Shell judgment a blow for activists
The oil company will proceed with its search for oil and gas off South Africa’s Wild Coast after environmental groups failed to convince a judge of the severity of its impact on marine life.
Stories by: Tania Broughton
SA holds its breath as judge decides on Shell
The fate of South Africa’s Wild Coast is up in the air as activists wait for the court to decide whether or not to institute an urgent interdict to stop Shell from surveying the ocean floor for oil and gas.
Book Review | Justice Delayed
Advocate Gideon Scheltema, who penned a book detailing South Africa’s first successful private murder prosecution, believes his victory vindicated a mother’s love.
Undocumented learners are still being turned away
With the new school year well under way, the Department of Basic Education has been accused of not complying with a court order to admit children who do not have identity documents to schools.
Court victory for 400 000 elderly black women
An apartheid law that dispossessed black women of the assets accrued during their marriages has finally been scrapped after a Pinetown pensioner, facing impoverishment, went to court.
ConCourt to rule on ‘absolute right’ of inheritance
The right of private citizens to choose who inherits their wealth comes under constitutional scrutiny with two cases of inequality in wills. It could change the face of South African inheritance laws.
For Michael Komape’s family, justice at last
The Supreme Court of Appeal awarded the family of the five-year-old almost R1.5 million for the “appalling and undignified death” Komape suffered by drowning in a pit latrine at school.
Undocumented children win right to basic education
In a monumental ruling at the Makhanda high court, judges found it was unconstitutional to bar learners without birth certificates from receiving basic schooling.
Zimbabwean court upholds transgender rights
Transgender activist Ricky Nathanson, who sought asylum in the United States after being brutalised by the Zimbabwean police, may have won her damages claim but she cannot return home.
Policy could be making adoption difficult
A policy change over travel documents required for internationally adopted children could result in foreign families shying away from adopting children from South Africa.
Can children legally use cannabis?
Adults in South Africa are legally allowed to possess marijuana for personal use. Now there are controversial moves to decriminalise the use of cannabis for children.
Undocumented children are entitled to basic education
Advocates for learners without birth certificates who have been barred from schools argue that the state is punishing them for circumstances beyond their control.
Financial compensation for grief and sorrow?
The death of Michael Komape, who drowned in a makeshift toilet at his Limpopo school, has ignited debate on whether or not the common law should be developed to include damages for grief.
No papers, no schooling, no future
A Durban mother of two is waging a Constitutional Court battle for the recognition of her family, but the Department of Home Affairs won’t hear of it.
Autism and the mainstream
Action in Autism is expanding to assist adults as well as children such as Tawanda Mkhize, who along with his mother faces ignorance and prejudice on a daily basis.