A note on the new curriculum for Ethics

June 2020

The National Bar Examination Board has approved an update to the Ethics curriculum for 2020. You will find the new curriculum attached below. The new curriculum is not entirely new – most of it is already included in the existing curriculum. So don’t panic! The new curriculum is a vast improvement – it sets out the sequence of subjects in a far more orderly and coherent fashion. It includes references to the Code of Conduct in the Legal Practice Act. And it contains more relevant and up to date caselaw, with some of the old caselaw removed. The new curriculum was prepared by Barbara Gassner SC of the Cape Bar.

On this page you will find links to all of the new cases and articles contained in the new curriculum, so that you can quickly get up to speed with them.

The cases listed below are the new cases, not covered in the original curriculum. For the existing cases (i.e. cases in both the old and new curricula), see the prescribed study materials page on this website.

New curriculum

ethics-amended-curriculumDownload

Summary notes

These notes were prepared by Herna Beviss-Challinor, a pupil at the Cape Bar, and are shared with her kind permission

summary-of-cases-rules-and-code-of-conduct-for-examDownload

Additional cases

city-of-cape-town-v-arun-property-development-pty-ltd-and-another-2009-5-sa-227-cDownload
competition-commission-v-arcelormittal-south-africa-ltd-and-others-2013-5-sa-538-scaDownload
de-freitas-and-another-v-society-of-advocates-of-natal-and-another-2001-3-sa-750-scaDownload
de-lacy-and-another-v-sa-post-office-2011-9-bclr-905-ccDownload
de-wet-and-others-v-western-bank-ltd-1977-4-sa-770-tDownload
feni-v-gxothiwe-and-another-2014-1-sa-594-ecgDownload
general-council-of-the-bar-of-south-africa-v-matthys-2002-5-sa-1-eDownload
general-council-of-the-bar-of-south-africa-v-van-der-spuy-1999-1-sa-577-tDownload
hassan-and-another-v-berrange-no-2012-6-sa-329-scaDownload
hawkes-v-hawkes-and-another-2007-2-sa-100-seDownload
hennie-de-beer-game-lodge-cc-v-waterbok-bosveld-plaas-cc-and-another-2010-5-sa-124-ccDownload
january-v-standard-bank-of-south-africa-limited-2015-jol-34176-ecgDownload
johannesburg-society-of-advocates-v-edeling-2019-5-sa-79-scaDownload
kekana-v-society-of-advocates-of-south-africa-1998-4-sa-649-scaDownload
motswai-v-road-accident-fund-2013-3-sa-8-gsjDownload
northern-cape-society-of-advocates-v-mziako-2018-jol-39954-nckDownload
pelser-v-director-of-public-prosecutions-transvaal-and-others-2009-4-sa-52-tDownload
president-of-the-republic-of-south-africa-and-others-v-south-african-rugby-football-union-and-others-1999-4-sa-147-ccDownload
price-waterhouse-coopers-inc-and-others-v-national-potato-co-operative-ltd-2004-6-sa-66-scaDownload
s-v-maweke-and-others-1971-2-sa-327-aDownload
schlesinger-v-schlesinger-1979-4-sa-342-w-Download
schneider-no-and-others-v-aa-and-another-2010-5-sa-203-wccDownload
society-of-advocates-of-south-africa-witwatersrand-division-v-cigler-1976-4-sa-350-tDownload
south-african-association-of-personal-injury-lawyers-v-minister-of-justice-and-constitutional-development-road-accident-fund-intervening-party-2013-2-sa-583-gsjDownload
toto-v-special-investigating-unit-and-others-2001-1-sa-673-eDownload
van-der-berg-v-general-council-of-the-bar-of-sa-2007-2-all-sa-499-scaDownload