A deed of suretyship is an agreement that is concluded by a creditor and a third party. The essentialia of this type of agreement are that the surety (third party) undertakes to be liable to the creditor for the due performance by the debtor of his or her obligations in terms of the principal debt. This type of agreement is …
Relying on vis major clause in a contract in times of COVID-19
Vis major clauses Many businesses will seek to rely on the enforcement of vis major clauses to relieve their performance of certain obligations resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. The term vis major refers to an event or occurrence, which renders contractual performance impossible. These clauses allow a contracting party to escape the normal consequences of non-performance or late performance of contractual obligations because of …
What is a reasonable expectation of renewal?
An employee has been employed on a fixed-term employment contract for a number of years. Each consecutive year, the fixed contract is renewed at the election of the employer. After the fixed contract expired, the employer decides not to renew the employee’s contract. Is the employee entitled to a renewal of the fixed-term employment contract based on previous renewals? Section …
Freedom of Speech has its restrictions
Due to our controversial past, South Africa has been faced with a difficult task of eradicating all forms of racial animosity and behaviour. This is a problem we often find in the employment sphere as well, between the employer and the employee or between colleagues themselves. As part of its founding provisions, the Constitution states that the Republic of South …
Court interference in a contractual relationship
When two or more parties enter into a contractual agreement knowingly and free from duress, the terms of the agreement must be upheld by each signatory. However, it must be noted when the contract is entered into under pacta sunt servanda, which means “agreements must be kept”, principles of fairness, good faith and reasonableness don’t play a part when circumstances …
Cancelling a contract? The Do’s and Dont’s to consider!
Every person, whether an individual or a juristic person, will find themselves in a situation where they will want to terminate a contract. The aim of this article is to set out the requirements for terminating a contract as well as to give basic guidance when doing so. When a person wants to cancel a contract, the cancelling party (innocent …