Navigating intestate inheritance rights: The case for platonic partners in South Africa’s Intestate Succession Act

by | Jun 6, 2026 | SALJ, SALJ V143 I2 2026

ARTICLE

Navigating intestate inheritance rights: The case for platonic partners in South Africa’s Intestate Succession Act

Author: Fatima Osman

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 143 Issue 2, p. 373-396
https://doi.org/10.47348/SALJ/v143/i2a7

Abstract

South Africa’s Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 privileges the nuclear family and, in particular, marriage and marriage-like relationships in intestate inheritance. This article examines the exclusion of platonic relationships from intestate inheritance, situating the problem within South Africa’s evolving family structures and jurisprudence. The article discusses how legal reform (through jurisprudence and the Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act 11 of 2009) has kept intestate inheritance tethered to a narrow marriage-centric model. It draws on comparative law to demonstrate both the possibilities and limitations of extending benefits usually reserved for marriage to other relationships. The article argues for an amendment to the Intestate Succession Act that would empower the Master of the High Court to consider the totality of the circumstances and relationships of dependency in making an order for the devolution of an intestate estate. This discretionary remedy may provide relief to vulnerable dependants pending broader legislative reform. By decentring marriage in intestate inheritance, the article contributes to the broader project of aligning family law with social reality and fostering inclusive protections for diverse South African households.

Aspects of cancellation clauses for breach of contract: The impact of consumer legislation, and whether cancellation clauses should apply to partial repudiation or very minor breaches

by | Jun 6, 2026 | SALJ, SALJ V143 I2 2026

ARTICLE

Aspects of cancellation clauses for breach of contract: The impact of consumer legislation, and whether cancellation clauses should apply to partial repudiation or very minor breaches

Author: Tjakie Naude

ISSN: 1996-2177
Affiliations: Professor of Law, University of Cape Town
Source: South African Law Journal, Volume 143 Issue 2, p. 397-420
https://doi.org/10.47348/SALJ/v143/i2a8

Abstract

Consumer legislation impacts upon suppliers’ freedom to draft cancellation clauses. The view that it is not necessary in the case of repudiation to follow a procedure for cancellation prescribed in an agreed cancellation clause should apply where the breaching party repudiated the entire agreement or all outstanding obligations. By contrast, it should not generally apply where the breaching party repudiated only a part of the agreement, because the argument that the breaching party repudiated the whole of the agreement, including the cancellation clause, does not apply to partial repudiation. An exception would be where the breaching party persists in the partial repudiation despite repeated demands to retract the repudiation. A cancellation clause that allows the aggrieved party to cancel the contract immediately, without requiring the breaching party to issue an ultimatum, should not apply to an insignificant breach. Whether a breach is insignificant should depend on whether it is non-culpable and has little impact on the aggrieved party. If this rule is not regarded as acceptable for contracts generally, it should at least apply in the case of lease, as the tenant’s possessory rights are affected, with serious consequences for the tenant. There is support for these rules in foreign law.