South Africa: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

A High Court judgment has reinforced the protection of litigation privilege for expert reports commissioned by insurers during pending litigation. When a loss adjuster's preliminary report was requested for disclosure, the court examined whether it qualified for privilege protection and what implications this holds for the insurance industry's handling of expert assessments in claims disputes.

The Gauteng High Court's judgment in TMM Holdings v Skycastle Securities examines when litigation privilege protects documents from disclosure, specifically addressing whether insurance claim forms and investigative reports created for multiple purposes qualify for privilege. The court applied the dominant purpose test to determine if documents prepared simultaneously for insurance claims, internal investigations, and potential litigation must be disclosed in discovery proceedings.

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) in the case of Ibex RSA Holdco Ltd and Another v Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd and Others 2025 (2) SA 408 (SCA) (“Ibex”)...

A South African court examined whether an employer could recover over R2.5 million in salary payments from a former employee's pension fund, alleging he failed to work for nearly three years. The case tested the limits of statutory protections for retirement benefits and the evidentiary burden employers must meet when seeking to access pension funds under section 37D of the Pension Funds Act.

On the demand side, McKinsey expects a four-fold to six-fold increase in demand for African data centre capacity (to 1.5 to 2.2 GW) by 2030, which presents an investment opportunity of between...

What happens when a trade mark hasn't been used for nearly a decade, yet still carries substantial goodwill? The Pretoria High Court's decision in Altron v Tracker explores whether residual reputation can save unused registrations from removal, examining the tension between maintaining a clean register and protecting accumulated brand value.

A Constitutional Court decision has clarified a critical procedural question in South African administrative law: whether respondents can raise dispositive legal objections before producing the Rule 53 record in review proceedings. The ruling addresses the tension between an applicant's right to supplement their case after receiving the administrative record and a respondent's ability to challenge the review on purely legal grounds at an early stage.

A recent High Court judgment clarifies a critical misconception in copyright law: believing you have permission to use protected work is not the same as believing no copyright exists. This distinction has significant implications for businesses that routinely download and use photographs found online, assuming they are free to use simply because they are widely accessible.

What happens when a trade mark hasn't been used for nearly a decade, yet still carries substantial goodwill? The Pretoria High Court's decision in Altron v Tracker explores whether residual reputation can save unused registrations from removal, examining the tension between maintaining a clean register and protecting accumulated brand value.

A Constitutional Court decision has clarified a critical procedural question in South African administrative law: whether respondents can raise dispositive legal objections before producing the Rule 53 record in review proceedings. The ruling addresses the tension between an applicant's right to supplement their case after receiving the administrative record and a respondent's ability to challenge the review on purely legal grounds at an early stage.

On the demand side, McKinsey expects a four-fold to six-fold increase in demand for African data centre capacity (to 1.5 to 2.2 GW) by 2030, which presents an investment opportunity of between...

The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) accepted that the employer had a genuine commercial rationale for restructuring but still found the dismissals substantively unfair because the employer could not defend the selection of the employees retrenched.