Judgment Summaries

Avoid the mistakes of others by reading the latest important court judgment summaries with our unique insights on what action to take.

You need to know about and possibly take action when the courts hand down judgments or cases. It is a critical part of ensuring that your organisation complies with the law. But how are you supposed to monitor all judgments on an ongoing basis to find the relevant ones, read them to understand what the latest judgments deal with, and decide what action you might need to take in response to them?  Impossible? Don’t worry; we do this for you.

We continually monitor and provide plain-language summaries of all judgments or cases related to our focus areas. Our summaries highlight what action you might need to take in response. We do all the hard work for you to save you time.

Judgment summaries

Only some are linked below. To read all previous insights and be alerted to future insights, join the relevant Michalsons programme. You can view the public and the “Members only” ones if you are a member and logged in.

How does an ordinary reader understand a contract

It looks like in the future courts will decide what a contract means based on what an ordinary reader understands it to mean, rather than by following the traditional laws and rules of interpretation. Article about interpretation Malcolm Wallis recently [...]

By |2022-12-13T14:16:20+02:00November 30th, 2019|Categories: Plain Language|Tags: , , , , , |

Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development

In Black Sash Trust v Minister of Social Development, the Constitutional Court agreed with the Information Regulator that data subjects own their personal information and that a responsible party cannot transfer the data subject's personal information to another party. [...]

My Vote Counts v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

In the judgment of My Vote Counts v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, My Vote Counts won the right for the public to know the source of a political party's funding. This enables voters to make informed decisions when [...]

By |2024-01-31T07:39:52+02:00June 21st, 2018|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , , |

President of the Republic of South Africa v Office of the Public Protector

In President of the Republic of South Africa v Office of the Public Protector, the Court confirmed the authority and powers of Chapter 9 Institutions. Similar to the Public Protector, the Information Regulator can also hold others accountable for their […]

Cochrane Steel Products v M-Systems Group

Digital advertisers should take note of Cochrane Steel Products v M-Systems Group. Whilst advertising through Google Adwords, many people bid on keywords that include the trademarks of their competitors. For example, if you sell a drink like Coke, you want people searching [...]

By |2021-10-21T16:25:26+02:00June 1st, 2016|Categories: Marketing Law|Tags: , , |

Makate v Vodacom – the 5 minute speedread

The ‘David v Goliath’ saga of Makate v Vodacom, which proceeded all the way up to the Constitutional Court, highlighted the risks organisations face if they fail to properly address the ownership and commercialisation of potentially lucrative ideas created by their employees. Key take-away’s of Makate [...]

By |2022-12-19T11:43:58+02:00May 26th, 2016|Categories: Intellectual Property Protection|Tags: , , , |

Spring Forest Trading v Wilberry | Electronic signatures binding

Is it possible to cancel a contract and to sign it with just the use of emails? In the case of Spring Forest Trading v Wilberry, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal held that electronic signatures were binding and [...]

“Fraudulent” access to an IT system containing unprotected public data

Is it an offence to access data that is freely available on the Internet? Many of us would think that it isn’t if the data is accessible to the public. Can a person use public data (that may include public [...]

Standard Bank v Dlamini | Victory for plain language and consumer protection

On 23 October 2012 Justice Dhaya Pillay handed down a judgment in the Durban High Court, which might prove to be a victory in the war against legalese and unfair contract terms. One of the biggest questions was whether Mr [...]

By |2022-12-20T13:14:04+02:00February 27th, 2013|Categories: Plain Language|Tags: , , , |

The rights to a database | Who owns the copyright in data?

Databases and the data in them have become very valuable assets. People often ask, what is the law relating to data ownership? What is a database? How do you define a database in an agreement? How does the law [...]

Dutch Reformed Church Vergesig v Sooknunan

In Dutch Reformed Church Vergesig v Sooknunan, the Court ordered Sooknunan, the owner and publisher of a Facebook page, to remove certain posts as they were unlawful in content and impact. The Court held that people posting the Church members' […]

Makhanya v Vodacom Service Provider Company

In Makhanya v Vodacom Service Provider Company the Court ruled that callers making unsolicited calls from a private number were a violation of Makhanya's right to privacy. The judgment impacts the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and a [...]