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# South Africa: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
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## Deyer and Others v Platt SC N.O and Others (30343/2021)
[2023] ZAGPPHC 2046 (20 December 2023)
Deyer and Others v Platt SC N.O and Others (30343/2021)
[2023] ZAGPPHC 2046 (20 December 2023)
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sino date 20 December 2023
FLYNOTES:
ADMINISTRATIVE – Disciplinary proceedings –
Recusal
–
Charges
against auditors for work related to failed Sharemax property
syndication schemes – Committee refusing recusal
of two
members – Auditors complaining of bias –
Professionally prejudiced by negative press reports and contents
of preamble of charge sheet – Irreparable harm and exemption
from duty to exhaust internal remedy – Whether internal
remedy and appellate mechanism provides practitioner with
effective redress – Decision of IRBA disciplinary committee
to refuse recusal of two of its members is set aside – Order
for their recusal granted –
Promotion of Administrative
Justice Act 3 of 2000
,
s 7(2).
IN THE HIGH COURT
OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG DIVISION,
PRETORIA
CASE NO. 30343/2021
(1)
REPORTABLE:
NO
(2)
OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES:
NO
(3)
REVISED:
NO
(4)
Date: 20 December 2023
Signature:
In the matter between:
DANIE
DEYER
First
Applicant
JAQUES
ANDRE VAN DER MERWE
Second
Applicant
PETRUS
JOHANNES JACOBUS BEKKER
Third
Applicant
And
ADV
ANTHEA L PLATT SC N.O.
First Respondent
(In her capacity as the
Chairperson of the Disciplinary
Committee of the
Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors)
SUREN
SOOKLAL
Second Respondent
HORTON
GRIFFITHS
Third Respondent
THE
INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BOARD
Fourth
Respondent
FOR AUDITORS (“IRBA”)
THE
PRO FORMA COMPLAINANT
Fifth
Respondent
JUDGMENT
Nyathi J
A.
INTRODUCTION
[1]
The
A
pplicants
who are registered auditors practicing as such, seeking an order
setting aside the disciplinary proceedings initiated
by IRBA against
them. They allege that there has been a material infringement of
their right under Section 34 of the Constitution
to a fair hearing in
front of an independent and impartial committee. This can be referred
to as “
the
Constitutional relief”
[1]
.
[2]
In
the alternative, the Applicants seek a review and setting aside of
the decision by the Committee to refuse the recusal of two
of its
members (Messrs. Sooklal and Griffiths) and for an order compelling
their recusal. This is “
the
recusal relief”
.
[2]
[3]
The Applicants are the Respondents in the
disciplinary proceedings aforesaid but are also herein
interchangeably referred to as
“the practitioners”.
B.
BACKGROUND
[4]
The Sharemax Group of Companies conducted
various property syndication schemes whereby the public were, through
prospectuses, invited
to invest in completed and fully tenanted
shopping centres.
[5]
The practitioners, as practicing and
registered auditors, were engaged to perform reasonable assurance
work (i.e., audits) in respect
of financial statements of entities in
the group of companies and limited assurance work in respect of the
various prospectuses
issued.
[6]
It is submitted on Applicants' behalf that
some 56 of these syndications were over a number of years
successfully completed in the
sense that the investors all received
the returns that they were contractually entitled to.
[7]
The last two syndications (also by far the
biggest), known as Zambezi and the Villa respectively, involved the
acquisition of as
yet undeveloped property and the construction of a
mega shopping centre on each. In terms of the contractual
arrangement, the completed
and fully tenanted shopping centre would
in each case be acquired from a third-party developer at a price to
be then determined
based on the rental income stream at completion
and a fixed capitalisation rate.
[8]
After a substantial sum had been obtained
through several prospectuses and while the construction of the two
shopping centres was
still underway, the Registrar of Banks
intervened and issued directives that because it considered that the
schemes were in contravention
of the Banks Act, all monies received
from all of the syndication schemes had to be repaid. This step was
taken notwithstanding
the then existence of conflicting legal opinion
in this regard.
[9]
As a result of this intervention and the
inevitable subsequent adverse media coverage, these two schemes came
to an abrupt halt.
[10]
As a result of a complaint lodged by a
certain Mr. Kocks sometimes in 2010, the disciplinary proceedings
that are subject of this
application were initiated by the IRBA
against the Applicants.
[11]
After several iterations of the charge
sheet, the final amended charge sheet, comprising in excess of 340
charges, were presented
to the practitioners during February of 2020,
nearly ten years after the original complaint.
[12]
The charge sheet had a preamble named “Part
A”. This served as a summary of the allegations.
[13]
On the day the hearing commenced, Adv.
Hofmeyr (the
pro forma
complainant) made an opening statement. The proceedings were then
interrupted and postponed with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
C.
THE APPLICANTS’ CASE
[14]
The Applicants have a major gripe with both
“Part A” and the opening address by Ms. Hofmeyr. They
allege that the charge
sheet was based on or triggered by some wild,
speculative and completely unfounded adverse allegations made in some
media articles.
They opine that the directives issued by the
Registrar of Banks added tremendous impetus to such adverse media
coverage during
the course of which wild and completely unfounded
allegations of a fraudulent Pyramid or Ponzi scheme were made.
[15]
IRBA, in Part A of the charge sheet,
selected and compiled the most serious and most sensationalist of
these wild, speculative and
unfounded media allegations.
[16]
Part A was then presented as the relevant
true and correct factual background to the charges against the
practitioners.
[17]
The narrative presented in Part A was that
the syndication schemes were fraudulent Pyramid or Ponzi schemes in
which the practitioners
did not perform an independent professional
role, but in which they were an important cog in the Sharemax
machinery.
[18]
Part A was presented as aforesaid by IRBA,
although IRBA at the time had absolutely no evidence in support of
such narrative.
[19]
The opening address was a continuation of
the same false narrative and presented as the relevant background to
the charges……...
[20]
The opening address predictably resulted in
further adverse media articles and a continuation of the same
narrative. The Applicants
allege that during the hearing so far, two
of the disciplinary panel members, to wit Messrs Sooklal and
Griffiths have exhibited
undisguised and unbridled hostility and bias
towards them. They conclude that the latter were successfully
influenced by Part A
and the opening address of the
pro
forma
complainant.
[21]
Mr Brian William Smith an expert witness
who testified on behalf of IRBA was highly compromised due to his
previous association
with the IRBA, which ties were not disclosed.
[22]
Mr Griffiths is a member of the
Disciplinary Committee. The Applicants allege that it has become
apparent that he has a longstanding
involvement in IRBA’s
committees. Furthermore, he and Smith served on the same
investigating committee for at least 3 years
while he was Chairman
thereof. Griffiths failed to disclose all this.
[23]
The objection against Sooklal centres on
his conduct. The practitioners complain that adverse body language,
the voice intonation
conveyed, hostility, irritation, disrespect,
discourtesy and a dismissive attitude on his part, betrayed Sooklal’s
innate
hostility and bias complained about already.
[24]
When the hearings resumed, the Applicants
made an application for the recusal of two of the seven members of
the disciplinary panel.
The Applicants based their application on
alleged bias due to conduct, body language, utterances etc.
[25]
The Applicants sought the recusal of panel
members Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Sooklal due to their alleged hostility
to the Applicants
and for being dismissive and disrespectful.
[26]
The recusal application was refused.
D.
THE 4
TH
RESPONDENT’S CASE
[27]
IRBA bears a statutory responsibility to
take disciplinary action against registered auditors where this is
warranted, so as to
protect the public from practitioners’
Improper conduct.
[28]
Registered auditors, such as the applicants
in this case, are required to conduct their work in accordance with
the applicable professional
standards and to comply with IRBA's Code
of Professional Conduct, as well as any other applicable laws. A
registered auditor who
is alleged to have fallen short of the
required standards may be subject to IRBA disciplinary proceedings
and sanctions under the
Act.
[29]
The
High Court has already held
[3]
that IRBA disciplinary hearings are administrative processes. This
means that IRBA disciplinary hearings must comply with the
requirements for lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair
administrative action. If, at the end of those proceedings, it can be
shown that the proceedings did not meet those requirements, then the
affected practitioners have their full rights under the Promotion
of
Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA) to approach a court to
review and set aside those proceedings.
[30]
The disciplinary hearing is currently
mid-stream, and the Applicants are seeking to stop the disciplinary
process in its tracks,
rendering 4 weeks of hearing a nullity in
essence.
[31]
The disciplinary hearing, contends the 4
th
Respondent, is not completed. So far, the Committee has made
only one decision: that is, to dismiss the practitioners' recusal
application. The Committee has not made any decision concerning the
guilt or innocence of the practitioners. It is not yet able
to do so.
[32]
IRBA
contends
that it is far-reaching relief that if it is granted, will mean that
the disciplinary proceedings will be stymied and almost
four weeks of
hearing that have passed will be scrapped, and the IRBD will have to
begin afresh.
[33]
It is submitted on behalf of IRBA that the
courts are generally loath to entertain midstream reviews of this
nature since piecemeal
litigation ought to be avoided. It is only in
exceptional circumstances that a court will intervene and stop
proceedings before
they are completed.
[34]
IRBA submits that from a legal perspective
the Applicants primarily seek an order declaring that their rights
under section 34 of
the Constitution have been infringed, coupled
with an order declaring that the proceedings thus far are a nullity,
and setting
them and the charge sheet aside. This Constitutional
relief, argues IRBA, should not be granted for 3 main reasons,
namely:
34.1
Firstly
,
it is incompetent.
The
practitioners’ complaint is that an administrative process to
which they are subject, is unfair. Their remedy, if they
are correct
that the process has been unfair, or that the decision-maker is
biased, is a review in terms of PAJA. Instead, the
practitioners have
grounded their case in the wrong right. They contend that their
rights under
section 34 of the
Constitution
have
been violated, but that right does not apply to administrative
processes.
Administrative processes
are governed by section 33 of the Constitution
,
and complaints about them must be brought before the courts in terms
of the legislation specifically promulgated by Parliament
to
vindicate that right: PAJA. The practitioners cannot side-step PAJA
and seek to rely directly on section 34 of the Constitution
to
litigate what is, in effect, a challenge to an administrative
process. Crisply put, the Applicants are in breach of the
“subsidiarity
principle”, it was contended on behalf of
the Respondents.
34.2
Secondly
,
the application is premature in two respects, namely:
34.2.1
The
disciplinary hearing is midstream, and
34.2.2
While
the Applicants contend that the entire committee is biased against
them, they never sought the entire committee’s recusal
but have
cherry-picked Mr. Griffiths and Mr. Sooklal
34.3
Thirdly
,
and in any event, there is no infringement of the Applicants’
rights under Section 34 of the Constitution.
[35]
In the alternative
,
to the constitutional relief, the
practitioners seek an order reviewing and setting aside the
Committee's recusal decision and substituting
that decision with one
recusing Mr Sooklal and Mr Griffiths. This relief is based on the
only decision the Committee has taken.
It relates to the decision
whether Mr Sooklal and Mr Griffiths should recuse themselves ("the
recusal relief").
The status of the
matter so far:
[36]
The
pro
forma
complainant has made its opening statement and presented its case.
The
pro
forma
complainant presented the evidence of three witnesses, all of whom
were cross-examined by the practitioners. After these three
witnesses, the
pro
forma
complainant closed its case.
[37]
The practitioners
then presented the evidence of two witnesses, Mr Le Roux and Prof
Wainer, both of whom were cross-examined by
the
pro
forma
complainant.
[38]
The practitioners had
indicated that they intended to call further witnesses before closing
their case: Mr Heymans (another expert)
and, potentially, the
practitioners themselves. However, at the end of Prof Wainer's
evidence, the practitioners sought the recusal
of two Committee
members: Mr Sooklal and Mr Griffiths.
[39]
The recusal
application was argued on 15 and 17 February 2021. The Committee then
postponed the disciplinary hearing
sine
die
to
determine the recusal application. On 18 March 2021, the Committee
made a ruling refusing the practitioners' recusal application.
[40]
T
he
practitioners are now asking this Court to declare the proceedings,
in their entirety, a nullity, on the basis that their "fair
trial" rights, in terms of section 34 of the Constitution, have
been infringed. In the alternative, the practitioners ask-
this Court
to order the recusal of Messrs. Sooklal and Griffiths.
E.
THE APPLICABLE LEGAL
PROVISIONS
[41]
IRBA is the auditing regulator, established
in terms of the
Auditing Profession Act 26 of 2005
. IRBA is required,
in terms of
section 4
of the Act, to take steps to promote the
integrity of the auditing profession by, amongst others,
investigating improper conduct,
conducting disciplinary hearings and
imposing sanctions for improper conduct. IRBA is also required to
take steps it considers
necessary to protect the public in their
dealings with registered auditors.
[42]
It
is trite that IRBA disciplinary hearings are administrative
processes
[4]
. It follows that
such hearings must comply with the requirements for lawful,
reasonable and procedurally fair administrative hearings.
If at the
conclusion of those hearings, it can be shown that they fell short of
these standards, then the affected
practitioners have their full rights under the Promotion of
Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA) to approach a court to
review and set aside those proceedings.
[43]
IRBA's disciplinary
process begins with an investigation, conducted by IRBA's
Investigating Committee. The members of the Investigating
Committee
are required to bring their independent professional judgment to bear
on the cases they are investigating. The Investigating
Committee is
tasked with determining whether there is a basis on which to charge
an auditor with improper conduct, and if so, what
charges should be
preferred. The Investigating Committee does not decide whether a
practitioner is guilty but rather whether there
are grounds to charge
the practitioner concerned. It is the Disciplinary Committee that
decides whether the practitioner is guilty
or innocent.
[44]
The Investigating
Committee then makes a recommendation to the Disciplinary Advisory
Committee (DAC) — a sub-committee of
the IRBA board. The DAC
then decides whether to charge an auditor formally. If the DAC
decides to charge the auditor, the DAC must
furnish the auditor with
a charge sheet, as envisaged in section 49 of the Act. The auditor
must then plead to the charges. If
he or she denies guilt, the matter
proceeds to a disciplinary hearing before a panel comprising members
of IRBA's Disciplinary
Committee. The Disciplinary Committee
comprises both registered auditors and other suitably qualified
persons, including lawyers.
[45]
Section 50 of the Act
and the Rules promulgated under the Act sets out the order of
procedure in which the hearing is conducted.
[46]
Before dealing with
the Constitutional relief and the recusal relief, I propose to deal
with the issue of the timing of the review
application. This has been
referred to as “the midstream review problem” in the
heads of argument.
The
midstream review problem:
[47]
Generally, the High Court should be
approached with review applications only after the conclusion of the
disciplinary process or
trial in the lower courts. This is also the
case with arbitration proceedings in labour disputes at the CCMA or
Bargaining Councils.
[48]
The High Court will
not in general entertain an application such as this one and
interfere with uncompleted proceedings. This is
because piecemeal
litigation is undesirable. The court will intervene only in
exceptional circumstances where grave injustice would
otherwise
result. In
Matshikwe
v M
[2003]
3 All SA 11
(SCA) para 14 the Court said that
"the
power to intervene in unconcluded proceedings in lower courts will be
exercised only in cases of great rarity".
[49]
Courts
are hesitant to entertain review of ongoing proceedings, including of
recusal decisions, which are brought in
medias res
–
It is only in rare cases where grave injustice might
otherwise result or where justice might not by other
means be
attained that a court will entertain a review before the conclusion
of proceedings.
[5]
[50]
In
considering whether to permit such a challenge
in medias res,
relevant considerations include the nature of the matter, the nature
of the objection to the composition of the court, the prospects
of
success in the recusal and the length of the record in the
proceedings. It is only in rare cases where grave injustice might
otherwise result or where justice might not by other means be
attained that a court will entertain a review before the conclusion
of proceedings. Such judicial intervention in
medias res
has
been said to be warranted only where there is a gross irregularity in
the proceedings and in a rare case, because the perpetrators
perpetuating the irregularities are those that have been entrusted
with safeguarding constitutional rights. In the absence of
exceptional circumstances, reviews should ordinarily be brought at
the end of proceedings in order not to threaten the effectiveness
of
all tribunals and courts.
[6]
[51]
The full
court in Public Protector (supra) referred with approval to the SCA
decision in
Take
& Save Trading CC and others v The Standard Bank of SA Ltd
[7]
where it was held that:
“
. . .
an appeal
in medias res
in the event of a
refusal to recuse, although legally permissible, is not available as
a matter of right and it is usually not the
route to follow because
the balance of convenience more often than not requires that the case
be brought to a conclusion at the
first level and the whole case then
be appealed.”
The
doctrine of subsidiarity
[52]
Adv. Hofmeyr submitted that the applicants have relied on section 34
of the Constitution; and the latter
does not apply to disciplinary
hearings, the cause of action is thus not competent. The applicants
should have relied on PAJA being
the application promulgated pursuant
to the provisions of section 33. In terms of the subsidiarity
principle therefore, the applicants
cannot rely directly on the
Constitution.
[53]
In
Pretorius
and Another v Transport Pension Fund and others,
[8]
the
Constitutional Court held that the general rule that claimants may
not rely directly on the Constitution when a right is regulated
by
specific legislation is not inflexible. The Constitutional Court then
quoted the majority judgment in
My
Vote Counts NPC v Speaker of the National Assembly
[9]
where the court expressly disavowed that subsidiarity was a hard
rule. The court cautioned that:
“
We
should not be understood to suggest that the principle of
constitutional subsidiarity applies as a hard and fast rule. There
are decisions in which this Court has said that the principle may not
apply. This Court is yet to develop the principle to
a point
where the inner and outer contours of its reach are clearly
delineated. It is not necessary to do that in this case.”
The law on recusal:
[54]
The
SCA in
Basson
v Hugo & Others
[10]
considered the law governing recusals and referred to its earlier
decision in
Moch
v Nedtravel (Pty) Ltd t/a American Express Travel Service
1996 (3) SA
1
(A), (
[1996] ZASCA 2)
at
8J – 9B, where it had rejected the notion that a refusal by a
judge (in this case an administrator) to recuse himself from
proceedings in respect of which he is reasonably suspected of
bias, renders that decision voidable; and held that the consequence
of a failure to recuse renders the proceedings a nullity. Hefer JA
observed:
“
The
effect of a refusal to do so is clear. Unlike the seemingly
controversial status In English administrative law of the decisions
of biased officials (cf. Craig Administrative Law 3 ed at 467 - 5;
Wade 'Unlawful Administrative Action: void or voidable'(1968)
84 LQR
95)
, firm and authoritative views have been expressed In South Africa
regarding the effect on judicial proceedings of a judge's refusal
to
withdraw from the matter from which he should have recused himself.
Without spelling out its actual effect, Centlivres CJ observed
ln R v
Milne and Erleigh (6) (supra at 6 in Fin) that 1 a biased judge who
continues to try a matter after refusing an application
for his
recusal thereby- "commits... an irregularity in the proceedings
every minute he remains on the bench during the trial
of the
accused.”
[11]
[55]
The SCA in
Basson
held that the failure of 2 panel members (Profs Hugo and Mhlanga) to
recuse themselves rendered the proceedings of the disciplinary
hearing a nullity.
[56]
On
the question of the appellant’s obligation to exhaust all
internal remedies, it held that
the
court
a
quo
should have found that there were exceptional circumstances as
contemplated in s 7(2)(c) of PAJA, which required the immediate
intervention of the court rather than resort to the internal remedy
provided for by the enabling legislation, to wit section 10(3)
of the
HPCSA Act. The internal remedy was found to be ineffective and
inadequate. It did not offer a prospect of success and could
not
redress the appellant’s complaint.
[12]
[57]
The SCA held that an impartial judge (or
other presiding officer) is a fundamental prerequisite for a fair
trial and a presiding
officer should not hesitate to recuse herself
or himself where a litigant has reasonable grounds to apprehend that
the presiding
officer, for whatever reason, was not or will not be
impartial. Impartiality,
[58]
The
Constitutional Court has also said that impartiality 'is the keystone
of a civilised system of adjudication', and an absolute
requirement
in every judicial proceeding and proceedings before other
tribunals.
[13]
[59]
Shongwe J referred with approval to
President of the RSA v
SARFU
[1999] ZACC 9
;
1999 (4) SA 147
(CC) para 35,
and
South African Commercial Catering
and Allied Workers Union and Others v Irvin & Johnson Ltd
2000 (3) 5A 705 (CC) para 13. He restated that:
'A cornerstone of any
fair and just legal system is the impartial adjudication of disputes
which come before courts and other tribunals....
Nothing is more
likely to impair confidence in such proceedings, whether on the part
of litigants or the general public, than actual
bias or the
appearance of bias in the official or officials who have the power to
adjudicate on disputes.’
[60]
It
is accepted that the rule against bias is firmly etched in section 34
of the Constitution.
[14]
The law on the duty to
exhaust an internal remedy.
[61]
In
cases where the impugned decision constitutes administrative action
as defined in PAJA, internal remedy must be exhausted prior
to
judicial review, unless the appellant can show exceptional
circumstances to exempt him or her from this requirement.
[15]
Exemption from the duty may be granted only in exceptional
circumstances where it is in the interests of justice to do so.
[16]
[62]
Mokgoro
J stated in
Koyabe
,
that the duty to exhaust available internal remedies should not be
rigidly imposed, and nor should it be used by administrators
to
frustrate the efforts of an aggrieved person or to shield the
administrative process from judicial scrutiny.
[17]
The learned Justice emphasized that a remedy would have to be
available, effective and adequate in order to count as an existing
internal remedy.
[63]
What
constitutes exceptional circumstances depends on the facts and
circumstances of the case and the nature of the administrative
action
in issue.
[18]
An
Internal remedy is effective if it offers a prospect of success, and
can be ‘objectively implemented, taking into
account
relevant principles and values of administrative justice present in
the Constitution and our law'; and available if it
can be pursued
'without any obstruction, whether systemic or arising from
unwarranted administrative conduct'.
[19]
[64]
In
Basson, it was concluded that an internal remedy is adequate if it
can redress the complaint.
[20]
F.
DISCUSSION
[65]
Whilst
there are substantial pages in the file devoted to the practitioners’
objections against Mr. Smith and his status as
an expert witness in
the disciplinary hearing, I am minded not to delve further into that
aspect seeing that the application for
recusal does not relate to
him. This does not detract from any perception of bias on his part
though.
[21]
[66]
During
the entire period in which the Investigating Committee of the IRBA
investigated the complaint or charges against the practitioners,
Mr.
Smith served on the Investigating Committee and chaired it even.
[22]
[67]
Mr.
Sooklal’s conduct, attitude, remarks, utterances and visible
disrespect towards the practitioners and to some extent towards
Prof.
Wainer who testified on behalf of the practitioners has not been
denied in any discernible way. The Committee afforded both
Sooklal
and Griffiths an opportunity to explain themselves as regards these
complaints. Without denying same, Sooklal apologizes
and said that he
had made the utterances “in jest”.
[23]
G.
CONCLUSION
[68]
A conspectus of the SCA judgment in
Basson
highlights many similarities of facts
and applicable legal provisions with the current review application.
[69]
I proceed to briskly set out some of the
salient similarities dealt with in both matters:
69.1
The
applicants’ duty to exhaust internal remedy before instituting
proceedings for judicial review. Applicable in both cases.
69.2
Exceptional
circumstances exempting from duty. A requirement in both cases. This
touches also on the issue of irreparable harm that
stands to befall
the practitioner(s) in both matters. In the instant case, the
applicants set out the extent to which they are
being professionally
prejudiced by the negative press reports and the contents of Part A
of the charge sheet.
69.3
Ineffective
internal remedy. The internal remedy and the appellate mechanism
provided does not provide the practitioner with effective
redress for
his/her complaint. This is so because the appeal committee is not
competent to adjudicate the issue of bias because
it lacks the
necessary authority to grant the type of relief requested, namely,
setting aside the proceedings on the ground that
they are a
nullity.
[24]
69.4
Practitioner(s)
asking members of professional conduct committee to recuse themselves
for bias but they refused. A similar complaint
with a similar
outcome.
69.5
Whether
practitioner(s) obliged to appeal refusal to appellate committee
before instituting review thereof. Similar in both matters.
69.6
Professional
statute: In
Basson
it was the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974 section 10 (3),
in
casu,
it
is the Auditing Professions Act 26 of 2005.
69.7
PAJA
3 of 2000 section 7 (2). Similar in both instances.
H.
COSTS
[70]
The normal rule that costs must follow the
cause is trite. My attention was drawn on behalf of the applicants to
consider the
Biowatch
principle in the event that the court finds against them.
I.
ORDER
In consideration of the
aforementioned considerations, the following order is made:
i.
The decision of the IRBA disciplinary
committee to refuse the recusal of two of its members Messrs. Sooklal
and Griffiths because
of bias is reviewed and set aside. An order for
their recusal is hereby granted.
ii.
The 4
th
respondents are ordered to pay the applicants’ costs including
the costs of two counsel where so employed.
J.S. NYATHI
Judge of the High Court
Gauteng Division,
Pretoria
Date of hearing: 23 &
24 February 2023
Date of Judgment: 20
December 2023
On behalf of the
Applicants: Adv. M.C. Maritz SC
With him:
Adv. G.F. Heyns SC
Attorneys
for the Applicants: Clyde & Company. (Mr. Cilliers)
E-mail:
Webber.cilliers@clydeco.com
On behalf of the
Respondents: Adv. K. Hofmeyr SC
With
Adv. I. Cloete
Attorneys for the
Respondents; Lawtons Africa
E-mail:
tshavhungwe.tshivhase@lawtonsafrica.com
Delivery
:
This judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties' legal representatives by email and uploaded on the
CaseLines
electronic platform. The date for hand-down is deemed to be 20
December 2023.
[1]
Nomenclature
borrowed from Respondents heads of argument.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Du Plessis v The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors 2017 JDR
0902 (WCC) at paras 6 to 18.
[4]
Du
Plessis v The Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors 2017 JDR
0902 (WCC) at paras 6 to 18.
[5]
Public
Protector of South Africa v Chairperson: Section 194(1) Committee
and others
[2023] 2 All SA 818
(WCC)
[6]
Supra
Para [40] – [41] of
Public
Protector of South Africa v Chairperson: Section 194(1) Committee
and others
[2023] 2 All SA 818.
[7]
Take
& Save Trading CC and Others v The Standard Bank of SA Ltd
2004
(4) SA 1 (SCA), 2004 ZASCA 1.
[8]
Pretorius
and Another v Transport Pension Fund and Others
2019 (2) SA 37 (CC),
[2018] ZACC 10 (CC).
[9]
My
Vote Counts NPC v Speaker of the National Assembly
[2015] ZACC 31
(CC),
2015 (1) SA 132 (CC).
[10]
Basson
v Hugo & Others
2018 (3) SA 46 (SCA).
[11]
Basson
v Hugo & Others para [17] to [21].
[12]
Basson
Para [22].
[13]
Basson
Para [25], President of the RSA v
SARFU
[1999] ZACC 9
;
1999 (4) SA 147
(CC) para 35,
and
South
African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union and Others v
Irvin & Johnson Ltd
2000
(3) 5A 705 (CC) para 13.
[14]
Bernert
v Absa Bank Ltd
2011 (3) SA 92
(CC)
(
2011 (4) BCLR 329
; 9
[2010]
ZACC 28)
paras 28 and 31.
[15]
Section
7 (2) of PAJA;
Koyabe
and Others v Minister for Home Affairs and Others (Lawyers for Human
Rights as Amicus Curiae)
2010 (4) SA 327
(CC)
(
2009 (12) BCLR 1192
;
[2009] ZACC 23
Para 34.
[16]
Hoexter
& Penfold – Administrative law in South Africa 3ed p746
note 365.
[17]
Koyabe
para 38.
[18]
Ibid
para 39.
[19]
Ibid
para 44.
[20]
Basson
(supra) para 12.
[21]
Mr.
Maritz’s analogy of 3 elephants as recorded in Caselines
volume 18 of 028 (Transcript).
[22]
Paragraph
11 at Caselines 002-76 inter alia.
[23]
Caselines
002-251 at para 4.2.
[24]
Basson
Para [61].
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