The Bill of Rights is contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (“Constitution”) and protects a person’s basic human rights (such as the rights to equality, human dignity, life and so on). Human rights are based on the values of society and must be carefully balanced to ensure that, although persons can exercise their human rights, they also have a responsibility to respect the human rights of others.

The Constitutional Court referred to customary marriages entered into after the Customary Marriages Act came into effect, where a wife will be equal to her husband. The marriage will be automatically in community of property, giving the wife equal rights to own and control the property in the joint estate.

We often hear the word “defamation” and do not always understand what is meant with it. Generally, defamation relates to some form of negative remark published about someone. Before getting into the details of defamation, it is important to note that defamation can be difficult to prove. Defamation matters tend to turn into lengthy court procedures where courts have to decide whether defamation occurred or not, depending on the specific circumstances of a matter. Not every defamation matter is the same and different scenarios cannot always be compared with each other. Some matters can be easily determined, while others can be difficult. The below information sets out the basic aspects around defamation.