Author: Lee Swales

Attorney and academic. Contact: leeswales@icloud.com

Serving legal process via Facebook and Social Media

Service of legal process via Facebook and Social MediaThe use of Facebook and other social media platforms as a mechanism for service of legal process is on the rise globally.   This is not surprising considering the exponential growth of the internet, and more recently, widespread use of various social media platforms across a variety of … Continue reading Serving legal process via Facebook and Social Media

How to comply with POPI (Protection of Personal Information Bill)?

How to comply with POPI?The Protection of Personal Information Bill 2 of 2009 (POPI) has taken Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Justice and Constitutional Development some eight years to properly research and draft. It is the next step in the current climate of Parliamentary law creation focussed on the credit and consumer markets and the strength … Continue reading How to comply with POPI (Protection of Personal Information Bill)?

Amendments regulating the conduct of proceedings in the High Court of South Africa

On the 22nd June 2012 the South African Department of Justice (“DOJ”) introduced various amendments to the court rules relating specifically to the service of legal process on certain parties. These amendments relate mainly to the manner of service elected by the parties and, in short, in application to services not utilising the Sheriff, now … Continue reading Amendments regulating the conduct of proceedings in the High Court of South Africa

Cancellation of fixed term contracts

The promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”) on the 31st March 2011 has been a revolutionary legislative stride towards comprehensively protecting the rights and consumer interests of the South African consumer and  provides more structured and substantially enhanced access to consumer protection mechanisms to the legally uninformed. It has been argued … Continue reading Cancellation of fixed term contracts

FICA: a bureaucratic, tick-box slog

The primary intention of introducing the Financial Intelligence Centre Act ("FICA") was to prevent money laundering and combat terrorism related activity. Well, that was the benefit for government, and logically it should follow, society. FICA is now an accepted piece of legislation and a concept most are familiar with. Speaking sometime after the fact, I feel … Continue reading FICA: a bureaucratic, tick-box slog

Consumer Protection: Alive and Kicking

Enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act: A practical guide to lodging a complaint with South Africa’s National Consumer CommissionIntroductionIn this age of consumer centric legislation and increasing pressure on disposable household income, efficient and cost effective legal remedies are a must. One can argue that South African consumers are in as good a position as … Continue reading Consumer Protection: Alive and Kicking

POPI: Protection of Personal Information

By now, most will have heard of POPI, or the Protection of Personal Information Bill. Principally, POPI's goal is to protect our constitutional right to privacy. This follows South Africa's recent trend of promulgating pro-rights, consumer centric legislation such as the Consumer Protection Act and the National Credit Act.Most commentators believe POPI’s promulgation into law … Continue reading POPI: Protection of Personal Information