Author: Martin Akuma

Black legal practitioners still facing discrimination: Kubayi SABC News Source link

Gustav Muller is a Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg He recently published an opinion article that first appeared in the News24 on 18 May 2026. South Africans are once again confronting sharp increases in fuel prices, with the effects already visible across many other facets of everyday life. South Africa is more vulnerable to fuel shocks than it needs to be. As global tensions choke off supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow point between the Sultanate of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula and the Islamic Republic of Iran, local motorists are feeling the consequences immediately…

The need for transformation in the legal sector is at the core of the Legal Sector Code (LSC), and it is a lawful exercise of statutory power to achieve this, counsel for Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.Advocate Zinzile Matebese SC on Wednesday asked the court to turn down the application by four of the country’s largest law firms, in which they are asking that the LSC be overturned.Firms Deneys (formerly Norton Rose Fulbright), Bowmans, Webber Wentzel, and Werksmans are asking the court to review the sector-specific B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) framework for the South…

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 Legal Aid South Africa has revised upwards its Means Test in line with the Consumer Price Index in response to ongoing economic hardship and the rising cost of living. This, the statutory body said, is aimed at ensuring that South Africans can afford to have legal representation. “As many South Africans continue to face financial pressure, these revisions are a vital step toward safeguarding equitable access to justice. By expanding the financial eligibility criteria, Legal Aid SA is reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that no one is denied legal representation simply because they cannot afford it,”…

E ENS More ENS is an independent law firm with over 200 years of experience. The firm has over 600 practitioners in 14 offices on the continent, in Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. This comprehensive legal update covers recent developments across South African law, from pharmaceutical naming regulations and copyright platform liability to VAT amendments affecting insurance and digital services. The collection explores emerging challenges in intellectual property protection, cryptocurrency regulation, and data brokering, while examining how AI and digital transformation are reshaping traditional legal frameworks. South Africa Intellectual…

Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, has revealed that South Africa’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) prevents it from terminating all coal exports to Israel. Tau, in reply to the EFF’s Carl Niehaus, said that South Africa exported 1.8-million tons of coal to Israel in 2025, equating to 2.6% of South Africa’s global coal exports of 71.5-million tons.He explained that there are continuous discussions on these matters to ensure alignment in government, “However, currently, there is no position to review SA exports to Israel”.He had also mentioned it would violate the WTO principle of non-discrimination and would…

South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has issued Immigration Directive No. 7 of 2026, giving foreign nationals whose visa-extension or status-change applications are still pending an automatic grace period until 30 June 2027. The concession—announced on 6 April by industry publication Travel and Tour World—explicitly covers Chinese tourists, students and assignees caught in the country’s long-running processing delays. Under the directive, applicants who lodged in-country requests before their previous visas expired may remain, work or study lawfully while waiting for outcomes, without facing overstay penalties at departure. They must, however, keep proof of submission and update contact details with Home…

In a groundbreaking judgment for newly admitted attorneys, the Gauteng High Court declared unconstitutional the three-year waiting period that prevents attorneys from appearing in higher courts.Judge Norman Davis, on Friday, found that the section of the Legal Practice Act (LPA) unfairly singled out attorneys as advocates admitted at the same time, as attorneys do not have a three-year mandatory waiting period before they can appear in the high courts, the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.The victory for newly admitted attorneys was sparked by attorney Kgomotso Ramalepe and Marweshe Attorneys. The legal challenge was brought against the Minister…

South Africans are drilling boreholes at a pace not seen in years as households look for alternatives to unreliable municipal supply, rising tariffs and infrastructure failures, but many homeowners are doing so without meeting the legal requirements – and in some cases, without realising they are breaking the law.This is according to law expert Cor van Deventer, director at law firm Van Deventer Dowlath & Marx Incorporated. He says the surge in private boreholes has created a growing compliance gap evidenced by municipalities tightening enforcement and recent incidents with serious legal and financial consequences.“There’s a perception that if you own…

Call for transformation: Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi acknowledged that black legal practitioners continue to be sidelined and denied fair business opportunities with government. Photo: DOJ The South African Constitution is hailed as one of the best in the world. Yet among those who praise it, fidelity is often limited to provisions that do not significantly alter the economic architecture inherited from an unjust, unequal past. One of the most important provisions is the right to equality in the Bill of Rights. This right underpins the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and related policies. Those who reject…