Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 258-302). / The focal research question of this thesis is the relevance of the contract of employment in modern employment. In answering this question three broad areas associated with the contract are explored: (1) the evolution of the contract of employment in South Africa and the dichotomy between the contract of employment and the independent contract; (2) the forms of engagement of workers in the South African labour market; and (3) alternative regulatory models with specific reference to models that are consistent with the South African Constitution. Using a comparative approach it is shown that the contract of employment in South Africa is in a relative state of unification. However, some assumptions about its historical evolution and the influence of Roman and Roman-Dutch law are overstated, and more recent developments, such as tax legislation, arguably had a greater influence on the dichotomising of labour law. The study of the South African world of work illustrates that modern work is performed in diverse ways. After illustrating that labour law has both countervailing and social developmental roles, it is concluded that the contract of employment as traditionally understood is no longer capable of performing these roles. It is further claimed that a process of diversification (as opposed to the unification of the contract of employment) will help to redefine the contract of employment and this may extend the coverage of labour legislation to those who, bearing in mind the purpose of labour law, ought to be protected by labour laws. Finally, it is argued that the South African Constitution provides a ready paradigm within which to achieve such a process of diversification which would ultimately lead to an extension of the coverage of labour laws.

According to Olasupo Owoeye, as the world is becoming increasingly globalized, it is difficult for some regions, for example, the African continent, to become competitive in the global market because of their overly protectionist measures1 . Former WTO Director, Pascal Lamy, also noted that Africa should no longer rely on external demand for its goods and services to support its growth but must take steps to accelerate regional integration, as it remains the least developed continent with the highest number of least developed countries in the world2 . This explains the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area by the African Union members; whose main objective is to boost intra African trade and create a single continental market for goods and services. The African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to enhance competitiveness at both the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better allocation of resources. 3 The AfCFTA is also expected to facilitate a better integration of the African economy into the global market, thus contributing to sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, enhanced foreign direct investment and employment creation in Africa. It is also considered to be a steppingstone towards two of the deeper integration stages envisaged in the Abuja Treaty of 1991, namely the creation of a continental customs union by 2019 and an African Economic Community (AEC) by 20284 . The AfCFTA can however pose some challenges to the signatory countries as through trade liberalization, domestic markets will become open to foreign competition and susceptible to anti-competitive practices originating outside their national borders. These include crossborder competition concerns, international cartels, mergers and acquisitions that risk monopolizing or creating abuse of dominance in the internal market5 . Some firms may gain market power and abuse their dominance through taking advantage of the economies of scale. Hence the need for the member countries, not only to dismantle trade barriers but also to adopt complementary competition policy to ensure a smooth transition and to benefit from gaining access to new markets. As was stated by Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, competition laws are important to the preservation of economic freedom and the free trade system as is with the Bill of Rights to the protection of fundamental freedoms6 . The competition and trade policies are both based on the conviction that free trade is a means of maximizing the economic welfare of trading nations through the efficient allocation of resources. The two policies therefore complement each other as without competition, the African Continental Free Trade Area lacks legitimacy because private restraints to trade will undermine its achievement. Hence the negotiations on competition which are supposed to take place beginning of 2019 by the African Union countries who have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area. The research will therefore discuss the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, discuss the relationship between trade and competition and will also scrutinize the likely positive and negative impacts of the African Continental Free Trade Area vis a vis competition. Reference will also be made to other regional agreements on competition linked with regional efforts to set up free trade zones, particularly, the European Union where regional integration has been used to enhance economic growth and the useful lessons that can be learnt from those.

This thesis analyses how Kenya should apply intellectual property (IP) law in the country’s oil and gas sector to foster innovation and support economic growth within the context of the country’s development plan, Kenya Vision 2030. Specifically, the thesis considers the possible influence of IP law on innovation, investment and economic growth in the oil and gas sector in Kenya. Using doctrinal methodology, the thesis examines legislation and case law from Kenya, South Africa and the United Kingdom relating to competition and protection of patents, copyright, trade marks, trade secrets and industrial designs. This examination is based on a public interest approach to IP law and competition law and seeks to determine the possible effect of Kenya’s IP laws on investment and innovation in the sector. The study finds that IP law and competition law reflect an attempt to accommodate public interest and the interests of investors. It argues that regulation of Kenya’s oil and gas sector using IP law is likely to enhance innovation and support economic growth if relevant IP laws provide for protection of IP whilst safeguarding public interest. The thesis also finds that protection of traditional knowledge (TK) is likely to be relevant to the upstream oil and gas sector in Kenya for environmental resource management. It argues that optimal management of TK is likely to entail collaborative work between indigenous communities, public institutions and private enterprises, as provided for in Kenya’s Environmental Management and Coordination Act (Number 8 of 1999). The thesis makes proposals for a regulatory environment that is likely to provide a firmer basis for investment in the country’s oil and gas industry, promote competition in markets for IP in Kenya, provide a sustainable IP law framework for the sector for economic growth in Kenya, preserve TK of local communities and enhance equitable sharing of benefits related to TK in the context of the country’s oil and gas industry. The thesis contributes to literature on Kenya’s oil and gas industry by filling the apparent gap in analysing the possible effect of the country’s IP law on investment in the industry and public interest.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 289-330). / The debate surrounding the nautical fault exemption has recently been revived in the context of the negotiation and drafting of the UNCITRAL Draft Convention on the Carriage of Goods [Wholly or Partly] [By Sea]. Indeed, the concept of nautical fault has been debated in academic, legislative, and industry circles for decades, with the issue resurfacing each time an attempt is made to modernize the law of carriage of goods by sea, either domestically or internationally. The frequency of debate by no means implies a comprehensive understanding of nautical fault. Rather, the importance of nautical fault and the role it plays in modern carriage law is often misunderstood and underplayed. The majority of commentators and cargo interests view the nautical fault exemption solely as an anachronistic holdover from an earlier era in shipping. This thesis challenges the modern assumptions surrounding nautical fault by demonstrating both its importance and it relevance to the modern law of carriage of goods by sea. This thesis therefore attempts to reconcile all the factors impacting and impacted by nautical fault, and provide a clear, complete and comprehensive study of the exemption.

This thesis seeks to identify how the appraisal rights remedy, which was introduced into South African company law for the first time by section 164 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 ('the South African Act'), should be interpreted and applied in order to facilitate its effective and proper exercise. When the draft version of the South African Act was initially published for public comment, critics raised concerns that the inclusion of the appraisal remedy was undesirable and unnecessary. These concerns were largely motivated by the fact that at the time appraisal rights were a novel concept and thus a completely unknown quantity in South African law. As a result there was much uncertainty in the legal and commercial sector as to how these rights would be interpreted, how they would function and how frequently they would be used. However, since the commencement date of the South African Act (being 1 May 2011) to date no appraisal rights matter has come before our courts and it could therefore be argued that the initial concerns of the critics regarding the impact that the inclusion of appraisal rights would have on South African company law were unfounded. This 'lack of use' phenomenon is in line with the general trend experienced in foreign jurisdictions where the appraisal remedy has been on the statute books for decades, such as the United States of America ('USA' or 'US'), Canada and New Zealand. Due to the fact that appraisal rights are notoriously underutilised they have often been dismissed as an ineffective remedy for minority shareholders. Clearly it could not have been the intention of the drafters of the South African Act to include an ineffective or useless remedy. My research indicates that the lack of use of the appraisal remedy in comparable jurisdictions is due to a number of factors but can be broadly attributed to the complexity, uncertainty and expense associated with the exercise of appraisal rights. The thesis therefore seeks to identify the various causes of the lack of effectiveness apparent in the USA, Canada and New Zealand, to examine the relevance of these in the South African context and to consider possible ways of addressing these challenges. The ultimate objective of the thesis is to devise measures which may be taken so that the appraisal remedy can function more effectively, or at least as effectively as possible, in South Africa.

This dissertation examines the obligations created by Article 3 and Article 6 of the SPS Agreement. It uses Reports accepted by down by the Dispute Settlement Body to find and unpack the interpretation of both Article 3 and 6. These interpretations will be unpacked and examined in detail It further identifies issues and challenges facing these Articles and the obligations which they create. This discussion is held primarily within the context of Developing Country Members. In relation to this discussion policy suggestions will be given forward as possible solutions to certain of the issues and challenges identified. In the course of this discussion the current dispute, which is still in the consultations phase, between Indonesia and Brazil regarding the Importation of Bovine Meat is examined. This paper attempts to provide a probable outcome should this dispute appear before a panel. This outcome relates exclusively to the Article 3 and Article 6 sections of this dispute.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis seeks to identify the test for judicial review of arbitration awards issued by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ('CCMA'). Currently, that test is set out in section 145 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 ('LRA'), read with the Constitutional Court's decision in Sidumo & another v Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd & others [2007] 12 BLLR 1097 (CC). In terms of Sidumo, section 145 of the LRA has been suffused by the standard of reasonableness, consistently with the right to just administrative action found in section 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ('the Constitution'). In search of a clear formulation of the test, an extensive examination of South African case law on the subject is undertaken. Thereafter, relevant principles of judicial review in South Africa in the administrative sphere generally are considered. Finally, an assessment of Canadian case law and commentary in this field is conducted. The conclusion to this thesis proposes a revised test for review of CCMA awards. The principal research findings begin by recognising the significance of efficiency, accessibility, flexibility and informality to ensuring fair and efficacious labour dispute resolution. The implication of this is that the test for review of CCMA awards should not be too exacting. Still, section 33 of the Constitution cannot be ignored and a broader ambit of review may therefore be necessary in certain instances. In fact, to maintain legal certainty, intrusive review may sometimes be crucial. These factors must be balanced when formulating a reliable and practical approach to review of CCMA awards. A key finding of this thesis is that – ostensibly due to the complexity of doing so – the Labour Courts have struggled to apply the current test for review consistently, fairly or predictably.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-238). / The study of the nonprofit sector as the conglomeration of private initiatives in addressing public needs is increasing to match the growth of formal and informal associations of people in countries across the world. While writers generally agree that these private sector initiatives are not a new thing, there is a recognition that there has been a resurgence of a deliberate, conscious need to build and maintain these associations of civil society.

The metaphors used when speaking of equity are rather colourful. One reads, amused, of the ‘burning issue', the ‘shibboleth' and the ‘sacred cow'. But these metaphors, used as they are in a discipline which tends away from the dramatic in its everyday formulations, only lend more emphasis to the gravity of the quandary. A widening gap between views on the proper method for the judicial control of contract, be it a balanced public policy or unfettered equity, caused true discordance between the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, our two highest courts. In Beadica 231 CC and Others v Trustees, Oregon Trust and Others 2020 (5) SA 247 (CC) the Constitutional Court largely settled matters when it came down on the side of public policy. This no doubt caused surprise in some quarters, given its dicta in earlier cases. Nevertheless it settled the question of which legal device was to be used. Public policy is to have sole mandate and the ‘burning issue' was, apparently, doused. As to the nature of this legal device, it is a truism that the content of public policy changes with the times, but in the constitutional republic that South Africa is today the Constitution is an unassailable source of its content and values. This makes our interpretation of what it demands in the contractual context of huge import. The tension meant that instead of the cut and thrust of hard precedent, cases were largely evaluated for their tendency to reflect the increasing public facet to this most cloistered sanctum of private law. Brought back to the challenge in Beadica, this study traces in Chapters II and II something that went largely unnoticed in the shadow of the contract tectonics then on the move: the historical antecedents and theoretical underpinnings of the public interest aspect of public policy had culminated in a tension with separate legal personality. In Beadica the parties were juristic persons yet claimed the benefit of historical, substantive equality in their contractual affairs. This claim was weighed but found wanting in the Constitutional Court - but it is this ember, the implications of the corporate veil being lifted in the evaluation of equality, that represents, if not something new, then the confirmation of what some have long argued for - or suspected. Chapter IV accordingly argues that Beadica is a confirmation of the imperative of substantive equality in the contractual context, albeit that the bar has been set very high in light of the dangers. Chapter V briefly explores the adjacent legal routes by which similar outcomes could be reached before reflecting on the general historical treatment that is the bedrock of this piece.

The principal focus of the study is to investigate the role of the courts in mitigating operational requirements dismissals and consider possible interventions that can be applied to reduce their adverse effects. The role played by courts appear to be limited in the absence of legislation that requires employers to consider reskilling, redeployment and collective bargaining in mitigating operational requirements dismissals. It is well established that the significant increase in operational requirements dismissals can be attributed to the rise of the adoption of technology in the workplace. A major drawback in the existing literature is that most studies have neglected the examination of the role of the courts in mitigating dismissals, particularly in the banking industry. The study examined the regulatory framework for operational requirements dismissals by looking at the procedural and substantive fairness requirements and how the courts have handled these cases in the context of the banking industry. Deficiencies were reflected in the framework, it was observed that the provisions of s 189 are inadequate in protecting employees in faultless dismissals. What has been fleshed out from the study is that possible interventions such as collective bargaining, redeployment, and skills and training development can play an instrumental role in mitigating dismissals. The success of these interventions requires all role players such as employers, employees, and trade unions. However, without the amendment to the regulatory framework, the role of the courts remain limited. The study calls into question the effectiveness of s 189 provisions and sheds new light on how these can be amended as well as the role relevant stakeholders ought to play in the employment relationship.