement funds operating in the municipal sector

Author: Tshepiso Tshiamo Rasetlola

ISSN: 2521-2575
Affiliations: Associate at Fasken (incorporated in South Africa as Bell Dewar Inc)
Source: Journal of Corporate and Commercial Law & Practice, Volume 7 Issue 1, 2021, p. 80 – 103
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCCL/V7/i1a4

Abstract

There are several industries where employers participate in more than one retirement fund, such as the municipal sector. Retirement funds that operate in such industries continually try to increase their membership leading to fierce competition for members. They often use their rules to attract new members while ensuring that they do not lose members who are currently paying contributions to them. These rules usually link membership of funds with the tenure of employment with participating employers. This article examines the legal framework that regulates the rivalry between retirement funds that operate within the same sector or are linked to the same employer. It assesses whether employees’ rights to freely associate with the retirement fund of their own is limited by retirement funds’ rules that ‘lock’ them into retirement funds that they joined upon their employment. This article highlights that the current legislation does not adequately deal with the voluntary transfer of assets between rival funds at the instance of the member. This article argues for the establishment of a legal framework that will adequately regulate the rivalry relating to retirement funds’ membership in sectors where the employer can participate in more than one retirement fund.

Taxation

by | May 2, 2022 | YSAL, YSAL V2

Taxation

Author Robert Williams

ISBN: 978 1 48513 911 9
Affiliations: BA LLB (Cape) LLM (London) H Dip Tax (Wits) PhD (Macquarie), Professor Emeritus in the School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
Source: Yearbook of South African Law, Volume 2, p. 1096

Notes: The legitimacy of the South African Consumer Goods and Services Ombud’s Code of Conduct: An analysis of Consumer Goods and Services Ombud NPC v Voltex (Pty) Ltd

by | May 1, 2022 | SALJ, SALJ V139 I2 2022

Notes: The legitimacy of the South African Consumer Goods and Services Ombud’s Code of Conduct: An analysis of Consumer Goods and Services Ombud NPC v Voltex (Pty) Ltd

Author: Tshepiso Scott & Obakeng van Dyk

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Lecturer, Department of Mercantile Law, University of Pretoria; Independent Researcher
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 139 Issue 2, p. 259-273
https://doi.org/10.47348/SALJ/v139/i2a1

Abstract

Alternative dispute resolution is one of the mechanisms envisaged by the Consumer  Protection Act 68 of 2008 to provide consumers with access to cost-effective and  speedy redress of consumer disputes. Accredited industry ombuds are one of the fora  that give effect to this purpose. However, industry participants are not always willing  participants, and may wish to challenge the legitimacy of such fora, particularly where  the relevant forum is funded by these industry participants. This makes it challenging  to give effect to the provisions of any applicable codes of conduct, and also frustrates the  consumer’s pursuit for redress. These issues came to the fore in Consumer Goods  and Services Ombud NPC v Voltex (Pty) Ltd [2021] ZAGPPHC 309.  In this matter, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud sought a declaratory order  from the court, confirming that its code of conduct was legitimate. The judgment is  significant as it has an impact on the enforcement of consumer rights by this ombud,  and has wider implications for other current and future accredited industry ombuds. 

Notes: Introducing feminist legal theory as a basis for South African judicial jurisprudence: Insights from S v Tshabalala

by | May 1, 2022 | SALJ, SALJ V139 I2 2022

Notes: Introducing feminist legal theory as a basis for South African judicial jurisprudence: Insights from S v Tshabalala

Author: Rorisang Matlala

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Junior Lecturer in Law, North-West University
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 139 Issue 2, p. 274-285
https://doi.org/10.47348/SALJ/v139/i2a2

Abstract

In S v Tshabalala, the Constitutional Court considered an appeal about whether  accused persons who were present at a rape scene, but who did not participate in the  crime and who neither aided nor abetted the perpetrators, could be found guilty of  rape. The court decided this question in the affirmative by developing the commonlaw  doctrine of common purpose and extending its application to rape cases. The court  said that it did so to remove obstacles caused by patriarchal elements of the common  law found in criminal law. The most interesting aspect of the judgment is that the  court used feminism as a starting point for understanding the plight of women in rape  cases. It affirmed its solidarity with women facing sexual violence and introduced  feminist legal theory as a viable jurisprudential consideration in the adjudication of  sexual crimes. This note considers the judgment and its implications for South Africa.