http://www.siberink.co.za Please note that all blogs posted here are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivitaves Licence, which can be viewed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Effectively you may share the blogs on condition that such sharing is non-commercial, is attributed to the authors, and no derivative products may be created from them. daily 1 2009-11-10T05:45:00Z http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/how-safe-are-our-national-parks-by-peter-kantor First a toll plaza on Chapman's Peak, then military housing in the West Coast National Park... what next? Which of our National Parks will be assaulted by whose interest at the general expense of the public and the environment, whose interests these Parks are supposed to serve? Peter Kantor issues a cautionary that we'd all be obliged to heed. No publisher Simon 2012-03-02T13:30:08Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/rhino-poachers-in-the-cross-hairs-by-peter-kantor SANParks officials implicated in the escalating scourge of rhino poaching have been apprehended in reflection of increased commitment to eradication of his sickening phenomenon. Peter Kantor, Chairman of the Environmental Law Association, comments. No publisher Simon 2012-02-29T10:34:04Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/municipalitys-quick-fix-solution-to-storm-damaged-promenade-backfires-badly-by-peter-kantor KZN Judge flays municipality for 'flagrant violation of NEMA, the property owner's rights to a safe environment and their rights to their property.' A cautionary tale of ensuring the hoops are jumped through and compliance is cleared. No publisher Simon 2012-02-28T09:40:56Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/two-essential-keys-to-unlocking-the-new-companies-act-carl-stein The Act contains a host of new rights, obligations, remedies, procedures and sanctions, many of which are innovative, and some of which may even be termed revolutionary. A large number of these innovations are based on two fundamental decisions taken by government. The first, a philosophical decision, was to adopt the ‘enlightened shareholder value’ model. The second was to forbid the formation of new CCs and, instead, to attempt to ensure that the Act caters for the needs of small businesses at least as well as the CC Act. These two decisions and their profound impact on the Act are explained below. No publisher Simon 2011-09-07T11:39:50Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/sa-constitutional-court-unanimously-declares-presidential-extension-of-chief-justices-term-to-be-unconstitutional Section 8(a) of the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act (the Act) allows the President to request a Chief Justice who is about to be discharged from active service to continue in office as the Chief Justice for an additional period determined by the President if the Chief Justice accedes to that request. On Friday, 29 July 2011 the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in three urgent applications for direct access about the purported extension of the term of office of the Chief Justice for 5 years by the President of the Republic of South Africa. But for this extension, the term of office of the Chief Justice will expire on 14 August 2011. The Constitutional Court accordingly granted direct access, declared section 8(a) and all conduct pursuant to it unconstitutional. The extension of the term of office of the Chief Justice was of no force and effect. No publisher Simon 2011-07-29T09:55:21Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/viva-vilacabamba-the-first-successful-case-protecting-the-rights-of-nature-in-ecuador-by-cormac-cullinan The first successful case has been brought on behalf of the Rights of Nature in Ecuador. These rights are protected in Article 71 of the Ecuadorian Constitution. The case was presented before the Provincial Court of Justice of Loja on March 30, 2011 which granted a Constitutional injunction in favor of nature, specifically the Vilcabamba River, against the Provincial Government of Loja. No publisher Simon 2011-07-05T14:52:36Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/xolobeni-amadiba-crisis-committee-legal-resources-centre-respond-to-minister-shabangu-on-transkei-titanium-rights "In the circumstances, we call on you to notify TEM that its original application is of no force and effect and that it must submit a fresh application if it is still inclined to pursue the mining right." - Sarah Sephton of the LRC on behalf of the AmaDiba Crisis Committee No publisher Simon 2011-06-14T14:18:41Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/xolobeni-mining-rights-to-transkei-titanium-revoked-by-minister-shabangu Minister Susan Shabangu has informed Sarah Sephton, legal representative of the Amadiba Crisis Committee that the mining rights awarded in July 2008 to Australian owned Transworld Energy and Minerals (Pty) Ltd (TEM) and the Xolobeni Empowerment Company (Pty) Ltd (Xolco) have been revoked. No publisher Simon 2011-06-07T12:11:13Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/fracking-2013-a-legal-framework-for-the-debate-by-peter-kantor Which rights trump which in the debate over whether or not Shell should be allowed exploration rights to 'frack' for natural gas in the Karoo? Which legislation applies? And which Minister decides - environmental or mining? The debate has generated many column inches in the press and much heated argument between opposing sides. Here Peter Kantor leads us through the legal issues involved in the application and points out the considerations that will have to be made in the reaching of a decision No publisher Simon 2011-05-05T15:24:55Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/governing-people-for-earth-2013-the-challenge-of-the-21st-century-an-adress-by-cormac-cullinan-to-the-united-nations This address was made by Cormac Cullinan, the author of Siber Ink's WILD LAW, the second edition of which will shortly be published, to the United Nations General Assembly Interactive Dialogue on living in harmony with Nature, on Wednesday 20 April 2011. In it he proposes a radical revision of the way legal systems regard the Earth and the way in which legal rights are viewed and granted. Read his introductory comments below and download the entire address in pdf form by clicking the link provided. No publisher Simon 2011-04-28T14:24:34Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/the-hawks-have-some-constitutional-issues-concourt-rules-in-glenister-v-president-of-the-republic-of-south-africa-and-others-cct-48-10-2011-zacc-6-17-march-2011 In Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others (CCT 48/10) [2011] ZACC 6 (17 March 2011) the Constitutional Court found that part of the legislation establishing the Hawks is unconstitutional in that it does not allow for sufficient independence from political interference. The full judgment and the media summary (which appears below) can be sourced on the SAFLII website at http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2011/6.html No publisher Simon 2011-03-17T14:56:23Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/the-employment-equity-amendments-seek-the-substance-not-the-form-by-anthony-hartman Is the recent fuss over the proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act warranted? Will it really result in massive job losses for coloured persons in the Western Cape? Anthony Hartman, an attorney and Employment Equity consultant, thinks not. No publisher Simon 2011-02-23T07:56:43Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/the-sounds-of-silence-jeremy-gauntlett Adv Jeremy Gauntlett SC addressed the Society of Law Teachers in January 2011 about 'a common malaise: a lack of critical faculty not merely in the Faculty, but across the face of legal life in South Africa. My thesis is that, for all lawyers, there are disturbing developments about which we are insufficiently articulate and active.' His full address can be downloaded by clicking on the pdf link following the introductory excerpt below. No publisher Simon 2011-02-07T14:06:18Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/black-sash-wins-court-victory-to-clear-social-grant-appeals-backlog The Black Sash, represented by the Legal Resources Centre, has won a victory in the High Court in Grahamstown that has been hailed as a major victory for the enforcement of the Constitutional socio-economic rights of the poor. Read the Black Sash press release below and download the Order of the Court. No publisher Simon 2011-01-27T20:07:14Z Blog Entry http://www.siberink.co.za/siber-ink-blog/the-sale-of-a-business-by-des-kruger Exploring the intricacies of s 8(25): The Assumption of Liabilities in Part Settlement of the Purchase Price and the VAT Implications where the Corporate Rules Apply. Des Kruger from Webber Wentzel explores the recent SCA case of Ackermans v SARS in this article which first appeared in Siber Ink's Business Tax & Company Law Quarterly No publisher Simon 2011-02-09T11:25:16Z Blog Entry