Mid-air gay kiss subject of damages claim

The High Court in Cape Town will begin a hearing today before Judge Dennis Davis to decide whether a claim by a gay man, who alleges British Airways employees discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation, can continue. Neal Vincent Potgieter, of Green Point, his partner and Potgieter's mother flew from Cape Town to London with British Airways in 2000. A report in Die Burger says that according to the Transformative Human Rights Unit, a human rights organisation, Potgieter and his partner kissed each other shortly after flight attendants woke them up ‘in a normal way that any person would have accepted had it happened between two heterosexual people’. Flight attendants asked Potgieter on two occasions not to kiss his partner. The men regarded the requests as discriminatory. An altercation broke out, and the men refused to fasten their seat belts during landing. They were arrested on arrival, and Potgieter, who was held for four days, was fined £4 000 for breaking aviation regulations. He is claiming R1.6m from British Airways.
Full report in Die Burger

 

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New laws to deal with increase in child pornography

There has been a marked increase in child pornography in SA in the past year, according to police specialists. Senior Superintendent Anneke Pienaar said it was impossible to determine the extent of the problem, according to a report on the IoL site. She was speaking at a meeting to announce amendments to the Film and Publications Act. Pienaar said the Act had proved inadequate in dealing with the increase in incidents of child pornography reported, making the amendments necessary. The amendments increased the minimum sentence on conviction from five to 10 years where Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba said the amendments, which were awaiting the president's signature, also included the right to arrest a South African suspected of dealing in or with child pornography anywhere in the world. ‘This means if the person is suspected of being involved in child pornography outside of South Africa, we can arrest him. It does away with the long-winded extradition process,’ he said.
Full report on the IoL site

 

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Sale in execution must be 'justifiable' - ConCourt

Courts will in future be called on to determine whether the sale in execution of houses to settle debt is justifiable, the Constitutional Court ruled on Friday. It was considering the constitutionality of sections of the Magistrates’ Court Act dealing with the sale in execution of property to settle debt. According to a report on the Finance24 site, the case involved two women from a poverty-stricken community in Prince Albert in the Karoo. Their houses were sold at much less than market value to settle a small debt they owed. The court found that any measure which takes away a person's pre-existing access to adequate housing limits the constitutional right to housing. The process of execution against property was found to be unconstitutional where it allowed a person's home to be sold to settle a debt in unjustifiable circumstances. This should be remedied by ensuring courts have oversight of the execution process.
Full report on the Finance24 site

 

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