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Better Late Than Never: Marriage Law Drags Itself into the 21st Century

Better Late Than Never: Marriage Law Drags Itself into the 21st Century

For decades, South African law used the husband’s legal home at the time of marriage to decide which country’s law governed a couple’s financial and property rights when they had ties to more than one country. A recent Western Cape High Court judgment declared that rule unconstitutional and introduced a gender-neutral framework for deciding which country’s law applies. Courts elsewhere in the country are not bound by the judgment but are likely to follow it.

A Pothole Causes You to Crash. Can You Sue the Government?

A Pothole Causes You to Crash. Can You Sue the Government?

In most cases hitting a pothole results in a damaged tyre or wheel. But for one unfortunate motorcyclist who hit a 60cm behemoth near George, it meant losing a leg. The High Court held the Department of Infrastructure liable for his damages, finding that the roads authority had failed to detect, repair or warn road users about a dangerous defect it knew, or should have known, about.

Can Your Neighbour’s CCTV Camera Point into Your Property?

Can Your Neighbour’s CCTV Camera Point into Your Property?

Home security cameras are increasingly common, but protecting your property does not give you an unrestricted right to monitor your neighbours. A dispute between Cape Town neighbours has clarified where the line may be drawn. The bottom line? CCTV surveillance of a neighbour’s private spaces can infringe their constitutional rights to privacy and dignity.