Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa

After decades of debates on the viability of class actions in South Africa the supreme court of appeal has finally given recognition to a general class action for damages. There is clear authority, preceding the judgment under discussion, that section 38(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of Sou...

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Main Author: De Vos, Wouter
Format: Journal Article
Published: Juta & Company Ltd. * Juta Law 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53709
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author De Vos, Wouter
author_facet De Vos, Wouter
author_sort De Vos, Wouter
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description After decades of debates on the viability of class actions in South Africa the supreme court of appeal has finally given recognition to a general class action for damages. There is clear authority, preceding the judgment under discussion, that section 38(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, provides a sufficient basis for the institution of a class action to enforce any constitutional right. The lack of legislation regulating these complicated proceedings has, therefore, not been viewed as an impediment to the prosecution of a large number of such similar claims in this manner. This has happened in the respective judgments of Froneman J, in Ngxuza v Permanent Secretary, Department of Welfare, Eastern Cape (2001 2 SA 609 (E)) and Cameron JA, in Permanent Secretary, Department of Welfare, Eastern Cape v Ngxuza (2001 4 SA 1184 (SCA)).
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-537092018-01-17T02:52:23Z Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa De Vos, Wouter After decades of debates on the viability of class actions in South Africa the supreme court of appeal has finally given recognition to a general class action for damages. There is clear authority, preceding the judgment under discussion, that section 38(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, provides a sufficient basis for the institution of a class action to enforce any constitutional right. The lack of legislation regulating these complicated proceedings has, therefore, not been viewed as an impediment to the prosecution of a large number of such similar claims in this manner. This has happened in the respective judgments of Froneman J, in Ngxuza v Permanent Secretary, Department of Welfare, Eastern Cape (2001 2 SA 609 (E)) and Cameron JA, in Permanent Secretary, Department of Welfare, Eastern Cape v Ngxuza (2001 4 SA 1184 (SCA)). 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53709 Juta & Company Ltd. * Juta Law restricted
spellingShingle De Vos, Wouter
Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title_full Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title_fullStr Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title_short Judicial Activism gives recognition to a general class action in South Africa
title_sort judicial activism gives recognition to a general class action in south africa
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53709