Authors: Peter Leon, Patrick Leyden, Ernst Muller and Amanda Hattingh Last week StatsSA (South Africa’s official statistics authority) announced that South Africa’s economy contracted by 0.6 per cent during Q3. It is likely to contract further in Q4 as a further round of electricity blackouts occurs as a result of Eskom load shedding. The economy’s … Read more

Authors: Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Jenalee Harrison and Marie Terrien Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is facing significant opposition in its current form. Whilst some parties are engaged to find new common ground, others have unilaterally implemented measures aimed at ousting investor-state arbitration altogether. Over time, more and more attention has been paid to the International Centre for … Read more

Authors: Peter Leon, Ernst Muller and Natasha Rachwal EVOLUTION OF THE AfCFTA KEY FEATURES OF THE AfCFTA OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND INVESTMENT OBSTACLES TO ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Evolution of the AfCFTA  A significant milestone has been reached in the economic integration of Africa, with the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”). Opened for … Read more

Nick Altini, Biddy Faber and Rohan Isaacs from global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills have each won ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in their respective practice areas in this year’s Best Lawyers in South Africa 2020 awards. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honoured with a ‘Lawyer of the Year’ award. … Read more

Authors: Cameron Dunstan-Smith, Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Jenalee Harrison and Fiorella Noriega. 1. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 Classification of Criminal Offences South Africa’s criminal legal framework consists of a mixture of common law and statutory offences and does not consist of a formal framework of categories of offences – however, offences can be categorised in terms of severity, … Read more

Assess the data you hold and the risks to which you are exposed to determine reasonable and appropriate protection. Moneyweb’s Nompu Siziba interviews Rohan Isaacs – head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications at the Johannesburg office following a media briefing on Cyber Security.  NOMPU SIZIBA: Herbert Smith Freehills, specialists in technology and cyber attacks, have … Read more

Author: Jonathan Ripley-Evans  Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to be the platinum sponsor of next year’s Johannesburg Arbitration Week, which will take place in March 2020 and is hosted by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA). Further details can be found here. Read more

Author: Peter Leon  SA, Nigeria and Egypt have not signed up to crucial aspects of the African Continental Free Trade Area. A significant milestone has been reached in the economic integration of Africa with the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Opened for adoption at the AU summit in Kigali in March … Read more