Five impoverished residents of Phiri in Soweto filed a legal action against the City of Johannesburg, the water provider company wholly owned by the City, and the Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry, challenging the legality of Operation Gcin’amanzi–a project the City of Johannesburg piloted in Phiri in early 2004 to address the severe problem …Read more

Natasha and Nicolette, high school teenagers, were hired as receptionists and lingerie models by the owner of an escort agency. The recruitment took place by means of pamphlets distributed by other female employees. During this interview they learned that the job did not just entail modeling lingerie, but rather working as sex workers. It appears …Read more

The parties to the dispute settled out of court based on the stipulation that the policies of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) concerning the recruitment, deployment and promotion of people living with HIV were unconstitutional. The SANDF was given six months to set aside these policies. In this decision, the Court considered the …Read more

The applicants, T and S, applied for relief against the 12 respondents in relation to certain vitamin-based pharmaceutical products (“Products”) which T and S alleged were being unlawfully distributed and marketed in South Africa as a treatment for AIDS while the distributors discredited legitimate antiretroviral medicines. T and S produced expert testimony that antiretroviral medicines …Read more

A public sector strike took place in 2007. The State contended that not all employees of the State have a right to participate in such a public sector strike, in particular those engaged in essential services. The State subsequently obtained an order in which an interdict was granted to the effect that essential services employees …Read more

A publishing company published a biography on a South African member of parliament that disclosed the names of three women who were HIV-positive. The three women alleged that their names had been published in the book without their prior consent having been obtained. They had participated in clinical trials, known as the FTC 302 trials, directed …Read more

In this constitutional challenge, the Applicants, including the Affordable Medicines Trust, applied for leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court an order of the High Court, which dismissed their constitutional challenge of certain aspects of a Government licensing scheme. The licensing scheme provided that health care providers, such as medical practitioners and dentists, could …Read more

This is an application for leave to appeal an interim implementation order. In the main application fifteen prisoners were successful in compelling the State to provide them, and other similarly situated prisoners living with HIV/AIDS, with antiretroviral (ARV) treatment while they were incarcerated at the Westville Correctional Centre (WCC) in KwaZulu-Natal province. The Respondents filed …Read more

An urgent application was filed on behalf of fifteen prisoners living with HIV/AIDS who required antiretroviral (ARV) treatment while incarcerated at the Westville Correctional Centre (WCC) in KwaZulu-Natal province. The Applicants were acting in their individual capacities and as representatives of the class of prisoners incarcerated at WCC. The sixteenth applicant was the Treatment Action …Read more

On 2 September 2005, Momentum Group and African Life Health (ALH) applied to the Competition Commission (Commission) for the approval of a merger between them. On 9 November 2002, the merger was unconditionally approved by the Commission and referred to the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) for final approval. On 12 December 2005, after a hearing with …Read more

The applicant, the Doctors for Life International, filed a claim against the National Council of Provinces. The applicant contended that according to the South African Constitution and International Law, public hearings must be held in respect to all legislation under consideration by a legislative branch whether at the national or provincial level. In the case …Read more

The applicant challenged the validity of four draft bills relating to health rights. One bill allowed registered nurses to perform abortions at certain public and private facilities. The applicant alleged that the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and the provincial legislatures failed to fulfill their respective obligations under sections 72(1)(a) and 118(1)(a) of the Constitution …Read more

This case involved the regulation of fees for the dispensing of medicines by public and private pharmacies. The first Applicant (the Minister) had made and published the Regulations Relating to a Transparent Pricing System for Medicines and Scheduled Substances (the Regulations) under the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 (the Medicines Act). The …Read more

The Competition Tribunal examined a merger between Medicross Healthcare Group (Pty) Ltd (Medicross) and Prime Cure Holdings (Pty) Ltd, companies providing primary care healthcare services to medical aid schemes. The transaction envisaged that Medicross would acquire the entire share capital of, and loan claims against, Prime Cure. Prime Cure manages and administers 45 primary healthcare …Read more

The Competition Commissioner initiated a complaint and undertook an investigation into an alleged prohibited practice by the Respondent, Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa. Respondent was an association that represented approximately 85% of medical aid schemes in South Africa that, among other things, determined, recommended and published benchmark tariffs for health care services annually. …Read more

The Applicant, Simon Musi Mazibuko, was a prisoner living with HIV. He had been convicted of murder assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, robbery, theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and sentenced to life in prison. The Applicant was suffering from several opportunistic infections, including tuberculosis, and his CD4 count …Read more

T, an organisation campaigning on behalf of those seeking affordable medicines in addition to promoting the rights of medical practitioners to dispense medicines to the public, together with N, an association of dispensing providers and M, a medical practitioner authorised to dispense medicines, challenged certain aspects of a licensing system governed by the Medicines and …Read more

The Applicant, a prisoner, was suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia, a terminal illness. He had no prospects of recovery and was on the verge of dying in prison. He sought the review and setting aside of Respondents’ refusal to release him on medical parole and requested his immediate release. He also requested an order allowing …Read more

Christian Lawyers’ Association (“plaintiff”) submitted an action seeking to find unconstitutional sections of the Choice on Termination of pregnancy Act 92 of 1996 (“the Act”). The sections enabled women under the age of 18 to terminate their pregnancy without restrictions such as parental consent, parental consultation, required counselling, or a waiting period (collectively called “parental …Read more

The Competition Commission (Commission) initiated an investigation into the conduct of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) in relation to the setting of tariffs for health care services provided by its members. SAMA is a non-profit association that is the representative association of medical practitioners in South Africa. SAMA dealt with both professional and business …Read more

The applicants in this case were 69 South African citizens held in Zimbabwe on a variety of charges, including the possession of and attempt to smuggle dangerous weapons. The applicants initially brought a claim before the High Court seeking to require that the South African Government: (1) take steps to have them extradited to South Africa so that …Read more

The Applicant, Irvin and Johnson Limited, wished to arrange for the voluntary and anonymous HIV testing of the more than 1,100 employees in its trawling division. The testing was to be based on the principle of informed consent and accompanied by pre- and post-test counselling. However, the age and job category of the tested employee …Read more

While serving a six-year sentence in prison, Stanfield was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Prior to this diagnosis he had already suffered from advanced coronary disease.  The lung cancer required treatment with chemotherapy for three consecutive days every twenty-one days over a period of at least six months. In light of his medical condition, Stanfield sought …Read more

The Constitutional Court was asked to determine whether the appellant (Government) was required to give effect, pending an appeal, to an order of the High Court which directed it to make the drug nevirapine available to mothers and their newborn babies in public health facilities under certain circumstances and conditions. The order concerned the programme …Read more

The government of South Africa developed a national public health program to address mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The purpose of the program was to offer HIV-positive pregnant women nevirapine, a drug that prevents the transmission of HIV at birth, free of charge. The program was, however, limited in scope. It only offered nevirapine at certain …Read more

The Appellant was the owner of a private hospital that had admitted the Respondent for an operation. Following the operation, the Respondent suffered some complications as a result of the negligent conduct of a nurse in the employ of the Appellant. Respondent sued the Appellant for damages. In the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Respondent …Read more

The Applicant, Joy Mining Machinery, was a manufacturer, supplier and service provider of mining machinery. The Applicant had attempted to determine the extent of HIV prevalence at its workplace by commissioning a study of HIV prevalence based on the demographic groups at the workplace. As this was ultimately unhelpful, the Applicant wished to determine the …Read more

On 20 August 1996 a police officer entered a brothel owned by the first appellant in Pretoria, paid R250 to the second appellant and a salaried employee, and received a pelvic massage by the third appellant, a prostitute. All three were charged with contravening s20(1)(aA) of the Sexual Offences Act 1957 (‘the Act’) which criminalised …Read more

Applicants sought an order that the respondents (the Minister of Health and the members of the executive council for health) make Nevirapine available to pregnant women with HIV who give birth in public health institutions and “produce and implement an effective national program to prevent or reduce mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, including …Read more

Ms. Carmichele stayed at a friend’s place where Coetzee, a man who had previous history of violence and sexual misconduct, stalked her and walked around the house. She and her friend reported Coetzee’s abnormal behavior to the local police station but the police claimed that they could do nothing about him. Eventually one day when …Read more