PAIA Judgments and Cases

You need to be aware of and potentially take action when the courts hand down PAIA judgments or PAIA cases. We continually monitor and provide plain-language summaries of all PAIA judgments or PAIA cases. Our summaries highlight the actions you may need to take in response. We do all the hard work for you, saving you time.

What PAIA judgments or cases?

Essentially, we monitor and summarise any judgments that apply to the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).

Only some of the judgment summaries are linked below. To read all previous judgment summaries and be alerted to future ones, join the Michalsons access to information programme. If you are a member and you are logged in, you will be able to view the public as well as the “Members only” judgments.

Nkosi v Johannesburg Municipality | Access to information request

In Nkosi v Johannesburg Municipality, Nkosi requested access to the job evaluation and re-grading records in terms of PAIA. The Johannesburg Municipality refused their request. Who should care about this judgment and why? Employees and workers' trade unions because you [...]

By |2024-07-31T17:32:18+02:00April 18th, 2024|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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Ndudane v Financial Intelligence Centre | Access to confidential information

In Ndudane v Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), applicants sought access to confidential information held by the FIC under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (FICA), regarding the termination of their banking services by several major banks in South Africa. The [...]

By |2024-07-31T17:40:15+02:00March 26th, 2024|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , |
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Afriforum v Eskom | Access to contracts

In Afriforum v Eskom, the parties had a dispute when Eskom refused to grant Afriforum access, under PAIA, to various contracts related to coal and diesel procurement, as well as contracts with neighbouring countries for electricity provision. Who should care [...]

By |2024-07-31T17:41:29+02:00March 22nd, 2024|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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Montrose Mews v Moela

In Montrose Mews v Moela, the court had to intervene and decide whether PAIA applied to information requested by a member of a body corporate. Who should care about this judgment and why? Members of sectional title schemes because the [...]

By |2024-04-30T07:43:03+02:00March 7th, 2024|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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Schreiber v ANC

In Schreiber v ANC, Leon Schreiber, a member of the National Assembly representing the DA, requested access to information from the ANC on their National Cadre Deployment Committee's activities. The ANC refused the request, leading Schreiber and the DA [...]

By |2024-07-11T15:12:25+02:00February 14th, 2024|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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WB v RB | Medical records disclosure

WB v RB is an important judgment regarding medical records disclosure. A husband requested access to his wife's bipolar disorder health records for child custody proceedings. The court ordered the clinic to reveal the treatment details while respecting confidentiality [...]

By |2024-03-20T11:28:55+02:00December 18th, 2023|Categories: Access to Information, Information Law, POPI and Data Protection|Tags: , , , |
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OUTA v SANRAL: when may you refuse to disclose?

In Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse v South African National Roads Agency, known as 'OUTA' and 'SANRAL' respectively, the court upheld SANRAL's refusal to disclose sensitive commercial information, citing PAIA protections. Who should care about this judgment and why? Public administrators [...]

By |2024-07-05T15:32:04+02:00November 14th, 2023|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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Leuvennink v CAA

In Leuvennink v CAA, the deceased pilot's wife sought access to airplane crash records to establish the accident's cause. However, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) refused access, citing the unavailability of records and adherence to regulations and an aviation convention. [...]

By |2024-03-27T10:25:54+02:00July 31st, 2023|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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Strategic Partners Group v The Liquidators of Ilima Group

In Strategic Partners Group (Pty) Ltd ("SPG") v The Liquidators of Ilima Group (Pty) Ltd ("LIG"), the case revolved around SPG's attempts to limit the liquidators' access to documents required for LIG to evaluate and dispose of Ilima's shareholding in [...]

By |2024-03-26T09:46:27+02:00March 24th, 2023|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: |
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Elite Plumbing v Casper Le Roux Attorneys

In Elite Plumbing v Casper Le Roux Attorneys, Elite Plumbing sought an order from the court ordering Casper Le Roux Attorneys to furnish it with information sought in two requests for information. The application was made in terms of section [...]

By |2024-07-30T09:33:54+02:00March 6th, 2023|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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Minister of State Security v Makwakwa

In Minister of State Security v Makwakwa, the court prevented Makwakwa from publishing a classified intelligence report on any medium or platform. The court took a "judicial peek" at the report titled "US interest in ANC party dynamics". The judge [...]

By |2024-02-19T14:53:06+02:00October 5th, 2022|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , |
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