General Interest

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” (Benjamin Franklin’s warning to fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736) Cases of Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud continue to surge, and recent High Court decisions have confirmed that it’s up to you to verify that you are paying into the correct bank account.   How does BEC work and who is at risk? BEC

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | AI- Should You Use AI for Legal Advice? Should You Use AI for Legal Advice? “If you didn’t hear it from the horse’s mouth, it came from the other end of the horse.” (Anon) The rapid rise of AI is hard to ignore. DeepSeek’s AI assistant, only launched on 10 January this year,Read more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Law - What Weapons Can You Legally Carry? Defending Yourself: What Weapons Can You Legally Carry? “The right of self-defence is the first law of nature.” (St. George Tucker, Blackstone’s Commentaries, 1803)  South Africa’s chronically high crime rates have left many of us wondering what the limits are when defending ourselves and ourRead more

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” (Mark Twain) Our Constitution guarantees everyone rights to education, but that doesn’t mean parents can necessarily pick and choose which schools they send their children to. Nor does it mean that they can expect schools to continue educating their children if they don’t pay the agreed fees. A recent High

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“Sexual violence is a horrific reality that continues to plague this country.” (Quoted in judgment below) It’s often said that victims of rape and other types of sexual violence have to suffer twice – firstly at the hands of the rapist and secondly at the hands of the law. A recent High Court ruling on the knotty question of consent

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Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Information Law | Technology Law - record conversations When Can You Legally Record Conversations? “Big Brother is watching you.” (George Orwell) Your smartphone lets you record just about anything, anywhere, and at any time. Your laptop and other devices can automatically record online meetings. Technology enabling voice and/or video recording is all-pervasive, providingRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Criminal Law - Cannabis Act The New Cannabis Act - What You Will and Won’t Be Allowed to Do “It’s high time they legalised cannabis” (Anon) Much excitement has greeted the signing into law of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, which will formally regulate the cultivation, possession, and use of cannabis byRead more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Litigation - litigation lawyer Can You Sign an Affidavit Over Zoom? “These technological developments would have seemed far-fetched and science fiction a brief few years ago.” (Extract from judgment below) It’s an important question – the invalidity of an affidavit could sink even the strongest case, so it’s vital to get this right.Read more

Article courtesy of Law Dot News | Insolvency / Liquidation - Ponzi Schemes Ponzi Schemes: Can Liquidators Claw Back 600% of Payouts? “MTl’s business clearly amounted to an unlawful ponzi-scheme, i.e. a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return to investors and generating returns for earlier investors with investments taken from later investors.” (Extract from the MTI judgment) RecentRead more

“Citizenship is the gateway through which a number of rights in the Constitution can be accessed.  It enables a person to enjoy freedom of movement, freedom of trade, and political representation” (Constitutional Court, quoted in judgment below) Note: Many South Africans who should be aware of this new development will be overseas and/or may not have heard of the Supreme

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