If you struggle to read this article or do not see the images, click here.

 

 

 

| what's up |

| "erika":  maritime history made |

After a seven year inquiry, a Paris court recently held oil giant Total responsible for the sinking of the ‘Erika’, ordering it to pay millions of euros in damages. The judgment marks a significant moment in the realm of maritime law.

 

>>> Read further (full article)

 

 

| in short |

| nota bene dogs of war and humanitarians alike |

 

The act under discussion this week might not seem very relevant to the daily goings-about of most of our readers (or at least we hope so), but it nevertheless makes for interesting reading.

 

The rather inelegantly named Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in Country (sic) of Armed Conflict Act was published in the Government Gazette of 16 November 2007, but will only come in to operation on a later date to be determined by the President.

>>> Read further (full article)

 

 

Despite the fact that the Companies Act will be obsolete in the not too distant future, one should remember to pay heed to the amendments to the act and not discard the act completely. Well, not yet.

>>> Read further (full article)

 

 

Die Mededingingskommissie het onlangs ‘n kennisgewing gepubliseer wat ten doel het om konsessienemers en konsessiegewers in te lig van die impak van sekere van die bepalings van die Wet op Mededinging op hul konsessieooreenkomste (franchise agreements).

 

Die Kommissie maak dit duidelik dat die wet wel van toepassing is op konsessieooreenkomste, ten spyte van die feit dat hierdie ‘n unieke tipe van besigheidsmodel is.

>>> Lees verder (volledige artikel)

 

 

| nowheresville |

| what were they thinking? |

In the case of AA Mutual Insurance Association v Sibothobotho one has to wonder what was Mr Sibothobotho thinking! The case was concerned with whether, according to the facts Mr Sibothobotho was ‘conveyed’ in terms of the Compulsory Motor Vehicle Insurance Act (the predecessor to the Road Accident Fund Act, a similar definition still exists in the RAF Act).

 

>>> Read further (full article)

 

 

| br!ghtshark |

| waspa finally getting stuck in |

br!ghtshark has been tormented by unscrupulous sms'ers over the past few months and after getting over the initial irritation factor, decided that, "for crying out loud, I'm an e-lawyer, this can't be!"...

 

So, the process started to rid my cellphone of those pesky sms'es, arriving day and night, advertising credit cards, new fashion sales and parties (lawyers are boring, didn't they know it won't help!). The first step was to try and get hold of the offending sms'er. This in itself was quite an interesting experience since MTN provided me with the name and contact details of the person who was sending the sms' (I would have thought that at the very least they would want something in writing from me, not to even mention a court order).

 

After trying in vain to get hold of some nondescript company to ask them to remove me from my list I decided to report the matter to WASPA (the Wireless Applications Service Provider's Association - http://www.waspa.org.za/). WASPA is a body founded by the cellphone carriers/providers in SA as a "self-regulating body". Needless to say I didn't have much hope of getting any joy from them, but plunged in nevertheless.

 

Reporting an incidence of SMS spam is as easy as filling out an online form and within a few days I received an email from WASPA, attempting to address the issue.

 

The process progresses through various stages (starting at an attempt on sorting out the situation amicably and ending up at an arbitration).

 

To make the proverbial long story short, br!ghtshark was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from the WASPA secretariat recently that the SMS'er was found to be in contravention of the code of conduct and fined the SMS'er R7500 as well as suspending the service of the SMS'er for a minimum of two weeks).

 

br!ghtshark is impressed! Bravo to WASPA - a prime example of self-regulation that actually works! The judgment can be seen HERE.

 

>>> Read more br!ghtshark ramblings at http://blog.brightshark.co.za

 

 

| rollonfriday |

| star partner resigns in disgrace |

A senior partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner resigned on Monday after trying to hide mistakes he made on deals.

 

The Lawyer reported that Vinay Veneik, who was included in its "Hot 100" last year, had left the firm after concealing the fact that he had neglected to pay stamp duty and register a transfer of property. Veneik was one of the team leaders in BLP's real estate department, had been a partner for nine years and had over 16 years experience of real estate law. So it's simply staggering that he could think that he would be able to get away with burying the mistake.

 

A spokesman for the firm said that "given the breach of trust the firm felt that it had no option but to accept his resignation". He added that the "clients concerned are aware of the matter and will suffer absolutely no financial detriment".

 

(This section is made possible courtesy of RollOnFriday.com, visit them at www.rollonfriday.com)

 

 

| admin stuff |

|as boring as the small print |

If you have any questions, comments, want to know some more on any of these topics or want to suggest a topic for discussion, please drop the editor of the newsletter a shout at heinrich@dwp.co.za.

 

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Disclaimer: None of the information in this newsletter should be taken as professional advice. Unfortunately human error does sometimes creep in and the printers devil also does not always keep away from the door. We can therefore not accept any responsibility for any of the content of this newsletter without you coming to see us first so that we can take proper instructions from you about your circumstances and apply the necessary legal points to your problem.

| contact us |

delport ward & pienaar

attorneys, notaries &  conveyancers
1st floor - cornerstone house

16 loop street

cape town

8001

 

telephone, cape town
+27-21-419.3733

 

telefax, general
+27-21-419.3743

 

telefax, conveyancing
+27-21-425.6782

 

telefax, collections dept
+27-21-421.6625

 

telephone, london
+44-20-8133.0337

 

telephone, washington dc
+1-202-657.6733

 

telephone, hong kong
+852-8139.7374

 

| info@dwp.co.za |

 

 

1st floor - cornerstone house, 16 loop street, cape town | docex 600, cpt | t, +27-21-4193733 | f, +27-21-4193743

info@dwp.co.za | www.dwp.co.za