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.  

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (“Constitution”) gives everyone basic rights of access to their basic needs. These rights are called human rights, and places an obligation on the Government to look after everyone’s social and economic needs, for example, access to housing, food, water, health care, social security and so on. These rights may not be violated by anyone.

One of the most valuable pieces of consumer legislation in South Africa is the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (“NCA”). The NCA protects a consumer who enters into a credit agreement with a credit provider, such as a bank. For example, a credit agreement can take the form of a credit card, overdraft, store card, personal loan and so on.

The Employment Equity Act (“EEA”) protects employees against discrimination in the workplace through promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment of employees. This means that an employer may not unfairly discriminate against an employee on certain grounds, for example, gender, sexual orientation and pregnancy. This is in line with the right to equality that is protected by the Constitution.