South Africa's 'Irrational' Lockdown Rules Face Legal Challenge
The South African government introduced a lockdown amid the COVID-19 outbreak. But detractors have suggested the rules are too restrictive.
May 20, 2020 at 11:27 AM
2 minute read
Johannesburg
South Africa's opposition parties have launched a legal challenge to the government's lockdown regulations.
The main South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has announced its intention to take the ANC government to court to fight what it describes on its website as "irrational" lockdown regulations that are "doing more harm than good."
In his announcement, DA interim leader John Steenhuisen vowed that his party would fight to overturn every lockdown regulation that he considers irrational.
These regulations have been enforced by "petty authoritarians, hopped up on power, who are allowed to run amock," he said.
The managing partner of a law firm in South Africa said of the impending court actions: "It's good to test the validity of the regulations and hold the government accountable."
Another lawyer said: "Thankfully, South Africa has a world-class constitution, including a provision for the courts to issue instructions to government."
The restrictions also include a ban on the sale of several products such as cigarettes and alcohol, a military-enforced nighttime curfew, and outdoor exercising restricted to three hours a day on pavements only.
Recent research by the University of Cape Town indicates that the ban on cigarette sales is "feeding an illicit market that will be increasingly difficult to eradicate" once the lockdown is over.
Research last week showed that the lockdown had created significant hardships for a number of smaller South African law firms.
Read more:
South Africa's Smaller Firms Face Ruin as Nation Extends COVID-19 Lockdown
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Apple Subsidiaries in Belgium and France Sued by DRC Over Conflict Minerals
2 minute read
DLA Piper, Heuking & Other Key Moves as German Legal Market Reshuffles Ahead of 2025
2 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
