Let this be our aim for 2014

I suggest to you that our new year's resolutions should be extremely simple - that is why I chose this one for 2014: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." 

It calls for a Christian work ethic which is desperately lacking in our fractured rainbow nation. We've got work to do. Let us do it with gusto, honestly and diligently! Christ Jesus is our aim. 

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PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS FOR CRIMINAL OFFENCES?

Do you have a Police record for criminal offences that are older than 10 years? You can have it now expunged and go on with a clean slate as it were.

You may try your hand at it by doing it yourself or you may contact me - see my contact details on my blog.

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SAPS: Who are the real criminals?

 

This is NOT a Police General.

Neither is it General Phiyega!

Neither is it General Finished and Klaar!

 

BEELD Monday 28 October 2013 page 8.

 

The author of the above article in BEELD of Monday 28 October 2013 asks the same question? I suggest that Krejcir & even Agliotti might have some valuable clues to these questions.

 



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Cabinet Minister was lying to Parliament! Shame on you!

The report in today's BEELD [17 October 2013] on page 6 tells this story of the honourable Dina Pule who was fined by Parliament for telling lies. She had to pay one month's salary and she was kicked out of Parliament for one month. .

She was supposed to disclose assets - but she failed to do so. Now Prof Ben Turok is reported to have said that the real question about this lady is whether she will be honest this time.

This is very bad and it stinks!! Let me say that we do not need "better systems." Our systems are in essence well thought out and tough. It is people that drive it that is the problem - like this honourable member of Parliament.

We need honesty, integrity, a work ethic, trustworthiness, morality - and so I can go on and list these qualities that are so sadly lacking in our community.

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Constitutional Court Judges About Turn - Trustworthy?

Look what is happening in our highest court in the land: The Constitutional Court. These two judges [Chris Jafta & Bess Nkabinde] who started it all, and who were initially very adamant about their allegations, are now turning their coats - so it seems to me from the side-bar. I suspect that the next thing we will see are photographs of them similar to the one I will post below. And you will remember that it is a real photo of one the advocates who were scrapped from the roll as advocates not so long ago.

I challenge them to stand their ground, come out and give evidence under oath at the Commission of Inquiry!

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Police Officers who are convicted murderers!!!

In today's BEELD 19 August 2013 page 4 there is this report that there are 54 police officers who were convicted of murder - and they are still on the job as police officers in the SAPS. How on earth is that possible? These murderers are being protected by officers that are still higher up - how else?

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It takes a thief to catch a thief - applicable on the South African Police Service

 

Not even safe in the hands of the SAPS!

In today's BEELD [15 August 2013] and at page 4 there is an article about the convicted criminals who are Police officers - one of which a major-general. There are apparently more than 300 of them working today looking after our safety!

One can become flippant about this situation - the Police Services will just shrug and continue regardless!

This situation was disclosed by Lt-Genl Nkrumah Mazibuko to members of Parliament. He also disclosed that there are policemen who use other people's fingerprints on application forms.

I challenge the SAPS to give cogent reasons why we, the people should trust them? Why? Unfortunately we have to use them at times - not because we trust them, but we are forced to do so.

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HIGH COURT RULING AGAINST DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES THAT THE MAJORITY SHALL GOVERN!!!!!

BEELD 31JULY 2013

It is reported that the chief wip of the ANC in Tlokwe said that Tuchten J's ruling in favour of the DA in the on-going saga in Potchefstroom Municipality is against the democratic principle that the majority shall govern. This person does not have the slightest idea what law is about - and to top it all, he gets paid and he is in a very powerful position. The members of the ANC joined forces with the DA to oust the mayor Maphetle Maphetle for the second time running. On the assumption that this person has a point, then it means that the ruling party can do as it likes, without fear of interference of the courts at all. Shame on you Maphetle!!!

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Judge Maqubela died while having sex with call girl & THE BANGLADORE PRINCIPLES OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT

 

Not how a judge should operate

The Times Live newspaper of 28 August 2012 filed this report about the Judge who was found dead in his home. His wife is on trial for this killing. The allegations that are made during this trial is a case in point about the applicability of the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct for inter alia judges.

I think it is absolutely deplorable and horrendous that there these type of allegations are flying around and that against a judge. A person in that capacity should be above reproach and far, far, far above these allegations.

I remind you about our local judge who initially only had tea to drink and he crashed the Governmental Jaguar backwards nogal into a garden wall late at night: Judge Nkola Motata. It is very easy to locate this "judicial" story on the internet: google "drunk judge" and you will find it in a flash.

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THE BANGALORE PRINCIPLES OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT 2002

 

Constitutional Court Emblem



This is to my mind the high water mark for judicial conduct not only for judges, but for all magistrates, chairmen of tribunals [domestic or international] and practising lawyers, be they practising advocates or attorneys specifically in the R.S.A.

You can download the PDF format of the entire document – google “the Bangalore principles of judicial conduct 2002” and you will find it. It is interesting to note that our own late Chief Justice Pius Langa who passed away on 24 July 2013 at Johannesburg was present at the first meeting held in Vienna April 2000 [he was then Deputy Vice-President of the Constitutional Court] and he was present in his capacity as Chief Justice at the second meeting held in Bangalore February 2001 where these principles were discussed and accepted as a Draft code of Judicial Conduct. His vision was not reserved for South Africa alone. He also had a vision of judges’ conduct globally. It was, however accepted during November 2002 at the Hague and has now the status of a duly authenticated international code of judicial conduct.

When you read these principles it becomes exceptionally clear that judges are human and therefore subject to normal human frailties such as bias, intolerance and partiality. This goes to the core of the administration of justice. It underscores my view that the administration of justice is not mechanical neither is it chemical. It is applied with various degrees of success by people like you and me who happened to be practising law. Medical practitioners practise medicine subject to their own human quirks and personalities – and so do lawyers or any professional man/woman.

I intend to publish short discussions of these principles on my blog. I invite you to participate.

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Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng again took flak for his recent address to Advocates for Transformation. It came in the form of a letter to Business Day by constitutional law expert, Professor George Devenish, who wrote that both the content and tone of the Chief Justice’s address – made in his official capacity – have serious implications for judicial independence,. Devenish pointed out that in his address, the Chief Justice, without mentioning names, used emotional and powerful language in relation to those who are challenging the modus operandi of the JSC in relation to the way it recommends candidates for appointment to the Bench. ‘He is obviously referring to, inter alia, the Helen Suzman Foundation, which has initiated litigation in this regard.’ He adds: ‘In his address, the Chief Justice declared: ‘We must use all available avenues to expose this retrogressive campaign and the danger it poses to nation-building.’ In making this statement, Devenish argued, the Chief Justice had ‘with unrestrained and categorical language declared his allegiance with and support for the JSC, against its detractors’. He concluded that, by his alignment and support for the JSC against its detractors, Mogoeng has ‘done immeasurable harm to the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, which is a cornerstone of democracy in SA and of which he should be a manifest custodian and should not in any way undermine’.

I acknowledge my source: LegalBrief Issue No. 0076 dated Friday 19 July 2013. With thanks.

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Couple got divorced to "save" their relationship!

Can you believe this lot? This couple got a divorce in the Free State High Court to "save" their relationship. The judge was in a pickle - not even as an advocate she had something like this. What to do with this? The husband told the court it is a matter of confidence - while they are married they can always threaten divorce and that creates havoc in their relationship. Does that then mean that if they are no longer married they cannot separate? The phrase 'a cock and bull story' is both permissible and apt to describe this piece of nonsense used as an excuse to obtain a divorce. I submit that there is something behind this story which the couple withheld from court.

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Back to Prison.

Not a nice newspaper report to read.

Gert Van Schalkwyk & Reinach Tiedt should go back to prison after spending about 18 months outside. You probably remember the so-called Waterkloof 4? The guys that were found guilty of murdering an unidentified man in a Pretoria park and sentenced to do time in prison. Then the mentioned two were let out on correctional supervision. Yesterday 12 June 2013 Mr Justice Fabricius delivered the court's judgment and ordered these two murderers to go back to jail.

I ask the question what about Shabir Shaik? Is he still alive? Death was imminent - he was terminally ill.

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REFUGEE APPEAL BOARD

Constitutional Court Emblem

I appeared yesterday [10 June 2013] at the Refugee Appeal Board [RAB] on behalf of a refugee. On 6 December 2012 Mr Justice Fabricius in the matter of MAIL & GUARDIAN MEDIA v CHIPU Case number 22645/2011 declared the rules in terms of which the RAB operates, invalid from 6 December 2012.  These guys are still operating under these invalid rules. And they are oblivious of the declaration!!!

The matter then proceeded to the Constitutional Court where it was argued on 14 May 2013. Judgment was reserved.

My matter was postponed pending the outcome of the Constitutional case. But they proceeded with all the other matters. I was informed that since 6 December 2012 the RAB continued regardless of the judgment of Fabricius J in the above matter!!

What next?

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Keys to unlock the law

I  once wrote and said that the law can be a closed book. Some one asked me if that being the case, how can it be opened? The keys to unlock the law are many and varied. It starts off with one's academic education, then experience and closely & inextricably linked to that is the lawyer doing his homework as best he can. That is why I am very proud of my law library - you look at the very heart of my practice. Those are extremely valuable keys - I cannot do without it.

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Oscar Pistorius: gruesome pictures

I saw this morning on the Huffington Post UK blog-site photographs of the toilet where Reeva Steenkamp was shot. If these images are in fact from that scene, there is a lot to give account about. News24 mentions that the Pistorius legal team already got onto this and requested answers from the police. Of course the police is still looking into this and we cannot expect them to come up with a cogent answer so soon - if ever! It is noteworthy that, according to the reports in News24, the legal team accepted on face value that these images are in fact of the crime scene. May we also accept that it is from the scene?

This image was downloaded from Huffington Post UK

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Bloodnose for the National Prosecuting Authority

The National Prosecuting Authority got a blood nose yesterday. One of the lessons to be learnt form this fiasco is that if you prosecute a senior advocate with the likes of Glynnis Breytenbach, you should do your homework exceptionally well. Let's hope that the authorities will listen. Go to iol.co.za and search her name or National Prosecuting Authority.

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Accused/suspects: not enough evidence

A suspect, Johnathan Davids walked out of Bredasdorp Magistrate's Court after the National Prosecuting Authority withdrew charges of inter alia rape against him. The main reason, so it seems to me, is that there was not enough evidence against him. If that is the case, so be it.

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This a small part of my law library - it was a childhood dream to have something like this and to sit and do my own research. Yes - I do have to resort to outside sources as well, but it is the rare occasion. I have built it up since I started practising 1979.

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The law can be a closed book. Knowledge & experience unlock it.

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Go, visit a court and sit, listen and observe - any court.

Have you ever sat in a court to listen and to see what is going on there? If not, why not? Or do you do as so many others do? Watch the dramatic stuff on TV? I am not referring to movies – I am referring to real murder trials such as the one about the murder of Eugene Terre’blanché.

I strongly recommend that you should visit a court soon.

Just the other day a person said to me that he often wondered whether he would be allowed to go in and just sit and listen. It is open to the public – except when it is held in camera for instance when a minor is on trial.

My mom visited a court the first time in her life when I was a state prosecutor – well, that takes me back many years. She said to me when she came out: “Boet, dit is mos maar lawaaierig daarbinne.” She was so taken aback when people kept coming in and going out. Her concept of the procedures inside there changed drastically.

Just go, enter the courtroom and sit and observe. And then tell me.

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“Beware what you write on social and/or business websites such as Linked-In.”

If you write and post things on the ever present social or business websites it might come back at you to bite you. Caveat subscriptor – beware you signed something; or nowadays I shall rephrase tha to mean: “beware what you write on social and/or business websites such as Linked-In.”

This case is about old friends that I have discussed earlier on – the one’s name “restraint of trade” and the other is “confidentiality agreements.” I venture to say that most high flyer businessmen are acutely aware of these these two friends. Well – I am not going to repeat the terms and conditions of these friends suffice it to state that they vary slightly in each agreement, but in essence are of the same calibre.

And the strange phenomenon is that the is a marked resemblance in the defences put up by guys who are defending their breaches. In the instant matter the learned judge had this to say about the defence of Haynes: “In my view this attempt by the first respondent to bolster his case was both reckless and opportunistic, and demonstrates a mendacity on his part which validly heightens the applicant’s concerns and its need for the relief sought in this matter.” And if you have regard to the meaning of the word “mendacity” you will notice that the judge was not overtly impressed with the honesty of Haynes. Mendacity means the act of not telling the truth. Eish!

Now can you guess the outcome of this matter? Yes – he lost  it and the court granted an interdict against the respondents for breaching the restraint and confidentiality.

What was however very interesting in this matter is the role Haynes’ profile he created in Linked-In played in this matter. Haynes dug his own hole and was kept there by the court. “One only has to have regard to his Curriculum Vitae which appears in his Linked-In profile to conclude that first respondent was a senior employee who was steeped in the business of the applicant and was privy to and possessed of its confidential information and customer connections.”

See: Experian South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Haynes and Another (48711/2011) [2012] ZAGPJHC 105 (18 May 2012)

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Assistance to victims of crime

When you are a victim of a criminal act, you are at the mercy of the criminal system and how it is applied by law enforcement officials, be it the SAPS and/or prosecutors and the like. Be extremely careful what these officials will tell you and they will tell you a lot of stories. One story is that you don't need a lawyer to assist you - they will do that!

It is not the whole truth; only partially truthful. Of course you may sail it solo - at your peril.  And there are thousands who do exactly that - they go it alone, unassisted and without any knowledge of what to expect.

I strongly advise that you get to a lawyer sooner rather than later; and that better be a lawyer who knows criminal law and how it functions.

Why do I say that? Of course it will cost you money - we don't work for free. I say it because you will get advice on what to expect and what might happen.

For most people it is their first brush with criminal law and its strange procedures and that is daunting if not outright frightening. You are stressed out of your mind already and on top of it, it appears as if everything in life is now and forever against you.

Get it over and done with and consult your own lawyer - he should be able to guide you through the processes.

There might be identification parades, physical examinations and bail applications. In the unfortunate situation where someone was raped, the victim is prone to physical examinations to enable the medical practitioner to assemble a rape kit. If there was a burglary, even you and your family's fingerprints will have to be taken. Murder is something else - extremely traumatic and cumbersome.

Are all of these things necessary? Yes - that's how criminal matters are being investigated. And you are involved in it – I recommend that you get some advice to enable you to cope with the unknown.

Don't ever consult the lawyer who is acting on behalf of the suspect/accused!! That is so obvious, isn't it? Or is it?

My experience dictates that people who are knowledgeable are better equipped to deal with the situation and the things that might or might not happen in their matters.

I urge you to take this advice seriously and consult soonest.

If you want to consult me, we can arrange a Skype consultation; my Skype address is: neels.coertse; my e-mail address: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.zaOffice number: 011-463-4049.

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Law Practice

The aim of my blog is to interact with my readers - I want to share with you snippets about the law and the legal fraternity.  I work with and for people.
 

The law is not a chemical process or a mechanical process. A mechanism is at  the whim of the user or the abuser. For instance, a light switch, does not think. It does what it is supposed to do: it connects electricity and you have a reaction. Chemical? Try  a teaspoon of tabasco on your tongue. That is chemical and it is instantaneous.

The law is not like that at all. It is driven by people like me and you and others.

We read a lot about how the law let people down; how people can't afford legal fees; how a mother can’t get maintenance from her ex for their children. Is it the fault of the law? I don't  think so. Take the instance of a drunken driver who caused a collision and the breadwinner of a family is taken out. Who or what is to blame? Not the law. It was against the law to drink and drive. If the landlord does not repay the deposit that you paid to his company when you signed the lease agreement - is it the law that is to blame? Not at all.

Enough said.

Enjoy my blog.

 

 

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