Jac Marais

After a long period of uncertainty relating to advisory opinions by the Competition Commission, a new regulation has been published by the Department of Trade and Industry which reintroduces non-binding Advisory Opinions. An advisory opinion is a written opinion by the Commission that provides the Commission’s interpretation of the Competition Act, 89 of 1998, applied […]

The South African economy has faced significant headwinds and continues to be constrained by sky-high interest and unemployment rates, power grid constraints and political uncertainty. Despite these and many other challenges, South African businesses find a way to remain competitive internationally, through innovative solutions and in many instances sheer grit and determination. Its ability to […]

It has been said that “restraints of trade are not worth the paper they are written on”. This is far from the truth as many employees have learnt, the hard way. Not only are valid restraints of trade enforceable, but they are also enforced regularly by the Courts. The consequences for the former employee can […]

On Monday, 20 May 2024, the Constitutional Court held that former President Jacob Zuma was convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment for purposes of section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution. Accordingly, it declared that Mr Zuma is not qualified to stand for election to the National Assembly until five years […]

In a judgement delivered on Tuesday 10 January, Judge John Smith dismissed Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s appeal against a court order compelling him and Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Xolile Edmund Nqatha, to develop a comprehensive action plan to stop attacks on Intercape’s long-distance buses. In the minister’s appeal, Mbalula argued that the court erred in requiring […]

The Competition Commission (“Commission”) launched its market inquiry into online intermediation platforms (“OIPMI / the Inquiry”) on the 19th of May 2021. We previously set out what this may mean for your business as well as a brief analysis of the Commission’s further statement of issues – in this article we consider what has happened […]

Courts are not designed to govern. That is the government’s job, involving budget allocations and tough choices, sometimes between life and death. The distribution of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary create a carefully crafted balance, designed to deliver on the vision of the Constitution. If the balance is disturbed, the system […]

On the 19th of May 2021, the South African Competition Commission (“Commission”) formally initiated a market inquiry into the online intermediation platform market (“OIPMI”) in terms of Section 43B(i)(a) of the Competition Act, 89 of 1998 (“the Act”). The Commission released a Statement of Issues and extensively engaged with stakeholders both through Requests for Information […]

As we commemorated International Women’s Day on 8 March celebrating the social, economic and cultural achievements of women, Adams & Adams is pleased to announce that Kelly Thompson has been named as the first female chairperson of the firm in its 113-year history. Thompson, an experienced trade mark litigation attorney, is one of 28 women […]

Best Lawyers®, a highly respected legal profession peer review publication recently announced their Best Lawyers® list for 2021 acknowledging outstanding global firms and lawyers. In the latest edition, Adams & Adams scooped the top spot for Law Firm of the Year, Intellectual Property Law in South Africa. In addition, 13 Adams & Adams Partners are […]

Companies now have further clarity on the enforcement of competition law, particularly regarding the Competition Act’s price discrimination and buyer power provisions. The Competition Commission (“Commission”) recently published guidelines on how the ‘Buyer Power’ regulations will be enforced. The Buyer Power regulations – essentially aimed at levelling the playing field for companies – will assist […]

The competition authorities, being the Competition Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) and the Competition Commission (“the Commission”), are already in the thick of it when it comes to regulating markets and competition in the COVID-19 world afflicted by lockdowns and economic restrictions amongst other considerations.

Individuals, corporations and the economy have all fallen victim to the devastating impact of COVID-19 (“the coronavirus”). However, the recent regulations published by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Minister Patel, intends to bring some relief to the economy in its bid to fight the pandemic.

The Government has already taken swift action against the Coronavirus pandemic through regulations gazetted by the Minister of the Department of Trade and Industry (“the DTI”).

We invite you to contact our Competition Law Team if you have any questions in relation to the COVID-19 regulations under the Competition Act, or any related matter.

We take a look at the intended effects of the Competition Commission’s investigation into the pricing of school uniforms and the subsequent agreements signed before the Competition Tribunal in 2019.

The telecommunications sector is the backbone of the of the digital economy. Access to spectrum is essential for speedy, reliable and affordable access to world class networks and communications which form the basis for online activities and more broadly, participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The recent withdrawal of the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill (“EC […]