Contracts
Corporate & Commercial Law
All business and commercial transactions are governed by commercial or corporate law and to run a successful enterprise or complete profitable dealings, corporates and the people behind them must have a solid legal foundation.
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Our Attorneys advise clients on all legal issues resulting from these transactions. If necessary, they will also pursue the relevant legal channels available to ensure and protect the clients’ corporate rights.
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We can assist and advise on the following:
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• Drafting of memorandum of associations
• General advice on all commercial-related matters
Contractual Law
A contract can be defined as an agreement between two or more parties with the purpose of creating and binding them in a commitment, with the knowledge that their agreements will be upheld (or, if necessary, enforced) by the law.
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We provide assistance if there has been a breach of contract and ensure that the parties involved are protected.
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Requirements for a valid contract
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It is highly imperative that each and every contract is a valid contract as it is enforceable by law. If the contract is not valid it is seen as void.
For a contract to be valid it must include:
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• Consensus: the parties’ intent in their minds must concur on all material aspects of their agreement.
• Capacity: the parties must have the necessary legal capacity to enter into a contract.
• Formalities: wherein exceptional cases, require that the agreement should be in a certain format (for example, in writing and signed), these formalities must be respected.
• Legality: the agreement must be lawful – in other words, it cannot be prohibited by law or common law.
• Possibility: the undertaken commitments must be performed, and have the capacity to be performed when the agreement is entered
• Security: the agreement must have definite or determinate content so that the commitments can be enforced.
The Consumer Protection Act
Consumer protection is the body of law that protects the rights and interests of consumers and limits deceptive trade practices in the marketplace.
The Act regulates consumer rights, namely:
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• Equality in the consumer market
• Privacy
• Choice
• Disclosure and Information
• Fair and responsible marketing
• Fair and honest dealing
• Just and reasonable terms and conditions
• Value, quality and safety
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South Africa is going through a time of change and that has influenced the need for contract law to be re-examined and undergo changes that support the current needs of South Africans, their rights, and their businesses. The law is designed to protect fairness for all parties involved in the agreements. This trend is reinforced by the recent enactment of legislation designed to protect consumers, especially the Consumer Protection Act of 2008 and the National Credit Act of 2005.
Ante-Nuptial Agreements
Marriage is an exciting event in anyone’s life that is a mix of many joint decisions. These decisions should start before the marriage begins, being the option to enter into a marriage contract.
Any marriage out of community of property is reached by drawing up an ante-nuptial contract (or ANC).
This is never a prediction that the marriage is set out to fail, it is designed to assist the couple with their future, regardless of whether the divorce becomes an issue or not. The ante-nuptial contract is more commonly known as a prenup.
