As I read through this month’s contents, I am reminded that the law is a living conversation. It speaks to boardrooms and bargaining councils. It enters homes, schoolyards, and police stations. It shows up in a WhatsApp group arranging a complex purchase via Buy Now, Pay Later, and in the quiet work of a candidate legal practitioner preparing admission papers. My task as editor is not to interpret the law. It is to spotlight the voices of those who do, and to frame the questions they ask of our society and the legal profession.
Several features in this issue turn our attention to fairness as a daily practice. The practice notes on employees’ rights in disciplinary processes and on sick leave ask a simple but demanding question: What does procedural and substantive fairness look like on an ordinary Tuesday in an HR office? In the features section, our discussion of the Putco judgment returns to the majoritarian principle and tests how far it stretches when an employer contemplates a lockout. For legal practitioners, these are not abstractions. They affect drafting, consultation, and the advice that can either defuse conflict or send parties to court.
Commercial law certainty threads through multiple articles in this issue. Our feature on repudiation and survival clauses in contract law examines what remains binding after a relationship has broken down and the ink has dried on a termination letter. The shareholder article asks when directors can be held responsible for a fall in share value, which is both a legal and governance question. For every general counsel, litigator, and company secretary, these articles form a toolkit for assessing risk and advising boards with clarity.
Our property and community scheme practitioners will find timely analysis on the prescription of levies for homeowners’ associations and bodies corporate. Anyone who has navigated the difficult work of funding shared spaces knows that the enforceability of levies underpins good governance. The guidance offered here is practical. It acknowledges the legal principles while respecting the social fabric within which schemes operate.
Family law, equality, and dignity are present across several pages in striking ways. We carry a case note on the meaning of family as a child’s right. Another case note interrogates the assumption that a husband’s surname is the default family name and reads it against the right to equality. We include an article on judicial discretion to override antenuptial contracts in specific circumstances. These contributions are not merely technical updates. They remind us that the Constitution is lived in daily choices about names, relationships, and the protection of children’s interests. They also show the profession’s steady role in advancing equality through careful argument and principled judgment analysis.
Criminal justice and evidence receive a strong contribution in our feature on admitting absent witness statements. Hearsay is not a simple topic. It sits at the intersection of fairness to the accused, the search for truth, and the reality of loss or disappearance of witnesses. The article walks readers through recent and foundational cases and offers a map for prosecutors and defence practitioners alike. In a similar spirit of accountability, a case note asks whether a police official who fails to investigate may be dismissed. The question speaks to the heart of public trust. It is the type of piece that reminds us that the rule of law requires more than statutes and courtrooms. It requires diligent public service.
Consumer protection and financial regulation appear in a compelling call to regulate Buy Now, Pay Later services. Many readers will know these platforms not as legal practitioners but as consumers or parents of consumers. The analysis points to a regulatory gap and invites debate on how to protect users without stifling innovation. It is a reminder that the legal profession must keep pace with technology that changes how people live and spend.
We also continue our commitment to access to justice. An opinion piece by Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel, reflects on the Small Claims Court as a bridge across the justice divide. Another considers whether permanent life partners who have undertaken reciprocal duties of support will ever fully see the benefit of that recognition in our law. These articles, while different in tone, share a theme. Access is not only about entry to a court building. It is about outcomes that honour human relationships and everyday rights.
For those earlier in their careers, our checklist for admission applications offers practical help. It is the type of resource that can prevent delays at a crucial moment. Our employment law updates, new legislation highlights, recent articles and research, and the law reports round-up continue to anchor the journal as a research and practice tool that is rigorous and current. Our People and practices pages keep us connected as a community and celebrate the work being done across the country.
Beyond these pages, we take seriously our responsibility as a professional platform. The news items on our website track sector developments, from debates on road accident benefits reform to regional collaboration among legal bodies, and government’s position on the Legal Sector Code. We strive to present these stories in a way that is accurate and fair, and that encourages informed engagement by practitioners and stakeholders.
As always, De Rebus is a journal by legal practitioners, for legal practitioners. That commitment places a high duty on contributors and on us as the editorial team. We rely on you for articles that are correct in law, grounded in authority, and generous in their practical insight. We, in turn, will continue to edit for clarity, context, and accessibility, so that every article serves the busy practitioner and the profession’s broader public purpose.
Mapula Oliphant NDip Journ (DUT) BTech (Journ) (TUT) is the Editor at De Rebus and the Communications Manager at the Law Society of South Africa.
This article was first published in De Rebus in 2025 (October) DR 3.
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