South Africa: New Expropriation Act Signed into Law
On January 20, 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024. This legislation repeals and replaces the Expropriation Act 63 of 1975. It provides a framework for the expropriation of property to serve public purposes or the public interest. It sets out procedures for expropriations and compensation and identifies situations … Continue reading “South Africa: New Expropriation Act Signed…
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2025-03-27
Article
South Africa: Directions for Court Operations During COVID-19 Lockdown Issued
(Apr. 23, 2020) On March 31, 2020, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services issued directions to “address, prevent and combat the spread of COVID-19 in all courts, court precincts and justice service points in the Republic of South Africa.” (Directions, preamble.) The directions are valid for the duration of the national lockdown, which the […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2020-04-23
Article
South Africa: National Assembly Passes Copyright Amendment Bill, Adopts Expansive Fair Use Exception
(Dec. 21, 2018) On December 5, 2018, South Africa’s National Assembly, one of the houses of the country’s bicameral legislature, passed the Copyright Amendment Bill, 2017, which seeks to amend the 1978 Copyright Act. (Mercedes Besent, Copyright Amendment Bill Passed, SABC NEWS (Dec. 6, 2018); Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 (hereinafter “the principal Act”), National […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2018-12-21
Article
South Africa: National Minimum Wage Bill Enacted
(Nov. 30, 2018) On November 26, 2018, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the National Minimum Wage Bill (now the National Minimum Wage Act), which the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, the two houses of the country’s Parliament, passed on May 29 and August 21, 2018, respectively. (South Africa’s Ramaphosa […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2018-11-30
Article
South Africa: Bill to Grant Parental, Adoption, and Surrogacy Leave Clears Hurdle
(Jan. 5, 2018) On November 28, 2017, the South African National Assembly passed the first-ever private member’s bill to amend the Basic Conditions Employment Act 75 of 1997 (Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) website) and the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 (SAFLII website). The amendment bill, among other things, provides for parental leave […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2018-01-05
Article
South Africa: Financial Intelligence Centre Act Amended
(May 25, 2017) On April 29, 2017, South African President Jacob Zuma signed into law the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, 2017, amending the Financial Intelligence Centre Act of 2001, an Act designed to “combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.” (Press Release, President Jacob Zuma Signs FICA Bill into Law, South African Government website […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2017-05-25
Article
South Africa: Notice of Withdrawal from the Rome Statute Revoked
(Mar. 10, 2017) On March 7, 2017, the South African government revoked the notice of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (the Rome Statute) that it had submitted to the United Nations Secretary-General on October 19, 2016. (South Africa: Withdrawal of Notification of Withdrawal, C.N.121.2017.TREATIES-XVIII.10 (Depositary Notification) (Mar. 7, 2017), United […]
South Africa: Moratorium on Domestic Trade in Rhino Horn Temporarily Re-Instituted
On June 6, 2016, South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) effectively, if only temporarily, re-instituted a 2009 ban on domestic trade in rhino horn and products derived from it. This was due to the DEA appealing to the Constitutional Court a prior Supreme Court of Appeal ruling affirming a 2015 decision of the High Court […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2016-06-13
Article
South Africa: Parliament to Debate Expropriation Bill
(Feb. 12, 2016) On February 2, 2016, the Portfolio Committee on Public Works in the South African Parliament adopted the Expropriation Bill, which seeks to repeal and replace the 1975 Expropriation Act and align “the process and procedure for expropriation of property by organs of state” with the current Constitution. (Public Works Committee Adopts Expropriation […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2016-02-12
Article
South Africa: Carbon-Tax Legislation Proposed
(Nov. 9, 2015) On November 2, 2015, the South African National Treasury published for public comment the Draft Carbon Tax Bill, 2015, which seeks to “price carbon by obliging the polluter to internalize the external costs of emitting carbon, and contribute towards addressing the harm caused by such pollution.” (Press Release, Republic of South Africa […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2015-11-09
Article
South Africa: Regulations Aimed at Stemming Parental Kidnapping Take Effect
(June 8, 2015) On June 1, 2015, South African immigration regulations imposing certain rules on parents and others traveling to or from South Africa that are intended to curb parental kidnapping of small children took effect. (Statement by Home Affairs Director-General, Mkuseli Apleni, at the Media Briefing on New Requirements for Travelling with Children Coming […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2015-06-08
Article
South Africa; Sri Lanka: Cooperation Agreements in Tourism, Zoo Management
(Mar. 2, 2015) Sri Lanka and South Africa concluded two cooperation agreements on February 24, 2015. The agreements are: 1) Draft Declaration of Intent between the National Department of Tourism of the Republic of South Africa and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism and Sports on Cooperation in the Field of Sustainable Tourism Development for […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2015-03-02
Article
South Africa: Proposal to Limit Land Ownership by Citizens and Foreigners
(Feb. 24, 2015) On February 12, 2015, in his 2015 State of the Nation address, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma announced that his government is preparing to propose for parliamentary action the Regulation of Land Holdings Bill. (South Africa’s Zuma Outlines Land Reform Plans, BBC NEWS (Feb. 14, 2015).) Among other objectives, the measure aims […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2015-02-24
Article
South Africa: Child Restraint and Seat Belt Regulations Tightened
(Dec. 2, 2014) On October 31, 2014, South Africa’s Minister of Transportation issued amendments to the National Road Traffic Regulations of 2000, which are made under the National Road Traffic Act of 1996. (Amendment of the National Road Traffic Regulations, § 52, Government Gazette [GG], No. 38142 (Oct. 31, 2014), SOUTH AFRICA GOVERNMENT ONLINE; Correction […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2014-12-02
Article
South Africa: Court Declares Extradition to Death Penalty Jurisdiction Illegal
(Sept. 25, 2014) On September 23, 2014, the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, ruled that the extradition to Botswana of Edwin Samotse, a man sought on murder charges in that country, where he may face the death penalty, was a violation of the South African Constitution and illegal. (High Court Rules Botswana Deportation Illegal, […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2014-09-25
Article
South Africa: Postponed Implementation of Provisions on Parental Kidnapping
(Sept. 22, 2014) On September 16, 2014, South African Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba announced that the implementation of two requirements in the country’s new Immigration Regulations aimed at preventing parental kidnapping will be postponed until June 1, 2015. The requirements had originally been slated for implementation on October 1, 2014. (Statement by the […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2014-09-22
Article
South Africa: Law Designed to Spur Youth Hiring Takes Effect
(Jan. 9, 2014) On January 1, 2014, the Employment Tax Incentive Act No. 26 of 2013 (582 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE (Dec. 18, 2013)), aimed at spurring youth hiring through tax incentives, took effect. (Zuma Signs Youth Wage Subsidy Bill into Law, MAIL & GUARDIAN (Dec. 19, 2013).) The government of South Africa is hoping that this […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2014-01-09
Article
South Africa: Constitutional Court Upholds Mandatory Minimum Sentence Rule for Accomplices in Armed Robberies
(Dec. 31, 2013) On November 28, 2013, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the court of last resort on all constitutional issues, overturned a decision of the Western Cape High Court and upheld as constitutional a provision in the Criminal Procedure Act No. 51 of 1977 that makes an accomplice to robbery with aggravating circumstances […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2013-12-31
Article
South Africa: Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation Signed into Law
(Aug. 2, 2013) On July 29, 2013, South Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, signed into law the country’s first comprehensive legislation on human trafficking, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill (PCTPB), which, among other goals, seeks to implement South Africa’s international obligations with respect to the problem. (President Jacob Zuma Signs into Law […]
South Africa: Proposal to Tighten Rules on Private Security Industry
(Aug. 2, 2012) It was reported on June 21, 2012, that the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill, aimed at, among other objectives, restricting foreign ownership of private security firms in South Africa, has come under heavy criticism from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the major political party in opposition to South Africa's ruling party, the […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2012-08-02
Article
South Africa: Constitutional Court Declares Five Provincial Acts Unconstitutional, Suspends Ruling Temporarily
(Apr. 16, 2012) On March 22, 2012, the Constitutional Court of South Africa unanimously declared unconstitutional five laws issued by the legislatures of five of the country's nine provinces. The laws were designed to regulate the financial management of the legislative bodies. They include: the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Act 3 of 2009; the Financial […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2012-04-16
Article
South Africa: Protection of Information Bill Controversial
(Aug. 16, 2011) On August 10, 2011, the South African organization Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) issued a statement criticizing a clause of the Protection of Information Bill as unconstitutional. (“Secrecy Bill – Whistleblower Clause Unconstitutional,” ODAC website (last visited Aug. 15, 2011); Info Bill Clause Flouts Constitution: Lawyer, SOUTH AFICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION (SAPA) (Aug. […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2011-08-16
Article
South Africa: Constitutionality of Extension of Chief Justice’s Tenure to Be Challenged
(June 17, 2011) Two South Africa-based rights groups are gearing up to challenge the legality of President Jacob Zuma's June 3, 2011, decision to unilaterally extend by five years the term of Sandile Ngcobo, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. Ngcobo's 12-year term is slated to expire on August 15, 2011. (Pierre De Vos, CASAC […]
