Case Law[2024] ZAGPPHC 153South Africa
Combrink v South African Practical Shooting Association and Others (11595/2022) [2024] ZAGPPHC 153 (8 February 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
8 February 2024
Judgment
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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Combrink v South African Practical Shooting Association and Others (11595/2022) [2024] ZAGPPHC 153 (8 February 2024)
Combrink v South African Practical Shooting Association and Others (11595/2022) [2024] ZAGPPHC 153 (8 February 2024)
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sino date 8 February 2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF
SOUTH AFRICA
(GAUTENG DIVISION,
PRETORIA)
Case No:
11595/2022
In the matter between:
HERMAN
COMBRINK
Applicant
and
SOUTH AFRICAN
PRACTICAL SHOOTING
ASSOCIATION
1
st
Respondent
JAN
VAN DEN BERG n.O.
2
nd
Respondent
JACOBUS
PETRUS BREYTENBACH
n.O.
3
rd
Respondent
REPORTABLE: YES / NO
OF INTEREST TO OTHER
JUDGES: YES / NO
REVISED.
DATE: 8 February 2024
JUDGMENT
HF
JACOBS, AJ:
INTRODUCTION
[1]
The
applicant, Mr Combrink, applies for the review and setting aside of
disciplinary proceedings, decisions and a sanction imposed
by the
disciplinary committee of the first respondent and for an order
reinstating him as a full member of the first respondent
with rights
and privileges
ex
tunc
(7 February 2022) claiming, initially, that the disciplinary
proceedings were irrational, unlawful, procedurally unfair,
arbitrarily
arrived at and materially influenced by an error of law
and that certain considerations relevant to the disciplinary
proceedings
were not considered at all and later, that the
disciplinary body did not have authority to prosecute him.
[1]
[2]
The
application is brought in terms of the Promotion of Administrative
Justice Act No 3 of 2000 (the PAJA) alternatively the common
law.
The first respondent is a voluntary non-profit association known as
The South African Practical Shooting Association.
It has a
constitution. The constitution and its terms are not in dispute
and copy of the constitution is attached to the
founding papers.
The first respondents’ functions as the national body that
represents the practical shooting sport
of the Republic of South
Africa at the International Practical Shooting Confederation.
One of the provincial bodies affiliated
with the first respondent is
the North Gauteng Practical Shooting Association (NGPSA). The
applicant was the former chairperson
of the NGPSA.
[3]
During
2021 the first respondent through its officials initiated
disciplinary proceedings against the applicant. The
disciplinary
proceedings were triggered by an anonymous letter the
applicant transmitted by electronic mail under an alias “
Citizen
with a Broken Heart
” to a host of
institutions, officials and members of the news media. It later
appeared that the applicant published
the letter on 11 May 2021.
He does not dispute that. At the time of transmission and
distribution of the anonymous letter
the applicant was a member of
the first respondent but soon thereafter resigned. When the
first respondent initiated the
disciplinary proceedings against the
applicant, he had legal representation and, although he was no longer
a member, participated
in the pre-hearing processes duly assisted by
his legal representative in view of the imminent disciplinary
hearing. The
applicant requested information and documents from
the first respondent prior to the hearing. More about that presently.
[4]
The
hearing took place on 11 November 2021 and on 26 January 2022. After
the hearing on 11 November 2021 the applicant brought an
urgent
application in which he challenged the disciplinary proceedings.
The application was dismissed on 1 December 2021
and on 26 January
2022 the hearing continued. When the disciplinary hearing commenced
on 26 January 2022, the applicant appeared
in person. He
submitted himself to the disciplinary process despite the fact that
he no longer was a member of the first
respondent. During
argument counsel for the applicant informed me that the applicant
consented to the disciplinary process
and the disciplinary hearing
took place as if he was still a member of the first respondent and
that the application should be
considered accordingly.
THE CHARGE
[5]
The
charge sheet reads as follows:
“
Charges
It is alleged that you
have made yourself guilty of unacceptable behaviour in that:-
You have drafted or
initiated others to draft an inappropriate and “Anonymous
letter” See Annexure 1 and you e-mailed
this letter to the
following persons and or public institutions on or about 11 May 2021
at about 12:55
To:
d[…]@t[…].co.za
Cc:
]
m[…]@d[…]co.za
;
m[…]@d[…].gov.za
;
l[…]@d[…].co.za
;
c[…]@m[...]24.com
;
i[…]@i[…].co.za
;
m[…]@e[…].co.za
;
i[…]@d[...].co.za
;
e[…]@c[…].org
;
a[…]@s[…].co.za
;
t[…]@h[...].com
;
t[…]@e[...].com
;
s[…]@t[...].net
;
h[…]@t[...];net;
H[…]@c[…].gov.za
;
t[…]@t[..].co.za
;
i[…]@t[...].co.za
’
w[…]@o[…].com
;
S[…]@t[…].gov.za
;
i[…]@i[..].org
;
m[…]@[…].org
1.
Following from this letter you
required action
to be taken from government
institutions /companies and individuals like:-
a.
Denel
b.
SASSCO
c.
SASCOC
d.
Minister of Sport
To take actions
against SAPSA/ its members or club(s) which could have the result of
litigation / cancelation of contracts/ termination
of positions etc
without you following internal process and or procedures of the
Federation like following internal grievance procedures
/ arbitration
processes etc before embarking on this process.
2.
With the publishing of this
anonymous letter you have brought the Sport / Federation / Clubs and
individual members good name in
disrepute by making allegations like
:-
SAPSA’s
organizations is a mess;
A.
Allegations of structures within
SAPSA to be illegal;
B.
Making allegations that individuals
/ clubs were driven by Financial and personal greed to achieve
certain goals and or results.
C.
That an individual on his own and or
with the assistance of a private company has resulted in a hostile
take-over of a club.
D.
SAPSA’s inability to manage
their internal affairs
E.
The allegation of the possible
inappropriate involvement or lack of control of SAPSA’s
Chairperson.
F.
The issuing of National Colours by
SAPSA to be inappropriate and with this you have discredit the
process /procedures / selection
and the integrity of members being
part of these selection processes.
G.
A suggestion of inappropriate
conduct by the Evans Family.
H.
A suggestion of inappropriate
conduct by Bernhard Agencies both as a dealer and or Nick Bernhard in
his personal capacity
Publishing private and
or confidential information of members of the Federations to a
undisclosed number of people including contact
numbers, positions of
members of the Federations in contradiction to legislation like the
POPI Act.”
THE PLEA
[6]
The
applicant pleaded guilty to the charges against him on 26 January
2022. The third respondent who was the pro-forma prosecutor
informed the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing as follows:
“
It
does not necessitate me to present now further evidence in terms of
the merits, so maybe we should ask Mr Combrink to explain
his plea of
guilty and we will give him an opportunity to explain that.”
[7]
The
chairperson responded in agreement whereafter the applicant addressed
the disciplinary committee at length confessed to what
he had done
and expressed his view that the proceedings against him were fair.
THE SANCTION
[8]
The
disciplinary committee adjourned and published the following sanction
on 30 January 2022:
Charges against
Mr Combrink
“
It
is alleged that you have made yourself guilty of unacceptable
behaviour in that:-
You have drafted or
initiated others to draft an inappropriate and “Anonymous
letter” See Annexure 1 and you e-mailed
this letter to the
following persons and or public institutions on or about 11 May 2021
at about 12:55
With the publishing of
this anonymous letter you have brought the Sport / Federation / Clubs
and individual members good name in
disrepute by making allegations
like :-
SAPSA’s
organizations is a mess;
A.
Allegations of structures within
SAPSA to be illegal;
B.
Making allegations that individuals
/ clubs were driven by Financial and personal greed to achieve
certain goals and or results.
C.
That an individual on his own and or
with the assistance of a private company has resulted in a hostile
take-over of a club.
D.
SAPSA’s inability to manage
their internal affairs
E.
The allegation of the possible
inappropriate involvement or lack of control of SAPSA’s
Chairperson.
F.
The issuing of National Colours by
SAPSA to be inappropriate and with this you have discredit the
process /procedures / selection
and the integrity of members being
part of these selection processes.
G.
A suggestion of inappropriate
conduct by the Evans Family.
H.
A suggestion of inappropriate
conduct by Bernhard Agencies both as a dealer and or Nick Bernhard in
his personal capacity
Publishing private and
or confidential information of members of the Federations to a
undisclosed number of people including contact
numbers, positions of
members of the Federations in contradiction to legislation like the
POPI Act.”
Proceedings
The Disciplinary
Hearing was initiated on 11 November 2021 and concluded on 26 January
2022.
The Disciplinary
Meeting was initiated on 11 November 2021 where arguments were led by
his legal representatives that the South
African Practical Shooting
exceeded the period for the initiation of disciplinary action against
Mr Combrink (Section 14.3 of the
Constitution of the Practical
Shooting Association of South Africa) before a plead could be
entered. The Disciplinary Committee
found that not to be the case and
that the Disciplinary Meeting may continue. This decision was not
accepted by Mr Combrink and
his legal team and Mr Combrink exercised
Right of Appeal/Arbitration (as per Section 15 of the Constitution of
the Practical Shooting
Association of South Africa). Mr Combrink then
lodged an urgent application to the High Court of South Africa,
Gauteng Division,
to have the decision of the Disciplinary Committee
set aside. The matter was heard on 30 November 2021 and judgement was
delivered
on 1 December 2021. The judgement stated that the
Disciplinary Committee did not commit an error and the application
was dismissed
(articles (39) and (40) of the judgment). Judgment is
attached.
As such, the
Disciplinary Meeting was reconvened on 26 January 2022. Mr Combrink
represented himself at this meeting and pleaded
guilty to all charges
as per the charge sheet as set out above and as per the attached
Notification to participate in the conductiong
of a Disciplinary
Hearing/Enquiry.
Mr Combrink did not
dispute that he was the author of the anonymous e-mail. Although
extensive submissions were made at the meeting
of 11 November 2021,
only certain portions of the documentation was examined during the
meeting of 26 January 2022 due to the admission
by Mr Combrink. These
documents will, however, be included in the full report to be
submitted to SAPSA as this forms part of the
Disciplinary Hearing.
The remedy and
sanction imposed by the Disciplinary Committee needs to be seen in
the context set out below.
The position that Mr
Combrink was occupying at the time of writing the e-mail is of
significance to the charge. At the time Mr Combrink
was the
Chairperson of Northern Gauteng Practical Shooting Association, In
that capacity he was a member of the Executive Committee
of the South
African Practical Shooting Association. (SAPSA Constitution 7,1.2)
Section 7 of the Constitution describes the management
structure of
SAPSA and 7.1 describes the Executive Council which is the highest
decision-making body within SAPSA as per clause
7.15 of the
Constitution.
Clause 7.15 of the
Constitution states "The management, control and administration
of affairs of the Federation...."
This means that all
affairs of the Federation will be conducted at Executive Committee
level. It implies therefore that, should
affairs not be resolved to
the satisfaction of a member or members of the Executive Committee of
the Federation, it nevertheless
remains the place where affairs are
conducted and decided upon. However, should a dispute arise
between a member organization
or individual member, section 15
provides for Arbitration. This appears to be the only alternative to
the resolution of differences
found at the level of the Executive
Committee.
Definition of
"disrepute" is the absence or loss of reputation, discredit
or disgrace, a state of being held in low esteem
. The
address list of the e-mail, as per the attachment, clearly brought an
internal management issue into the public domain and
the contents of
the e-mail cast aspersions on not only members of the Federation;
many of them members of the Executive Committee.
The content can be
described as malicious in nature. The inclusion of public entities
such as Carte Blanche and Daily Maverick,
amongst others, was
intended to attempt to publicize the perceived discontent of Mr
Combrink even though he made no attempt to
have the matter that
caused him concern to be resolved at Executive Committee level. This
was readily conceded by Mr Combrink in
the Disciplinary Meeting.
It is of significance
that Mr Combrink, in his capacity as Chairman of Northern Gauteng
Practical Shooting Association, signed a
letter (dated 21 May 2021)
headed "DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS; ANONYMOUS LETTER...." In
which he stated under point 4 of the
letter "Be that as it may,
NGPSA does not align itself with such nefarious behavior." He
therefore readily typified the
contents of the e-mail while fully
aware of the identity of the author of the letter. (Appendix G of the
documents submitted by
the team of Mr Combrink to the meeting of 11
November 2021).
Members of the
Executive Committee have a Fiduciary Duty towards the Federation in
the execution of their duties on the Executive
Committee. A fiduciary
duty is
a legal obligation of one party to act in the best
interest of another
. A fiduciary is therefore an individual in
whom another has placed the utmost trust and confidence to manage and
protect his property,
money or affairs. A fiduciary duty requires
total trust, good faith and honesty.
MR Combrink
furthermore conceded during the Disciplinary Meeting that he did not,
address the problems that led to him constructing
the anonymous
e-mail
at any stage
to the Executive Committee of the South
African Practical Shooting Association. He also did not make use of
section 13 of the Constitution
which provides for Dispute Resolution.
It is imperative and
incumbent upon members of the Executive Committee to uphold the
responsibility for maintaining the integrity
of the management and
decision-making process as per the Constitution, in addition to
ensuring that fiduciary duty and obligations
are maintained. The
management structure of the South African Practical Shooting
Association would therefore indicate the following
flow of decision
making:
-
Provincial matters resolved at provincial level by the provincial
structures.
-
Escalation to Executive Committee level should matters not be
concluded or resolved at provincial level.
-
Escalation to Dispute Resolution level should matters not be
concluded or resolved at
-
Executive Committee level.
Mr Combrink, in his
capacity as the Chairperson of Northern Gauteng Practical Shooting
Association, violated these principles in
his behaviour by publishing
the anonymous e-mail and this action caused harm to the standing of
the Federation and placed the reputation
of the Executive Committee
in disrepute. It should be reiterated that he readily conceded to
this aspect in the Disciplinary Meeting.
Actions such as these by
members of the Executive Committee cause harm to the Federation and
is in violation of the fiduciary duty
incumbent upon members of the
Executive Committee. Should such behaviour occur in the future, it
should hold serious ramifications
for members taking similar action
to that taken by Mr Combrink and his violation of procedure.
Resolution of such actions are extremely
time consuming and come at a
monetary cost to the Federation as was experienced in this instance.
Remedy and
Sanction
The loss of reputation
to the South African Practical Shooting Association deserves a form
of remedy or restitution to ensure that
the integrity of its
management processes is respected. In this regard MR Combrink is
ordered to address a letter to the Executive
Committee of the South
African Practical Shooting Association retracting all statements made
in the anonymous e-mail and offer
an apology to the Federation. This
letter is to become part of the record of proceedings of the Annual
Council meeting to be held
on 26 February 2022. Should the letter not
be submitted timeously, Mr Combrink will be barred from membership of
the South African
Practical Association for life.
Upon submission of the
letter of apology Mr Combrink will be barred from being a member of
the South African Practical Shooting
Association for a period of five
years of which three years will be suspended for the five year period
on the basis that he does
not commit any actions that may bring the
Federation in disrepute.
The Disciplinary
Committee felt, however, that Mr Combrink deserves an opportunity to
prove a measure of good behaviour. Should
Mr Combrink NOT participate
in any JPSC matches hosted anywhere in South Africa by any club at
levels 1 to 5 over the first 12
months, he can submit for reprieve
and be allowed to apply for membership upon review by the Executive
Committee of the South African
Practical Shooting Association. Should
he, however, participate in any such activity, the ban from being a
member remains in place
for the FULL TWO YEARS as per the previous
paragraph.”
THE DOMESTIC REMEDY
[9]
The
constitution of the first respondent provides in clause 14.9 as
follows:
“
Any
individual member or member organisation against whom disciplinary
action is taken shall have the right of appeal in accordance
with
Clause 15.”
[10]
Clause
15 of the first respondent’s constitution reads as follows:
“
15.
Right
of appeal / arbitration
15.1. Any
dispute between the Federation and any member organisation or
individual
member, arising out of or in relation to this Constitution
or any of the Federation’s Policies, shall be settled by
Arbitration.
15.2. An
Arbitrator shall be appointed by the Arbitration Foundation of
Southern
Africa.
15.3. The
Arbitrator shall determine the conduct of the arbitration
proceedings,
which determination shall be binding on both parties.
15.4. The
decision of the Arbitration shall be final and binding on both
parties.
15.5. Any
costs relating to arbitration shall be for the account of the party
requesting
arbitration, unless the Arbitrator upholds the appeal, in
which case the costs shall be for the account of the defending
party.”
[11]
Section
72(a) and (b) of the PAJA reads as follows:
“
(2)(a)
Subject to paragraph (c), no court or tribunal shall review an
administrative action in terms of this Act unless any internal
remedy
provided for in any other law has first been exhausted.
(b) Subject to
paragraph (c), a court or tribunal must, if it is not satisfied that
any internal remedy referred to in paragraph
(a) has been exhausted,
direct that the person concerned must first exhaust such remedy
before instituting proceedings in a court
or tribunal for judicial
review in terms of this Act.”
[12]
The
application is brought under both the PAJA and the common law, in the
alternative. If the proceedings under review constitute
administrative action and the PAJA applies, the application must fail
in terms of section 7(2) of the PAJA as the internal remedy
provided
for by the first respondents constitution had not been exhausted and
exceptional circumstances do not exist to exempt
the applicant from
first exhausting the domestic remedy as contemplated by section
7(2)(c) of the PAJA. Counsel for the respondents
submitted on
authority of
Caliber
Clinical Consultants
[2]
that the PAJA does not apply, and that the application should be
decided in terms of the common law.
[3]
[13]
Under
the common law the duty to exhaust domestic remedies is applied
sparingly. Even where a clear contractual intention
imposing an
internal remedy appears from the agreement that constitutes the
authority to institute disciplinary proceedings in
clear terms (as is
the position here), the review court may do away with the common law
duty to exhaust domestic remedies.
[4]
[14]
By
reason of the grounds of review here relied on, I am of the view that
it would not be in the interests of justice to hold that
the
applicant must be denied access to judicial review because he did not
exhaust the domestic remedies provided for by the first
respondent’s
constitution.
COMMON LAW
[15]
The
reviewability of the decisions of domestic tribunals under common law
are consistently applied since
Turner
v Jocky Club of South Africa
[5]
.
The
conduct under review must be measured against the fundamental
principles of justice which our Constitution and our common law
allow
and require, and which are tacitly included in the rules,
constitution and policy documents of the first respondent. The
circumstances of each case will determine what will be required to
ensure that the process concerned would be just, equitable and
fair.
The nature of the enquiry, the rules that find application and the
subject matter determines the circumstances that
will prevail.
Strict procedural rules are not required, and technical rules
of evidence are not observed. The procedure
followed must
afford a person a proper hearing and an opportunity to produce
evidence of correcting and contradicting any prejudicial
statement or
allegation against him or her. Fair play must be applied, and
the tribunal must discharge its duty honestly
and impartially on a
bona
fide
manner to arrive at findings that are rational in relation to the
evidence before it and, generally speaking, the non or wrong
performance of a power entrusted to exercise that power will entitle
persons injured thereby to seek relief in the form of common-law
review
[6]
.
THE FIRST
RESPONDENT’S CONSTITUTION
[16]
The
first challenge the applicant raises (I deal with the grounds of
review in the chronological order the events took place and
not in
the sequence they were raised in these papers) is at the authority of
the first respondent as organisation to have instituted
the
disciplinary proceedings against the applicant. The first
respondent’s constitution is the starting point.
Clauses
2.3.1, 2.3.8, 2.3.11, 2.3.12, 2.3.13, 2.3.26; 4.3 and 14 of its
constitution, contextually and purposively interpreted,
provide that:
[16.1.] Its
Executive Counsel may institute a disciplinary process subject
thereto
that:
[16.1.1.] if
the disciplinary process is initiated by the first respondent’s
management committee (a committee mentioned and composed as stated by
clauses 7.1.1 and 7.2 of its constitution), the decision
must be
unanimous and subject to ratification by the Executive Committee at
its “
next Executive Council meeting
”.
[16.1.2.] If
the disciplinary process is initiated by the Executive Committee as
contemplated by clauses 7.1.2 to 7.1.4 (in other words by the
entities mentioned in those sub-clauses), the relevant counsellors
must submit a written request, fully described and motivated, for
consideration in terms of one of the three annexures to the
constitution.
THE FIRST CHALLENGE
[17]
To
a supplementary affidavit delivered by the applicant after the
replying affidavit had been delivered is an affidavit of Mr Loupellis
attached. Mr Loupellis states that he is a member of the first
respondents Executive Committee. During 2021 and 2022 when
the
disciplinary proceedings against the applicant were afoot, he was a
member of the Executive Committee and the first respondent’s
management committee and he as member of the Executive Committee of
the first respondent never voted in support of a decision to
initiate
disciplinary proceedings against the applicant.
[18]
The
record shows that the applicant’s legal representatives (while
they were still on brief for the applicant) requested in
writing
information from the first respondent about and concerning the
decision taken by the first respondent as contemplated by
its
constitution to initiate the disciplinary process against the
applicant. The request was made on 21 July 2021.
[19]
The
first respondent’s constitution requires that the preconditions
or conditions precedent mentioned in the clauses referred
to above
must exist prior to the exercise of the power and procedures the said
constitution provide for in respect of the disciplinary
process.
Those conditions constitute jurisdictional facts. Our common
law distinguishes between “jurisdictional
facts” as
“
substantive
”
and “
procedural
”.
The constitution of the first respondent imposes, in my view,
jurisdictional facts that must exist before a disciplinary
process
may be instituted.
[20]
The
facts are jurisdictional because the exercise of the disciplinary
powers the first respondent has as institution depend on the
existence and observance of those facts.
[7]
Professor Hoexter states that: “
If
the jurisdictional facts are not present or observed (or, to put it
differently, if the administrator makes a mistake of fact
about their
presence or observance), then the exercise of the power will, as a
general rule, be unlawful. To hold otherwise,
the courts have
reasoned, would be to allow administrators to arrogate powers to
themselves to inflate their own jurisdiction.
The same
reasoning is applied to non-administrative action, such as a judge’s
decision to issue a search warrant, through
the courts are likely to
exercise more deference in evaluating the presence of the
jurisdictional facts
.”
[8]
[21]
The
existence or absence of jurisdictional facts has to be judged
objectively and “
If
the Court finds that objectively the fact did not exist, it may then
declare invalid the purported exercise of the power”.
[9]
I
will now turn to the facts on this aspect.
[22]
The
first respondent states that the decision to prosecute the applicant
took place during the restrictions imposed during the Covid-19
pandemic and contend that the applicant relies on a “
foot
fault”
of the first respondent to
avoid the consequences of his earlier admission of guilt and that no
“
unfair administrative conduct”
appear from the record. The first respondent further submits
that the decision to initiate the disciplinary process had been
“
plainly ratified”
to
the extent that it may be found not have been taken in a manner
contemplated by the constitution of the first respondent.
[23]
The
first respondent explains that the decision of the first respondents
executive committee took place on 29 May 2021 when it was
decided,
without the culprit having been identified, that disciplinary steps
ought to have been taken against the, at the time,
unidentified
individual who authored the anonymous letter. Mr Loupellis was
a member of the executive committee and present
at the meeting.
Two days later the first respondents vice chairperson received a
report from an independent investigator.
It was in this report
that the applicant was identified as the person responsible for
publication of the anonymous letter.
On the same day the vice
chairperson circulated an email to the members of the management
committee of the first respondent seeking
the unanimous vote for the
process of disciplinary hearing to commence. In paragraph 24 of
the first respondents answering
affidavit to the applicant’s
supplementary affidavit the relevant passage of the letter on which
the first respondent relies,
is quoted. In that letter the name
of the applicant is not mentioned. Reference is still made to
the person responsible
as “an individual”. The
letter that was transmitted by electronic mail was repeated in
Whatsapp messages which
were addressed to, inter alia, Mr Loupellis.
To this Whatsapp Mr Loupellis responded on the Whatsapp group as
follows: “
Good with that. Regards
John
”.
[24]
The
first respondent relies on a blanket decision to institute
disciplinary proceedings against the “
individual
”
concerned when his or her identity was not known. Mr Loupellis
denies that he as member of the executive committee
of the first
respondent voted or resolved to proceed against the applicant.
I cannot find any agenda item, email or other
document that expressly
informed the management of the first respondent that the decision as
contemplated by clause 14 of its constitution
was required in
connection with the applicant. I infer that the reason for the
failure on the part of the first respondent
to supply the applicant’s
legal representatives with the information they requested on 21 July
2021 is that the information
could not be supplied at the time.
[25]
In
my view the first respondent did not comply with its own constitution
and that the jurisdictional fact its constitution requires
to exist
prior to the institution of disciplinary proceedings, was not
satisfied. Under the circumstances the members of
the executive
of the first respondent could not by unanimous consent or agreement
have authorised the disciplinary action against
the applicant
[26]
Under
the circumstances it is not necessary to deal with the other grounds
of review raised by the applicant. The applicant
seeks an order
restoring his membership. He was not a member at the conclusion
of the disciplinary process. He resigned.
Under those
circumstances an order cannot be made in that respect. It my view
costs must follow the event in these proceedings.
ORDER
The following order is
made:
1.
The
disciplinary proceedings, decisions and sanction by the first
respondent in respect of the applicant are reviewed and set aside;
2.
The
first respondent is ordered to pay the applicants costs of this
application.
H F JACOBS
ACTING Judge of the
High Court
GAUTENG DIVISION,
PRETORIA
Delivered:
This judgment was handed down
electronically by circulation to the parties’ legal
representatives by e-mail. The date
and time for hand-down is
deemed to be 14h00 on the 8
th
February 2024.
APPERANCES
Applicants’
counsel:
Adv Z Pansegrouw
Applicants’
attorneys:
Pritchard
Attorneys
Respondent’s
counsel:
Adv J G Botha
Respondent’s
attorneys:
Peter Le Mottée Attorneys
[1]
Counsel
noted in their heads of argument that condonation for the filing of
further affidavits and the late delivery of affidavits
in response
thereto would not be an issue in the application.
[2]
Caliber
Clinical Consultants (Pty) Ltd and Another v National Bargaining
Counsel for the Road Freight Industry and Another
2010 (5) SA 457
SCA
[3]
I
have not been asked to rule on whether the review resort under PAJA
or the common law and do not deal with that aspect any further.
[4]
See
Mtamane
v MEC for Social Development, Eastern Cape
2005 Africa Third Edition page 745; Burns, Administrative Law,
Fourth Edition page 508
[5]
1974
(3) SA 633
A;
Advertising
Regulatory Board NPC and Others v Bliss Brands (Pty) Ltd
2022 (4) SA 57
(SCA) at [55];
Public
Protector and Others v President of RSA and Others
2021 (6) SA 37
(CC) at [130]
[6]
Hira
and Another v Booysen and Another
1992 (4) SA 69
(AD) at 93A-B
[7]
See
Meyer
v South African Medical and Dental Council
1982 (4) SA 450T
at 454E – H;
Union
of Refugee Woman v Director: Private Security Industry Regulatory
Authority
2007 (4) SA 395
(CC) at [78]
[8]
See
Hoexter and Penfold, Administrative Law in South Africa, Third
Edition page 402; Burns Administrative Law, Fourth Edition
page
391; Baxter, Administrative Law page 457 - 461
[9]
See
DA
v President of RSA
2012 (1) SA 417
(SCA) at [118]
(6)
SA 248 (E);
Welkom
Village Management Board v Leteno
1958 (1) SA 490
(A) at 503B; Hoexter, Administrative Law in South
sino noindex
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