We have combined this week’s Gazette Watch and Newsflash due to low volumes of movements.
Important aspects to take note of include:
AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPANIES ACT 2008 – TWO BILLS
The Department of Trade and Industry and Competition has gazetted its intention to submit the Companies First and Second Amendment Bills to Parliament in August 2023.
The two bills aim to shift the dial significantly on red tape and inequality in doing business in the country, while also addressing issues identified by the Zondo Commission on State Capture around delinquent directors and corruption recoveries.
AMENDMENTS TO RICA
An Amendment Bill has been published for comment – the Bill seeks to amend the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, 2002 (Act No. 70 of 2002) (RICA).
The Bill arises from the Constitutional Court judgment in Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC and Another v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others 2021 (3) SA 246 (CC), which recognised the importance of the right of privacy in the context of state surveillance.
The Constitutional Court ordered that the declaration of constitutional invalidity of RICA would be suspended to afford Parliament the opportunity to remedy the defects in RICA by 4 February 2024.
In order to bring the law in line with our Constitution, the Bill provides for:
Additional definitions:
- for the designation of an independent designated judge;
- for the designation of an independent review judge,
- for the powers and functions of the review judge;
- for the tenure of designated and review judges;
- for adequate safeguards where the subject of surveillance is a practising lawyer or journalist;
- for the notification of persons of their surveillance as soon as the notification may be given without jeopardising the purpose of surveillance and that notification may be withheld if it has the potential to impact negatively on national security;
- adequate safeguards to address the fact that interception directions are sought and obtained ex parte;
- adequate procedures to ensure that data obtained pursuant to the interception of communications is managed lawfully and not used or interfered with unlawfully;
- procedures to be followed for processing, examining, copying, sharing, disclosing, sorting through, using, storing or destroying of any data; and
- principles for the safeguarding of data when dealing with the management of data.
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