The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 120 of 1998 (“the Act”) prescribes the formalities that need to be complied with in order for a customary marriage to be valid. Section 4(3) of the Act provides for customary marriages to be registered within a stipulated time period. However, failure to register a customary marriage does not affect its validity. Many customary marriages, [...]
Within the past month, we have gone from mainly needing to authenticate and verify documents through a physical (wet-ink) signature to an era where the need to authenticate and verify documents online is inevitable. We have effectively moved from paper-based certification and verification to electronic authentication This effectively, all in a bid to safeguard against the COVID – 19 pandemic, [...]
By now, everyone knows that certain constitutional rights can be limited in order to serve a public interest such as public health. However, concerns around privacy protection keep mounting, especially so with the implementation of lockdown regulations on contact tracing.[1] Contact tracing is being implemented on a global scale with countries leveraging different technologies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. [...]
There is general consensus that, if conducted lawfully and in compliance with privacy and related laws, combating Covid-19 with mobile track and trace technology may be justified. Stakeholders in South Africa, who are normally vociferously outspoken when privacy rights are concerned, have not protested too much about its Contact Tracing Regulations. One aspect that many of us may have overlooked, is [...]
Here's what you need to do to continue operating as an essential service, e.g. a telco or data centre, during the SA lockdown: Obtain a copy of the Disaster Management Act, Amendments to the Regulations, published on 25 March 2020 in Notice No.398 in Government Gazette No. 43148; Consider the definitions under Regulation 11A to determine whether your organisation is [...]
In 2010 the notion of the use of electronic communication by courts was a rumour in South Africa’s judicial system. It’s interesting to note that, because of an unprecedented consequence of the global pandemic, the courts, like the other branches of state power, have taken drastic measures to reduce the local transmission of Covid - 19. The courts are hoping [...]
In January 2020, the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) declared the outbreak of a new Coronavirus disease in Hubei Province, China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and on 11 March 2020, a pandemic. [1] Many businesses have in the past few weeks been faced with the challenge of having to deal with the effects of Covid-19 within [...]
Fake news has caused mass panic in these times of global crisis. It not only makes people believe false things, but also makes them less likely to accept or consume accurate information. On 18 March 2020, government gazette no. 43107 issued regulations in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. These regulations deal specifically with the Covid [...]
In last night’s update on the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that “Using mobile technology, an extensive tracing system will be rapidly deployed to trace those who have been in contact with confirmed coronavirus cases and to monitor the geographical location of new cases in real time.” You may ask: What about my right to privacy? What [...]
On 10 March, the Competition Commission announced that Vodacom has agreed to reduce their data prices by at least 30% from 1 April 2020. This announcement comes as a result of a data services market inquiry performed by the Competition Commission which focused particularly on the high prices of data provided by telecommunications giants MTN and Vodacom. The report highlighted [...]
