In previous years, event organizers could be required by law to inform local authorities before holding meetings or demonstrations. In 2018, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled against this requirement. Legal experts noted that the decision did not address the issue of the safety of local authorities during the protests. Legal aid organizations reported that police frequently arrested people for minor offenses for which the law requires the use of a lawful summons. Arrests for crimes such as common assault, failure to produce proof of identity, or petty theft have sometimes led to the illegal detention of ordinary citizens alongside hardened criminals, creating opportunities for physical violence. In 2019, SAPS removed refugee and asylum-seeking protesters from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Cape Town and the UNHCR office in Pretoria, and took them to municipal camps in Bellville and Wingfield. Some 180 male protesters were arrested, charged and convicted of trespassing UNHCR compounds, most of whom received suspended sentences and released. Two of the protest leaders were expelled in April, while the case of expulsion of protest leader Jean Pierre Balous had been pending since December. Explore our Year to Come 2022 and Year in Review 2021 series across 20+ jurisdictions and a range of legal topics. Workers often exercised their right to strike. Unions generally followed the legal process of declaring a dispute (notifying employers) before starting a strike.

The 2020/21 strike season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and unions and businesses worked together to save jobs and industries. NGOs reported intimidation and violent attacks against rural land rights activists. In October 2020, environmental activist Fikile Ntshangase was killed in her home. A prominent member of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organization, she has been involved in lawsuits to protest the expansion of one of the country`s largest open-pit coal mines in KwaZulu-Natal province. There were no arrests. Another member of his community, who is critical of the coal mine, survived a shooting while driving from his home in 2020. The South African Human Rights Commission has called on the government to create a safe environment for activists to exercise their rights, including by responding to threats against activists. Two other mine action activists, Tolakele Mthethwa and Sabelo Dladla, reportedly survived attacks in April. In coordination with the Ministry of Interior (DHA), police carried out abusive « document raids » in areas where many foreigners live, including entering foreigners` homes to check their papers and legal status while administering beatings.

Traditional patrilineal authorities, such as a chief or council of elders, administered many rural areas. Some traditional authorities have refused to grant women land ownership as a condition for access to housing allowances. Women can challenge discrimination in traditional land ownership in court, but access to legal aid is costly. Important or dominant players are closely examined. Ethical issues related to the regulation and use of AI will continue to be hot topics. The law allows workers to strike on issues of mutual interest such as wages, benefits, disputes over organizational rights, workers` socio-economic interests, and similar measures. Workers cannot strike for disputes for which there are other remedies, such as arbitration. Workers` rights NGOs operated freely. The government did not restrict or disrupt internet access and censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government was monitoring private online communications without proper legal authorization. However, the law allows government surveillance of telecommunications systems, including the Internet and email, on national security grounds. The law requires all service providers to record the identity, physical address and phone numbers of customers in secure databases.

The law protects collective bargaining and prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or candidates on the basis of past, present or potential trade union membership or participation in lawful trade union activities. The law provides for the automatic reinstatement of workers unjustly dismissed for trade union activities. The law contains a code of conduct for dismissals, which includes procedures for determining the « substantive fairness » and « procedural fairness » of dismissal. The law covers all categories of workers, including illegally staying and legally resident foreign workers. In October 2020, South Africa`s Department of Social Development said it had failed sex workers by failing to provide them with services such as counselling, safety and protection, and giving them other ways to withdraw from sex work if they so wished. Deputy Minister of Social Development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu has pledged to improve the problems of sex workers. Some ministries have advocated for the decriminalization of sex work to facilitate sex workers` access to all government services and reduce their victimization and exposure to violence. Workplace: Employers were struggling with mandatory vaccination policies in the workplace. Latest elections: In 2019, elections to the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the Provincial Parliament were held in the country. The ANC won 58 percent of the vote, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) 21 percent and the EFF party 11 percent.

According to the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, turnout was 66 percent, the lowest turnout since the end of apartheid. The Institute stated that the elections were transparent, fair, credible and in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework for elections. Large-scale Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE): A committee should be appointed to report on ways to address critical issues with B-BBEE, ensure appropriate changes are made, minimize the use of B-BBEE provisions, and ensure that large black ownership reinforces economic transformation. Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT): Digital connectivity and access will continue to be key issues. Although detainees and defendants are entitled to legal aid, which is provided and funded by the state when « substantial injustice would otherwise result, » this right has been limited due to a general lack of information about the right to legal representation and insufficient state funding of these legal services. There is no automatic right of appeal unless a convicted person is under the age of 16, but the courts can give leave to the accused. In addition, the Act provides that the High Court may review prison sentences of more than six months. In recent years, concerns have been raised about the integrity of IEC management and internal bias.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IEC proposed to postpone the local elections from November 2021 to 2022. The ruling ANC agreed to the postponement as it had not yet presented its list of candidates. However, the Constitutional Court upheld a judicial complaint from the opposition that the elections should take place on the date originally scheduled. The DA also filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to prevent the ANC from nominating candidates after the deadline, which it said was only allowed due to bias within the IEC. The revised South African Responsible Investment Code could be finalised and will focus on ESG issues at the board level of institutional investors. The draft law amending the Companies Act also focuses on ESG issues such as access to information for shareholders and third parties, voting on remuneration reports and policies, disclosure of pay differences and new requirements for social and ethics committees and members. Many sexual assaults have been reported, such as the following example. In June 2020, an eight-month-pregnant woman was found hanging dead from a tree in Johannesburg. She and her fetus had multiple stab wounds. Muzikayise Malephane was arrested and charged with premeditated murder.