The debated constitutional amendment will create an arbitrary hierarchy of standards, in which South Africans sit at the very bottom Parliament is debating two bills, one amending the property clause (section 25) of the constitution and another replacing the 1975 Expropriation Act to allow the state to take “land and any improvements thereon” without any … Read more

HSF is proud to support the work of Africa Construction Law (ACL) and will be participating in the West Africa sub-regional session of the upcoming inaugural virtual conference. The virtual conference will bring together experienced construction law professionals from across the continent (West, East, North, South, Francophone and Lusophone) to discuss the infrastructural challenges faced … Read more

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to announce that Peter Leon, Partner and Africa Co-Chair, has been ranked as “one of the top mining lawyers in the world” by Who’s Who Legal (WWL), listing him as a 2021 Global Elite Thought Leader for Mining. Over nearly two decades WWL has used the … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to announce that the firm’s Africa practice has once again performed strongly in the 2021 edition of Chambers Global & Partners, with continued top tier rankings in the following Africa-wide categories: Band 1 for Africa-wide: Projects & Energy for the 13th consecutive year Band 1 for Africa-wide: Projects & Energy: … Read more

Unlike development driven by legislative reform, the evolution of the common law through the process of judicial precedent takes time. Here, development only occurs when the courts are seized with a case worthy of an evolutionary push and this means that, even when deficiencies in the law are self-evident, one has to wait for the … Read more

We are pleased to announce the launch of our mentoring programme for African under-graduates in partnership with the Ashinaga Africa Initiative, which provides support to exceptional orphaned African students. Under the programme, we will be providing mentoring support from each of our London and Paris offices to four bright students who are studying law in … Read more

Overview In South Africa, a contract forms the basis of enforceable legal obligations and corresponding rights between two or more contracting parties. The South African law of contract is not codified, but finds its source in the common law, which changes and adapts over time. Contractual claims are easier to enforce where a written contract … Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the South African economy. According to the World Bank’s most recent Global Economic Prospects Report (published last month; here) South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) likely contracted by 7.8 per cent in 2020. This is three times more than the average contraction experienced in other Emerging … Read more