2020-05-18-joint-practice-note-special-plea-4-369bf8ca20acfae0.pdf

This joint practice note outlines the procedural arrangements and legal issues for a combined hearing in the High Court of South Africa (Western Cape Division) regarding three defamation lawsuits. The parties request a virtual hearing for proceedings scheduled for 9 and 10 June 2020, involving disputes over the abuse of process in legal proceedings and the requirements for trading corporations suing for defamation.

• The document concerns three separate legal actions (Case nos. 7595/2017, 14658/2016, and 12543/2016) where plaintiffs are suing defendants for defamation. Because the special pleas and subsequent exceptions are "substantively identical in each of the actions", they have been set for a joint hearing by order of Judge President Hlophe on 31 January 2020.
• The parties request a virtual hearing for the proceedings scheduled for 9 and 10 June 2020, noting that several attorneys and counsel are based in Gauteng and cannot travel to Cape Town. They seek early allocation of the matter because the combined record is over 200 pages.
• A primary legal issue in dispute is whether defamation proceedings constitute an "abuse of process" and should be struck out if they are brought for an "ulterior purpose", based on common law as seen in Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs v Maphanga [2020] 1 All SA 52 (SCA). If so, the parties will argue whether this common law is inconsistent with sections 16(1) and 34 of the Constitution.
• The court must determine if a trading corporation suing for defamation must prove "falsity, wilfulness and patrimonial loss", or if it is "precluded from claiming general damages", referencing Media 24 Ltd v SA Taxi Securitisation (Pty) Ltd 2011 (5) SA 329 (SCA). The parties will further argue if a negative answer to this is inconsistent with section 16(1) of the Constitution.
• The Centre for Applied Legal Studies and the University of Cape Town have been admitted as amici curiae in the proceedings.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). 2020-05-18-joint-practice-note-special-plea-4-369bf8ca20acfae0.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-05-18-Joint-Practice-Note-special-plea-4.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. 2020-05-18-joint-practice-note-special-plea-4-369bf8ca20acfae0.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-05-18-Joint-Practice-Note-special-plea-4.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=2020-05-18-joint-practice-note-special-plea-4-369bf8ca20acfae0.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-05-18-Joint-Practice-Note-special-plea-4.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsnd20200518jointpracticenotespecialplea4369bf8ca20acfae0pdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{2020-05-18-joint-practice-note-special-plea-4-369bf8ca20acfae0.pdf}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-05-18-Joint-Practice-Note-special-plea-4.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }