Case Law[2023] ZACC 19South Africa
Bliss Brands (Pty) Ltd v Advertising Regulatory Board NPC and Others (CCT 132/22) [2023] ZACC 19; 2023 (10) BCLR 1153 (CC) (26 June 2023)
Constitutional Court of South Africa
26 June 2023
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## Bliss Brands (Pty) Ltd v Advertising Regulatory Board NPC and Others (CCT 132/22) [2023] ZACC 19; 2023 (10) BCLR 1153 (CC) (26 June 2023)
Bliss Brands (Pty) Ltd v Advertising Regulatory Board NPC and Others (CCT 132/22) [2023] ZACC 19; 2023 (10) BCLR 1153 (CC) (26 June 2023)
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sino date 26 June 2023
CONSTITUTIONAL
COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
Case
CCT 132/22
In
the matter between:
BLISS
BRANDS (PTY)
LIMITED
Applicant
and
ADVERTISING
REGULATORY BOARD NPC
First
Respondent
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE
(PTY) LIMITED
Second
Respondent
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE
COMPANY
Third
Respondent
Neutral
citation:
Bliss
Brands (Pty) Ltd v Advertising Regulatory Board NPC and Others
[2023]
ZACC 19
Coram:
Zondo
CJ, Kollapen J,
Madlanga J, Majiedt J,
Makgoka AJ, Mathopo
J, Potterill
AJ, Rogers J and Theron J
Judgment:
Madlanga J (unanimous)
Heard
on:
2 March 2023
Decided
on:
26 June 2023
ORDER
On
appeal from the Supreme Court of Appeal (hearing an appeal from the
High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Johannesburg):
Leave
to appeal is refused with costs, including the costs of two counsel.
JUDGMENT
MADLANGA
J (Zondo CJ, Kollapen J, Majiedt J, Makgoka AJ, Mathopo J,
Potterill AJ, Rogers J and Theron J concurring):
Introduction
[1]
Bliss
Brands (Pty) Ltd (Bliss Brands), the applicant, is a company that
sells cleaning and hygiene products. At issue in this
matter
are questions of a constitutional and administrative law nature.
They have a reach beyond the role players in this
matter. Chief
amongst the issues is whether a non-profit company, the Advertising
Regulatory Board NPC (ARB), the first respondent,
which is a
non-statutory body, has authority to take regulatory action against
an entity that is not its member. This question
arises because
Bliss Brands is not a member of the ARB. Despite the magnitude
of the questions and the allure of grappling
with them, the decision
we reach highlights the fact that at times the imperative of judicial
avoidance does and must carry the
day. Indeed,
in
Albutt
Ngcobo CJ tells us that—
“
[s]ound
judicial policy requires us to decide only that which is demanded by
the facts of the case and is necessary for its proper
disposal.
This is particularly so in constitutional matters, where
jurisprudence must be allowed to develop incrementally.
At
times it may be tempting, as in the present case, to go beyond that
which is strictly necessary for a proper disposition of
the case.
Judicial wisdom requires us to resist the temptation and to wait for
an occasion when both the facts and the proper
disposition of the
case require an issue to be confronted. This is not the
occasion to do so. There may well be cases,
and they are very
rare, when it may be necessary to decide [for example] an ancillary
issue in the public interest.”
[1]
[2]
What
dictates the adoption of a minimalist approach in this matter will
soon become apparent.
Background
[3]
The
ARB is an independent, voluntary entity that regulates advertising
among its members. It is funded by some of its members
and by
certain entities that are not members. Its core function is to
ensure that advertising by its members accords with
its Code of
Advertising Practice (Code). The Code states its main objects
to be: to protect consumers; to ensure that advertisers
maintain
standards of professionalism; and to ensure that advertising, which
is a service to the public, is informative, factual,
honest and
decent. The Code is based on the International Code of
Advertising Practice. Internationally the latter
code is
the basis of domestic self-regulation in the advertising industry.
Industry players in South Africa, some of whom
are members of the ARB
and some of whom are not, comprise the print, digital and broadcast
media.
[4]
The
relationship between the ARB and its members is contractual.
[2]
It is in terms of that contractual relationship that members are
bound by the Code. In the main, the Code prescribes
that
members must not prepare or accept any advertising that conflicts
with it and must withdraw any advertising that is subsequently
deemed
to be unacceptable by certain functionaries of the ARB.
[5]
Although
the ARB’s Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) says that –
absent submission to jurisdiction – the ARB has
no jurisdiction
over non-members, the ARB may issue rulings that impact negatively on
the rights or interests of non-members.
This is in instances
where – by means of a ruling – the ARB directs its
members not to accept an advertisement if it
is yet to be published
or to withdraw it if it has been published. A ruling of this
nature is called an ad-alert.
[3]
The effect of the direction will be that a member will have to
withdraw a non-member’s advertisement that has been
published
or refuse to accept a non-member’s advertisement that is yet to
be published.
[4]
[6]
Colgate-Palmolive
(Pty) Ltd, the second respondent, and Colgate-Palmolive Company
(Colgate), the third respondent, are competitors
of Bliss Brands.
Colgate lodged a complaint with the ARB against Bliss Brands.
It alleged that the packaging of Securex,
a soap manufactured by
Bliss Brands, breached the Code in that it imitated the packaging
architecture of Protex, a soap manufactured
by Colgate, thereby
improperly exploiting the advertising goodwill of Protex.
[7]
Bliss
Brands, a non-member of the ARB, did not object to the ARB’s
exercise of jurisdiction over it. Instead, it participated
in
the ARB proceedings, engaging with the merits of the complaint.
The first letter of response to the complaint written
by
Bliss Brands’ attorneys which engaged with the complaint
in detail
[5]
is
notable for the fact that, despite its length, it contained nary a
word about the ARB’s lack of jurisdiction.
I cannot but
emphasise the fact that the engagement with the merits of the
complaint totalled 11 pages and just under 70 paragraphs.
This,
despite a request by the ARB that Bliss Brands indicate “if [it
did] not consider itself to be bound by the [jurisdiction
of the]
ARB”.
[8]
The
Directorate, which is the first-instance level in the ARB’s
hierarchy of deciding complaints, found for Bliss Brands.
Colgate went on appeal to the Advertising Appeals Committee (AAC)
within the hierarchy. It succeeded. Bliss Brands
appealed
to the ARB’s Final Appeal Committee (FAC). The FAC ruled
that Bliss Brands should stop its distribution of
the Securex
packaging.
[9]
At
none of the three levels of the ARB’s decision-making, did
Bliss Brands object to the ARB’s exercise of jurisdiction
over
it.
[10]
After
its appeal was dismissed by the FAC, Bliss Brands brought a review
application in the Gauteng Division of the High Court,
Johannesburg
(High Court) in which it attacked the FAC’s decision on
review grounds founded on the Promotion of Administrative
Justice
Act
[6]
(PAJA)
and the principle of legality. Crucially, part of the relief it
sought was remittal to the ARB’s FAC in
the event of the prayer
for a substituted decision being unsuccessful, something consonant
with acceptance of the ARB’s jurisdiction.
[11]
It
was only after it was prompted by a directive issued by Fisher J
in the High Court that Bliss Brands added wide-ranging
constitutional issues to the review application thereby bringing
about a significant change to its nature. Pursuant to the
directive, Bliss Brands sought an order declaring the ARB’s MOI
unconstitutional. Alternatively, it asked the Court
to declare
that: clause 3.3 of the MOI is unconstitutional;
[7]
and
the ARB has no power to exercise jurisdiction over non members
and their advertising. The High Court made an
order along the
lines of the alternative relief. As a consequence, it set aside
the FAC’s decision.
[12]
On
appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s
decision. It first criticised the High Court for raising
issues
that had not been raised by Bliss Brands.
[8]
It held that Bliss Brands had submitted to the ARB’s
jurisdiction and that – on this basis alone
–
the appeal had to succeed. At the urging of counsel for the
ARB, the Supreme Court of Appeal did not end there.
Counsel
urged that Court to deal with the issues which had been raised by
Bliss Brands at the instance of, and had then been decided
by, the
High Court (constitutional issues). Counsel submitted that, if
left undisturbed, what the High Court held on the
constitutional
issues would result in legal uncertainty and that this would impede
the proper functioning of the ARB. The
Supreme Court of Appeal
obliged and dealt with the constitutional issues. On these as
well it held against Bliss Brands.
Before
this Court
[13]
Bliss
Brands raises the following grounds of appeal:
(a)
The Supreme Court of Appeal should not have
made an issue of the fact
that the constitutional issues were raised by the High Court because
this was not a ground of appeal.
In any event, once Bliss
Brands amended its notice of motion, the constitutional issues were
properly before the High Court.
(b)
Bliss Brands’ consent or submission to the
jurisdiction of the
ARB was not a ground of appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Thus, that Court ought not to have
decided that question.
Nevertheless, argues Bliss Brands, the participation of a
non-member in ARB processes cannot
amount to “true”
consent to the jurisdiction of the ARB because: regardless of whether
Bliss Brands participated in
or objected to the ARB’s
jurisdiction, the ARB would have determined the complaint and issued
a ruling or decision which
its members would enforce, any objection
to jurisdiction by Bliss Brands being of no consequence; and any
participation was effectively
coerced by the threat of an ad-alert.
(c) What
the Supreme Court of Appeal held
in respect of section 55 of the
ECA
[9]
is
correct but of no relevance to Bliss Brands.
[10]
That is so because Bliss Brands is not a broadcast licensee under the
ECA, which means section 55 of the ECA is not applicable
to it.
(d) The
Supreme Court of Appeal’s previous
decision in
Herbex
[11]
is
no authority for the legality of the ARB’s exercise of
jurisdiction over non members. In
Herbex
,
the Supreme Court of Appeal made a settlement agreement an order of
court.
[12]
And, in its reasoning, it endorsed the content of the settlement
agreement. In the present application, the Supreme
Court of
Appeal affirmed
Herbex
.
[13]
Bliss Brands argues that because the settlement agreement
in
Herbex
refers
only to the ASA, and not the ARB,
Herbex
cannot
afford the ARB the authority it purports to exercise over it.
(e)
What the Supreme Court of Appeal held in
relation to ARB members’
rights to freedom of expression and association was unrelated to the
issue before this Court, i.e.
whether the ARB may impose its
jurisdiction on a non member. For clarity with regard to
the rights to freedom of expression
and association, the Supreme
Court of Appeal held:
“
As
regards the powers of the ARB. . . the ARB is entitled to consider,
on behalf of its members, complaints in respect of advertisements
published by non-members of the ARB, so that its members may make an
election whether or not they wish to publish that advertisement.
This is an incident of their constitutional rights to freedom of
expression and association. The high court’s order
prevents the members of the ARB from using their chosen method of
deciding which advertisement they wish to publish and which
advertisers they wish to associate with. This constitutes an
unjustifiable limitation on the rights of members to freedom
of
expression and association.
”
[14]
(f)
The ARB’s processes offend section
34 of the Constitution by
ousting the jurisdiction of courts in respect of the merits of
complaints on matters involving fundamental
rights (chiefly, freedom
of expression). Further, the ARB’s adjudicative processes
are not procedurally fair, this
too being a breach of section 34 of
the Constitution.
[14]
The
ARB and Colgate oppose the application, submitting that Bliss Brands’
case cannot meet this Court’s jurisdictional
or leave to appeal
thresholds, in that no constitutional issues of import have been
raised nor are there any points of law that
are arguable. In
the main, the respondents submit that the relief sought by Bliss
Brands effectively dismantles the legitimate
system of
self-regulation of advertising undergirded by the ARB’s
members’ rights to freedom of association and expression
and
exercised via the Code and the ARB’s MOI. They contend
that, as the Supreme Court of Appeal held, the members of
the ARB
“have organised around the shared goal of promoting ethical
standards in advertising, as reflected in the Code”,
adding
that “[t]hey have agreed to collectively delegate
decision-making to the ARB’s expert adjudicative bodies that
determine complaints on their behalf”. According to the
respondents, the ARB is the instrumentality of the will of
its
members; the ARB – through its decision-making
power – is the conduit through which its members
collectively
enjoy and exercise their rights to freedom of association and
expression. This, notwithstanding the fact that
the ARB’s
decisions may have an effect on non-members since the decisions may
require members to act in a manner that has
an adverse impact on
non-members.
Analysis
[15]
Bliss
Brands’ counsel conceded that if this Court holds that Bliss
Brands did consent to the ARB’s jurisdiction, that
will be
dispositive of this matter. That means it will not be necessary
to determine any of the other issues Bliss Brands
has raised.
The concession is well-made. Viewed closely, the springboard
for all the grounds of appeal is the idea
that the ARB was not
entitled to exercise its jurisdiction over Bliss Brands.
Indeed, the Supreme Court of Appeal held
– correctly so –
that the appeal could be disposed of solely on the basis that Bliss
Brands consented to the jurisdiction
of the ARB.
[15]
Also, and more directly, if Bliss Brands submitted to the ARB’s
jurisdiction, the grounds of appeal become academic.
Counsel
did not argue that there are any interests of justice considerations
that make it necessary for us to consider these grounds
of appeal.
Nor can I think of any. That being the case, I must next
consider whether Bliss Brands did submit to
the ARB’s
jurisdiction. I must do so because, if there was no submission
to jurisdiction, it may well become necessary
to deal with the
grounds of appeal.
[16]
In
Purser
Mpati
AJA held:
“
It
is in any
event
clear. . . that, by defending the action, the appellant wished to
avoid execution against assets which he still had
in the United
Kingdom. He wanted to protect such assets and, judging from his
plea, thought that he had a good defence to
meet the appellant’s
claim. He participated fully in the proceedings and, having
failed in his defence, cannot now
be heard to say that he
participated only so as to protect his assets in the United Kingdom.
A defendant who raises no objection
to a court’s jurisdiction
and asks it to dismiss on its merits a claim brought against him is
invoking the jurisdiction of
that court just as surely as the
plaintiff invoked it when he instituted the claim. Such a
defendant does so in order to
defeat the plaintiff’s claim in a
way which will be decisive and will render him immune from any
subsequent attempt to assert
the claim. Should he succeed in
his defence, the doctrine of
res
judicata
will
afford him that protection. Should his defence fail, he cannot
repudiate the jurisdiction of the very court which he
asked to uphold
it. In my view, the facts point overwhelmingly to the appellant
having submitted to the jurisdiction of the
English
Court.
”
[16]
[17]
Bliss
Brands’ argument suggests that this principle on submission to
jurisdiction does not apply to the situation in which
Bliss Brands
found itself. It argues that the idea of submission makes
practical sense if a refusal to submit has the benefit
that there
will be no adverse consequences for the party concerned; a refusal to
submit to jurisdiction must have a “result”.
Bliss
Brands illustrates this by making the point that if a litigant does
not submit to the jurisdiction of, for example, a court,
the court
cannot exercise jurisdiction over that litigant and nothing adverse
will befall that litigant. That is the “result”.
Bliss Brands contrasts this with ARB proceedings and says even if a
non member does not consent to jurisdiction, the ARB may
still
entertain the proceedings and issue an ad-alert. The effect of
an ad-alert is that ARB members may not accept the advertisement
in
issue from the non-member concerned or, if the advertisement has
already been accepted and published, must withdraw the publication.
Thus, a refusal to submit to the jurisdiction of the ARB does not
afford the non member a beneficial result. If I were
to
paraphrase what comes out of the argument, Bliss Brands’
point is that, with ARB proceedings, circumstances are such
that
non members are coerced to participate.
[18]
At
first blush, the argument is attractive. However, it does not
hold up to scrutiny. In the first place, in the case
of a
complaint to the ARB, non-submission by a non member to the
ARB’s jurisdiction does have a “result”
which is
materially different to that which would flow from submission to the
ARB’s jurisdiction. If there is no submission,
the ARB’s
members may not carry the impugned advertisement but there is nothing
to stop the non-member from continuing to
advertise in media
belonging to non members and (in a case such as the present)
from continuing to use the impugned packaging.
Where the
non-member submits to the ARB’s jurisdiction, by contrast, the
ARB can make directions which are binding on the
non-member.
[19]
In
any event, I think that it is too much of a leap for Bliss Brands to
suggest that all non-members that participate in ARB proceedings
without demur do so under coercion. Surely, one cannot discount
the possibility that some non members participate in
the
proceedings willingly, thus submitting to the ARB’s
jurisdiction. It seems to me that the question whether a
non-member
has submitted to the ARB’s jurisdiction depends on
the facts: what did the non-member do or not do? Based on the
facts,
the next question is whether the legal conclusion that there
was submission can be drawn.
[20]
With
the above in mind, did Bliss Brands submit to the ARB’s
jurisdiction? The Supreme Court of Appeal held that
it
did. It held thus based on the following facts.
[17]
The letter that advised Bliss Brands of the complaint “requested
it to ‘
inform
us if you do not consider yourself to be bound by the ARB’, and
advised that Bliss Brands was not obliged to respond
or furnish a
defence”.
[18]
Bliss Brands rendered a detailed response to the merits of the
complaint without any objection to the ARB’s jurisdiction.
The letter from
Bliss
Brands’ attorneys not only fully addressed the merits of the
complaint but also concluded with a request that, if the
Directorate
found that Securex was in contravention of the Code and directed
Bliss Brands to withdraw or amend its product packaging,
Bliss Brands
be afforded six months from the date of the ruling in which to do
so. This was an unambiguous intimation by
Bliss Brands that it
was submitting itself to the ARB’s jurisdiction.
It participated at all stages of the ARB proceedings without a
whimper of protest. It was happy with the Directorate’s
finding (the first instance finding) which was in its favour.
When the AAC upheld Colgate’s appeal, Bliss Brands appealed
on
the merits to the FAC. In the review application, Bliss
Brands,
inter alia,
sought
remittal to the FAC in the event of the prayer for a substituted
decision being unsuccessful.
[21]
Ordinarily,
this Court does not grapple with contested factual issues. It
goes by factual findings made by the courts below.
Jafta J puts
it thus in
Makate
:
“
[T]his
being the highest Court in the Republic which is charged with
upholding the Constitution, and deciding points of law of general
public importance, this Court must not be saddled with the
responsibility of resolving factual disputes where disputes of that
kind have been determined by lower courts. Deciding factual
disputes is ordinarily not the role of apex courts. Ordinarily,
an apex court declares the law that must be followed and applied by
the other courts. Factual disputes must be determined
by the
lower courts and when cases come to this Court on appeal, they are
adjudicated on the facts as found by the lower courts.
”
[19]
There
is an exception to this rule. Where the dictates of justice so
require, an appellate court may interfere with the factual
findings
of a lower court.
[20]
[22]
I
can conceive of no basis on which the ordinary rule should not apply
to the factual findings made against Bliss Brands by the
Supreme
Court of Appeal. Therefore, the application for leave to
appeal must fail. To conclude, because Bliss Brands
consented to the jurisdiction of the ARB, it is not in the interests
of justice to entertain any other issue in this matter.
Order
[23]
The
following order is made:
Leave
to appeal is refused with costs, including the costs of two counsel.
For
the Applicant:
C
Loxton SC and F Southwood SC
instructed
by Eversheds Sutherland (SA) Incorporated
For
the First Respondent:
S
Budlender SC, N Ferreira, K Harding Moerdyk and K Mvubu
instructed by Willem de Klerk Attorneys
For
the Second and Third Respondent:
G
Marcus SC and C McConnachie instructed by Kisch Africa
Incorporated
[1]
Albutt
v Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
[2010]
ZACC 4
;
2010
(3) SA 293
(CC);
2010
(5) BCLR 391
(CC)
at para 82, referred to with approval in
Eskom
Holdings SOC Ltd v Vaal River Development Association (Pty)
Ltd
[2022]
ZACC 44
;
2023
(5) BCLR 527
(CC)
at para 252.
[2]
There
is statutory dimension – which will be elaborated upon later –
provided for in section 55 of the Electronic
Communications Act 36
of 2005 (ECA).
[3]
An
ad-alert is an enforcement notice by the ARB to its members.
The ARB’s MOI and the Code provide for rulings and
orders to
be made by the ARB against non-members. If a non-member
refuses to comply with a ruling, members of the ARB (including
members’ members) are obliged not to accept the non-compliant
advertisement or to withdraw it, if it has already been accepted,
upon the issuing of a notice (i.e. an ad-alert) to that effect from
the ARB.
[4]
Clause
3.3 of the ARB’s MOI provides:
“
The
[ARB] has no jurisdiction over any person or entity who is not a
member and may not, in the absence of a submission to its
jurisdiction, require non-members to participate in its processes,
issue any instruction, order or ruling against the non-member
or
sanction it. However, the [ARB] may consider and issue a
ruling to its members (which is not binding on non-members)
regarding any advertisement regardless of by whom it is published to
determine, on behalf of its members, whether its members
should
accept any advertisement before it is published or should withdraw
any advertisement if it has been published.”
[5]
There
are other letters from Bliss Brands attorneys, but the first to
engage with the merits of the complaint in detail was this
one.
[6]
3
of 2000.
[7]
See
clause 3.3 of the ARB’s MOI above n 4.
[8]
In
this regard the Supreme Court of Appeal relied on its decision
in
Fischer
v Ramahlele
[2014]
ZASCA 88;
2014
SA 614
(SCA);
[2014]
3 All SA 395
(SCA)
at para 13 and this Court’s judgments in
Public Protector
v South African Reserve Bank
[2019]
ZACC 29
;
2019
(6) SA 253
(CC);
2019
(9) BCLR 1113
(CC)
at para 234 and
Minister
of Police v AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism
NPC
[2021]
ZACC 3
;
2021
(3) SA 246
(CC);
2021
(4) BCLR 349
(CC)
at para 58. In
Fischer
the
Supreme Court of Appeal held:
“
[I]
t
is for the parties, either in the pleadings or affidavits (which
serve the function of both pleadings and evidence), to set
out and
define the nature of their dispute, and it is for the court to
adjudicate upon those issues. That is so even where
the
dispute involves an issue pertaining to the basic human rights
guaranteed by our Constitution, for ‘it is impermissible
for a
party to rely on a constitutional complaint that was not pleaded’.
There are cases where the parties may expand
those issues by
the way in which they conduct the proceedings. There may also
be instances where the court may
mero
motu
raise
a question of law that emerges fully from the evidence and is
necessary for the decision of the case. That is subject
to the
proviso that no prejudice will be caused to any party by its being
decided. Beyond that it is for the parties to
identify the
dispute and for the court to determine that dispute and that dispute
alone.
”
[9]
Section
55 of the ECA provides:
“
(1)
All broadcasting service licensees must adhere to the Code of
Advertising
Practice (in this section referred to as the Code) as
from time to time determined and administered by the Advertising
Standards
Authority of South Africa and to any advertising
regulations prescribed by the Authority in respect of scheduling of
adverts,
infomercials and programme sponsorships.
(2)
The Complaints and Compliance Committee must adjudicate complaints
concerning alleged breaches of the Code by broadcasting service
licensees who are not members of the Advertising Standards Authority
of South Africa, in accordance with section 17C of the [Independent
Communications Authority of South Africa Act 13 of 2000 (ICASA
Act)], as well as complaints concerning alleged breaches of the
advertising regulations.
(3)
Where a
broadcasting licensee, irrespective of whether or not he or
she is a
member of the said Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa,
is found to have breached the Code or advertising
regulations, such
broadcasting licensee must be dealt with in accordance with
applicable provisions of sections 17A to 17H of
the ICASA Act.”
Section
1 of the ECA defines the “Advertising Standards Authority of
South Africa” (ASA) as “the entity which
regulates the
content of advertising, or any entity that replaces it but has the
same functions”.
It is common
cause that the ARB replaced the ASA.
[10]
The
Supreme Court of Appeal held that section 55 of the ECA obliges all
broadcast service licensees – whether ARB members
or not –
to comply with the Code contemplated in that section which, because
the ARB replaced the ASA, is the ARB’s
Code. The Supreme
Court of Appeal further held that the section empowers either of the
following bodies to adjudicate complaints
of alleged breaches of the
Code: the ARB (in respect of its members that are broadcast services
licensees); or the Complaints
and Compliance Committee of the
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) (in
respect of non-ARB broadcast
services licensees), in terms of
section 17C of the ICASA Act. See
Advertising
Regulatory Board NPC v Bliss Brands (Pty) Ltd
[2022]
ZASCA 51
;
2022
(4) SA 57
(SCA);
[2022]
2 All SA 607
(SCA)
(Supreme Court of Appeal judgment) at para 21.
[11]
Advertising
Standards Authority v Herbex (Pty) Ltd
[2017]
ZASCA 132
;
2017 (6) SA 354
(SCA).
[12]
Id
at para 18. The order (incorporating the settlement agreement)
reads in relevant part:
“
1.
It is
declared that:
1.1
the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (the ASA) has no
jurisdiction over any person or entity
who is not a member of the
ASA and that the ASA may not, in the absence of a submission to its
jurisdiction, require non-members
to participate in its processes,
issue any instruction, order or ruling against the non member
or sanction it;
1.2
the ASA may consider and issue a ruling to its members (which is not
binding on non-members) on any advertisement,
regardless of by whom
it is published to determine, on behalf of its members, whether its
members should accept any advertisement
before it is published or
should withdraw any advertisement if it has been published.
2.
The ASA is directed to include in its standard letter
of complaint
the contents of paragraph 1 and that a non-member is not obliged to
participate in any ASA process, but that should
it not participate,
the ASA may still consider the complaint, for the purposes set out
in paragraph 1.2.”
[13]
Supreme
Court of Appeal judgment above n 10 at paras 25-34.
[14]
Supreme
Court of Appeal judgment above n 10 at para 24.
[15]
Supreme
Court of Appeal judgment above n 10 at para 13.
[16]
Purser
v Sales
[2000]
ZASCA 46
;
2001
(3) SA 445
(SCA);
[2001]
1 All SA 25
(A)
at para 22.
[17]
On
these facts see Supreme Court of Appeal judgment above n 10 at paras
11-2.
[18]
Id
at
para 11, quoting the
Herbex
order.
[19]
Makate
v Vodacom (Pty) Ltd
[2016]
ZACC 13
;
2016
(4) SA 121
(CC);
2016
(6) BCLR 709
(CC)
at para 39.
[20]
See
Bernert
v
Absa Bank Ltd
[2010]
ZACC 28
;
2011
(3) SA 92
(CC);
2011
(4) BCLR 329
(CC)
at para 106; and
Makate
id
at para 40.
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