Thabazimbi Local Municipality and Others v ABSA Bank Limited Others (11869/2023) [2024] ZALMPPHC 157 (9 April 2024)
Court
Limpopo High Court, Polokwane
Case number
11869/2023
Judge
Makoti
The High Court held that a section 17(2)(f) reconsideration application does not automatically suspend the challenged order and dismissed the urgent application with costs.
Both section 32A of the Estate Agency Affairs Act and section 45B of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act are constitutionally invalid because they authorise warrantless searches without sufficient safeguards, failing to differentiate between types of searches or premises and lacking requirements for suspicion or judicial oversight. The right to privacy under section 14 of the Constitution is unjustifiably limited by these provisions. The declarations of invalidity are not retrospective, protecting past actions taken in good faith under the statutes. The invalidity is suspended for 24 months…
The Constitutional Court held that the applicants failed to establish exceptional circumstances justifying direct access. The constitutional issue regarding section 150(3) of the Insolvency Act was not raised before the High Court, which had jurisdiction to consider such matters and grant interim relief. The applicants did not exhaust available remedies and launched the application on the incorrect assumption that only the Constitutional Court could grant relief. The urgency and public importance claimed were not substantiated, and the relief sought could have been pursued through ordinary pr…
