Please read the abstract in the dissertation. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2015 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Modern law of contract in South-Africa can be seen as a dynamic field of law. It encompasses key principles such as freedom of contract, autonomy, good faith and public policy. These principles are seen as important concepts that underlie the substantive law of contract. The Consumer Protection Act, introduced in 2008 and operational since 31 March 2011, has contributed to this dynamic field of law. Unfortunately the uncertainties regarding the application of widely articulated definitions associated with the act remain a concern. Many legal academics have tried to alleviate the possible difficulties posed by the application of the CPA by means of constructive criticism, in-depth analysis of practical aspects and submissions to the legislator during the past three years. The exceptio doligeneralis has offered similar protection for consumers in circumstances where it seemed as if no remedy would provide a similar equitable outcome. This defence was available when a plaintiff wanted to enforce legal action in circumstances that are unconscionable. The defendant could raise these circumstances as a defence to the action of enforcement. The potential difficulties associated with the CPA are not entirely similar to the uncertainties created by the application of the exceptio doli in the past. The widely articulated definitions present a bigger problem of uncertainty. This may in certain circumstances be to the detriment of the consumer. Consumers are afforded rights in terms of the CPA but it does not necessarily mean that the enforcement of these afforded rights is in place. There are technical difficulties regarding the interpretation of terms such as “agreement”, “unfair tactics” or “pressure” to name but a few. There are still no guidelines provided to assist consumer tribunals to adhere to the purpose of the act in a fair and organised manner. The question that arises is whether these afforded rights seem better than what it actually is; leaving us to believe that the common law regarding consumer protection can be codified. This study is an attempt to demonstrate that the CPA might not have the desired outcome as initially anticipated. The CPA unfortunately, in my opinion, represents an April fool’s day. Sections 40, 48 and 51 of the CPA will perhaps have a similar effect than the exceptio doligeneralis. These sections offer protection to a consumer if there are unfair, unreasonable or unjust circumstances. The widely articulated sections create an inclusive protecting mechanism rather than excluding. Any contract, term or clause thereof will be interpreted in such a way to benefit a consumer. It is submitted that it will not be possible to attach precise meanings to concepts such as good faith, public interest or fairness. There will always be a different understanding in a particular language and within a variation of context. The main goal to be achieved, the rules of the law of contract should reflect attempts to achieve a balance between fundamental principles such as fairness and good faith, and economic policies such as economic efficiency and the facilitation of honest market participation. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

This dissertation considers the impact of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (hereafter ‘CPA’) on contractual claims, and specifically whether the exceptio doli generalis is being reintroduced in the South African legal system. This dissertation illustrates that although the CPA improves the position of the consumer in many ways, the legislature should have drafted some provisions more carefully which could have resulted in clarifying some vital issues. Many terms and principles introduced by the CPA are foreign to the South African legal system. Although practice and precedent will eventually provide solutions to many of the practical difficulties currently experienced, it will take time and money to do so. It is therefore submitted that some areas should be reconsidered for amendment by the legislature in order to allow this significant piece of legislation to operate optimally Ultimately, two sets of conclusions can be drawn in this dissertation. Firstly, the general conclusions relating to whether the defence of the exceptio doli generalis has been reintroduced in the South African legal system by the CPA and, secondly, whether the exceptio doli generalis is in line with our constitutional values and in line with the current rules for the interpretation of contracts. Although the Courts have abolished the defence ofexceptio doli generalis, it seems as if the CPA has reintroduced this defence. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Private Law / unrestricted

Magistro baigiamajame darbe analizuojamas priešpriešinės pareigos vykdymo sulaikymo institutas ir šio teisių gynimo būdo įgyvendinimo sąlygos Lietuvos teisėje. Pirmoji baigiamojo darbo hipotezė – priešpriešinės pareigos vykdymo sulaikymas yra dvilypė sąvoka, talpinanti savyje du institutus – prievolės vykdymo sustabdymą ir sutarties vykdymo sustabdymą. Ji darbe pasitvirtino. Atlikta lyginamoji analizė parodė, jog kai kuriose kontinento šalyse priešpriešinės pareigos vykdymo sulaikymas pozityviojoje teisėje yra įtvirtintas bendros prievolės vykdymo sustabdymo teisės ir exceptio arba sutarties vykdymo sustabdymo teisės forma. Tose šalyse, kuriose prievolės vykdymo sustabdymo teisė neįtvirtina, exceptio yra suprantamas šiek tiek plačiau – į jo taikymo sferą patenka ir tie atvejai, kurie kitose šalyse būtų priskirti prievolės vykdymo sustabdymui. Tačiau nepaisant to, prievolės vykdymo sustabdymas ir exceptio yra skirtingos teisinės prigimties ir turėtų būti skiriami net ir tuo atveju, jeigu to nedaro pozityvioji teisė. Viena pagrindinių to pasekmių yra tai, kad sutarties vykdymo sustabdymo, priešingai nei prievolės vykdymo sustabdymo, neįmanoma įveikti pateikiant adekvatų prievolių įvykdymo užtikrinimą. Antroji baigiamojo darbo hipotezė – pagrindinis priešpriešinės pareigos vykdymo sulaikymo instituto sutartiniuose santykiuose tikslas yra išsaugoti sutartinius santykius, paskatinti skolininką pašalinti pažeidimus bei įvykdyti savo įsipareigojimus (favor contractus principas). Ši... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This master thesis analyses the institute of withholding performance of a counter obligation and the necessary conditions of its lawful realisation by the creditor. The first hypothesis of the thesis is the following: withholding performance of a counter obligation has a structure consisting of two elements – general right of retention and suspension of performance of a contract, also known as exceptio. This hypothesis was confirmed by the thesis. The comparative analysis which was carried out in the thesis showed that in some continental countries withholding performance is implemented in two tier structure – in the form of the general right of retention and exceptio. In those countries where positive law does not establish general right of retention exceptio is provided with elements which in other countries is though in the terms of a general right of retention (exceptio is thought to be a broader right). Nonetheless, general right of retention and exceptio are different in their legal nature. Therefore, those rights should be distinguished even if the positive law of the respective jurisdiction does not do that. The main outcome of this is that exceptio cannot be overridden by providing the adequate assurance of performing the contract (security). The second hypothesis of the thesis – the main objective of withholding performance in contractual relations is to provide incentives for the parties of a contract to “keep the contract alive”, for the debtor to eliminate the... [to full text]

The exceptio doli generalis, which is the Roman law defence of “bad” faith, in the general form, has , until the decision of Bank of Lisbon and South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd, been one of the mechanisms that has been utilised by South African courts to apply abstract values of fairness and equity into the South African substantive law. The exceptio dolis generalis was available to a party in circumstances where the act of bringing the action by the other party constituted an act of “bad” faith. The court in the Bank of Lisbon and South Africa case decided that the exceptio doli generalis had never been received into Roman Dutch law and didn’t accept it as a defence that could be utilised and applied in South African law. After the decision in the Bank of Lisbon case there have been many differing views on whether the exceptio doli generalis can and should still be applied in South African law and concern in legal circles regarding the “gap” that the decision left in our law and the need to develop other means of ensuring greater fairness in the operation of the law of contract through possibly legislative intervention which at a stage was being investigated by the Law Commission. With the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act, Act 68 of 2008, the question which now comes to the fore is whether the Consumer Protection Act is a reintroduction of the exceptio doli generalis or whether the Act is merely a codification of the common law principles and abstract values of public policy/interest and good faith, which could mean one and the same thing. In order for this question to be answered an in depth investigation and study of theexceptio doli generalis, its applicability and development in South African law is required. Such a study is of importance in order for the aim and purpose of the defence to be properly understood. It is also necessary in order to understand how such a defence ties in and is closely linked with the abstract values and concepts of good faith and public policy/interest, which we have seen courts recognise in decisions subsequent to the Bank of Lisbon and South Africa case. Once this question is answered, attention will be turned to the Consumer Protection Act, its provisions and the effect thereof, and whether such provisions amount to the reintroduction of the exceptio dolis generalis but in an indirect way by the codification of the concepts of public policy/interest and good faith, which in turn could be the exceptio dolis generalis just called by a different name. The answer to this research question is very relevant and of extreme significance. It could mean that the South African legislature eventually got to doing what the legal profession has been asking of it for years and that is to put clarity on the defence of the exceptio doli generalis. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Private Law / unrestricted

Apparently the existence of deepgoing antinomies in our system of contracts is an experience too painful to rise to the full level of our consciousnes. In the current transformative milieu, the South African law of contract continues its attempts to convey an image of contract as a coherent system of clear and neutral rules. These attempts stem from the belief that the rule-book, in and of itself, can offer us determinate answers in all contractual disputes. This study was borne out of a concern that in its commitments to sustain this image, the South African law of contract is not sufficiently concerned with transformation and the ideal of justice. In the seventies, Kennedy exposed the ambivalence of the contract system and argued that private law vividly reflected the fundamental contradiction; the irresolvable tension in and among us between acting purely out of self-interest or allowing our actions to be informed, influenced and curtailed by others. Kennedy asserted that the fundamental contradiction could be construed as a continuum with two opposing ‘ideal typical’ positions on both the level of form and substance. On the substance level he referred to this warring engagement as individualism and altruism. On the form level, the ideal typical commitments prefer law either in the form of rules or as open-ended standards. Kennedy’s most provocative claim was that individualism preferred law in the form of rules whereas altruism favoured the open-ended standard form. This claim reflected the understanding that form and substance are interdependent because it is impossible not to ask: ‘Form of what?’ Dalton later added more explicitly that form and substance would politically always generate a hierarchy within a legal system. Following Kennedy, this study engages with the South African law of contract in a similar way. It argues that the South African law of contract not only reflects the fundamental contradiction profoundly, but also privileges and works to sustain the individualism/rule position. This position is not sufficiently concerned with the ethical element of contract (good faith) and with the ideal of contractual justice. I consider whether and how the transition from a totalitarian state to a constitutional democracy affected this hierarchy. I arrive at disappointing but nevertheless hopeful conclusions in the sense that the bias inculcated in the law of contract cannot take anything away from the fact that it operates in the penumbra of a Constitution which is committed to openness, equality, dignity and freedom in all human relationships, including those of a contractual nature. In resisting the traditional representations of contract and in support of the above, I propose a re-emphasis on good faith as the ethical element of contract. Good faith cannot be contained in a neat and tidy legal definition. It realises that we are, in the community of contracting persons, each responsible for the other’s well-being and that we should ultimately remain concerned with the constitutive values of the supreme law under which the subordinated but indispensable law of contract must continue to operate. The difficulty and complexity of this exercise provides no alibi. Copyright 2005, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Barnard, AJ 2005, A critical legal argument for contractual justice in the South African law of contract, LLD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06192006-083839/ > / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Jurisprudence / LLD / Unrestricted

La norme technique exige parfois de lui associer des innovations faisant l’objet de droits privatifs, au bénéfice de la réalisation de sa mission. De prime abord, la propriété intellectuelle apparaît comme étant un élément perturbateur, impliquant désormais d’examiner l’ « économie » de la norme au moment de son élaboration et de son utilisation et non plus uniquement la technique. Pour éviter la corruption de la norme par des droits privatifs trop contraignants, les organismes de normalisation exigent que seuls les droits privatifs « essentiels » soient associés à la norme. Les critères de l’adhérence réciproque de la norme et de l’innovation structurant leur association, justifient au nom de son « utilité sociale », une adaptation réciproque des régimes juridiques attachés à ses deux composantes. Ainsi l’ « utilité sociale » incarnée par la norme technique impose une adaptation du régime des droits de propriété intellectuelle. Symétriquement, l’innovation « essentielle » à la norme suppose une adaptation du régime de la norme technique à la propriété intellectuelle. Cela donne naissance à deux régimes juridiques substantiellement interpénétrés et structurellement interdépendants. D’une part, les droits privatifs étant « essentiels » à la norme, peuvent être considérés comme des « infrastructures essentielles », justifiant une érosion systémique de leur portée dans le cadre de leur association à la norme. Dans le cadre de l’application de règles de concurrence, cette érosion résulte d’une approche ex post à laquelle se conjugue une approche ex ante, conceptualisée par les conditions FRAND. D’autre part, l’association s’évalue également à l’aune de la propriété privée. Il apparaît que la norme technique devrait être considérée comme étant une chose commune imposant d’aménager, au bénéfice de ses utilisateurs, un accès et une utilisation libre. Cela suppose d’envisager alors l’émergence d’un droit d’utilisation de l’innovation associée à la norme technique. / Technical standards may sometimes be associated to innovations covered by proprietary rights. In this case, intellectual property appears to embody a quite disturbing component within the partnership between standardization and innovation. We are thus led to analyse the association economy ; it must be construed as of the creation and the use of the standard rather than to insist on its sole technical aspects. In order to avoid the corruption of the standard by over-restrictive IP rights, standard-setting-organizations require that only "essential" proprietary rights can be associated to a technical standard. Economical and technical criterias of the mutual adherence of the technical standard and the owned innovation – structuring their association – justify in the name of its "social utility", a mutual adaptation of their legal regimes. Therefore, the technical standard’s "social utility" requires an adaptation of the IP rights legal regime. Symmetrically, the essential innovation, included in the standard, requires its fitting to the technical standards legal regime. This results in the rise of two regimes naturally interpenetrated, and structurally interdependent. On the one hand, IP rights "essential" to the standard, can be considered as "essential facilities", justifying a systematic erosion of their spectrum. As part of competition rules implementation, this erosion results from an ex post approach as well as an ex ante approach conceptualized by FRAND terms. On the other hand, the association is also evaluated through the private property perspective. It appears that the technical standard should be considered as a "common", assuming a free access and a free use. It contributes to create a right of use of the owned innovations integrated in technical standard.