The notice required to be sent in terms of section 129 serves not only to inform consumers of their default but also refers consumers to several remedies available under the NCA. Unfortunately, despite its noble goals, section 129 has been controversial from an interpretational perspective. Although section 129 may be considered one of the most significant sections of the NCA, this section is the most ambiguous from a legal point of view.
Creditor participation lies at the heart of South Africa’s business rescue framework under Chapter 6 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Yet, until recently, uncertainty surrounded the status and voting rights of post-commencement creditors - those who extend credit, supply goods, or provide services after the commencement of business rescue proceedings. In Mashwayi Projects (Pty) Ltd and Others v Wescoal Mining (Pty) Ltd and Others [2025] ZASCA 5, the Supreme Court of Appeal addressed this ambiguity, holding that all creditors - whether pre- or post-commencement - are entitled to vote on a business rescue plan. This judgment marks a turning point in South African corporate rescue law by embedding commercial realism, constitutional values, and procedural fairness into the interpretation of creditor rights. This article critically examines the implications of the Mashwayi decision, highlighting the Court’s rejection of foreign insolvency models and its endorsement of a stakeholder-driven, constitutionally grounded approach. It argues that the decision enhances the legitimacy of business rescue by affirming the participatory rights of post-commencement creditors in key decision-making areas, including the adoption of rescue plans, practitioner oversight, and the continuation or termination of rescue proceedings. In doing so, the Court paves the way for a more inclusive, resilient, and commercially effective rescue regime tailored to South Africa’s unique legal and socio-economic context.
Across the globe, the siphoning of public funds has become the new normal within the national social fabric and governance structures. It is increasingly common to hear and see that senior state officials are wealthier than some businessmen. While some state officials have been imprisoned for misappropriating public funds, others have evaded accountability because of their allegiance to the system. However, it is nebulous whether the appropriate criminal charge and nomenclature of the offence should be misappropriating public funds or theft. In this article, we revisit the categorisation of this offense and argue from a jurisprudential analysis in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa that it is a misnomer to qualify the offense as the misappropriation of public funds. We contend that it should be given the nomenclature it deserves: theft. Even though we acknowledge that the offense is widely referred to as the misappropriation of public funds, we posit differently and firmly so that such categorisation is sugarcoating it and enabling its perpetrators to continue the act without impunity and fear of social stigmatisation. We rely on a social-legal research approach to investigate this issue.
The supremacy of the Constitution requires that its values and principles be complied with to the extent of determining validity. Thus, failure to comply with this injunction renders any law or conduct invalid. Although the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution are largely discussed in the context of public law and private law, these principles and values, of course, also apply to corporate law. This article investigates the impact that constitutional principles have had on the South African corporate legal framework. The primary legislation in this regard is the Companies Act of 2008, which embodies provisions that guarantee respect for the stakeholders’ interests and the Bill of Rights in company operations. Those provisions are complemented by other extant pieces of legislation that recognise that the operational value of the corporate entity extends to all the stakeholders, including the environment.
The article advances the idea that independence is not a characteristic exclusive to the judiciary but also constitutes a defining feature of numerous public bodies whose number and scope of activity have increased in recent years. It offers a comparative analysis leading to the conclusion that the identified aspects of independence of state authorities which do not fall within the legislative or judicial branches, nor within the strict hierarchical structure of the executive one, are sufficient to sustain the argument that these bodies occupy a distinct institutional position. On this basis, the article supports the thesis that they may be regarded as representing a new, “independent” branch of public authority within the constitutional framework.
This article analyzes the legal and practical aspects of imposing and appealing financial corrections in the management of European funds under shared management in the Republic of Bulgaria. The study examines the interaction between the national legal framework, in particular the Law on the Management of European Funds under Shared Management (LEUSF), and the principles of European Union law. The main emphasis is placed on the evolution of case law regarding the legal nature of financial corrections. The procedure under Article 73 of the Law on the Management of Financial Instruments has been analyzed. Particular attention is paid to practical problems related to short preclusive periods, formalism in motivating acts, and the application of the principle of proportionality.
Artificial intelligence is entering more and more areas of personal and public life, including higher education, but the expansion of the possibilities offered by new technologies necessitates the introduction of a legal framework. The purpose of this scientific article is to examine certain legal aspects of the use of artificial intelligence in the work of university lecturers. On the one hand, the degree of application of artificial intelligence tools is examined and the attitudes of the academic community regarding the admissibility of their use in teaching and research work are studied. On the other hand, trends and challenges facing the regulatory framework related to the processes under consideration are identified.
This article focuses on a comparative legal analysis of juvenile criminal justice regimes in selected countries from three groups: European countries, the former Soviet Union, and North America. The goal is to identify good practices in combating youth crime that could be implemented in the Bulgarian legal reality. The study emphasizes avoiding institutionalization, applying deprivation of liberty as a last resort, and implementing alternative measures that can narrow the scope of criminal responsibility.
The article examines the criminal procedure concept of refusal to testify and the circumstances under which a witness is not obliged to testify through the prism of the case law of the ECHR. Certain suggestions for improvement of the legal framework are put forward. Some foreign provisions regarding the possibility of refusing to testify on certain matters in some countries were also reviewed.
The article examines the “need-to-know” principle within the legal framework governing classified information. It analyzes the principle’s essence and place within the relevant legal framework and traces its explicit regulation in the Classified Information Protection Act. Particular attention is paid to the manifestation of the principle in the conditions and procedures for granting access to classified information.
The construction of well-functioning health systems in the European Union requires the provision of a number of important elements. The most important of these is ensuring a sufficient number of medical specialists who possess high professional and moral qualities. In the process of providing quality and affordable medical care, doctors and all other medical specialists have a key role in protecting the lives and health of citizens. The European Union and the member states should provide the former with appropriate conditions for exercising their subjective rights, including their right to free movement in the European Union. Simultaneously with the fulfillment of this duty, however, the European Union should find an adequate solution to the problems caused by the increased mobility of doctors and medical specialists in the last decade, as it leads to an imbalance in the health care systems and to limited access to medical assistance and health care in some member states.
Bulgarian customary property law during the period of the Ottoman rule and in the first decades after the Liberation represents a complex and historically conditioned system of norms built upon tradition and social experience. There is a rich diversity in terminology and in specific customary legal solutions, accompanied by the absence of standardized legal concepts. Nevertheless, within this apparent heterogeneity, an internal logic can be identified, determined by the economic and social conditions in which the Bulgarian population lived. The distinction between movable and immovable property, between ownership, possession and use, as well as the regulation of property boundaries, passage through other people’s properties, the regime regarding objects found and “treasure” discovered, was governed by customary legal provisions rather than by theoretically constructed legal doctrines characteristic of modern codified legal systems. Bulgarian customary property law should be viewed as a historically conditioned legal system, appropriate to its time and social environment. Its study contributes to a more complete and deeper understanding of the development of the Bulgarian legal tradition and to the comprehension of the transformation process from customary law to codified modern property law.
Thе article discusses some aspects of the mistake of causation in criminal law, with particular focus on aberratio ictus and addresses the question whether such mistakes can be an excuse and exclude culpability of the actor. The main doctrinal positions and relevant case law regarding the error in the causal process, including the hypotheses of aberratio ictus, are analyzed
The present article examines several of the principal substantive legal issues arising from the 2025 amendments to Article 83a of the Administrative Violations and Sanctions Act. The author notes that the amendments expand the scope of persons whose criminal conduct may give rise to the imposition of pecuniary sanctions on the respective legal entities. The revised provision also clarifies the role of an organised criminal group within this framework. Furthermore, the article analyses the manner in which the legislator has regulated the engagement of administrative punitive liability in cases involving a foreign element. Particular emphasis is placed on the objective nature of the liability of legal entities, which does not require proof of fault or intent on the part of the entity itself. The newly introduced system of sanctions under the amended Act is examined in detail. Special attention is devoted to the penalty of public disclosure of the decision, the imposition of which may result in significant reputational damage to the legal entity. The author also addresses the need to align the exercise of state powers with the objective and subjective characteristics of the specific offence and its perpetrator, as well as the circumstances affecting the determination of the amount of the pecuniary sanction, which are systematised in the article into two distinct groups.
The present study examines the grounds for judicial recusal in connection with a judge’s participation in proceedings concerning the removal of the accused from office under Article 69 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as well as the permissibility of the judge’s subsequent involvement in the adjudication of the case on the merits. The analysis focuses on the standards of impartiality established under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and their consistency with Bulgarian legislation and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Cassation. Conclusions are drawn regarding the application of these standards within the Bulgarian criminal justice system.
The article deals with the problem of the threatening of crime. A short survey of the jurisprudence is made. Finally, suggestions are made for improving the existing legal framework.
Achieving the goals of the penalties specified in the Criminal Code is one of the main tasks that must be performed in order to have limited criminal activity in society. It is necessary to create a number of measures and methods that will positively influence the preventive activity carried out by the state. Statistics show that the perpetrators of crimes are mainly individuals with a lack of work habits, as well as with a low educational qualification. Accordingly, changes are needed not only in the field of criminal legislation but in numerous and diverse areas.
The principle of truth has different manifestations in administrative, criminal, and civil procedure, but in all three it serves to establish facts that ensure lawful and fair decisions. In administrative procedure, truth is established ex officio—the authority is obliged to actively collect and verify all relevant facts. In criminal procedure, the requirement is for full, comprehensive, and objective clarification of the circumstances, because fundamental rights and personal freedom are at stake. In civil procedure, truth is established within the framework of adversarial proceedings and based on the evidence presented by the parties. Despite the differences, all three processes aim for factual accuracy that guarantees a just and lawful outcome.
With the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in 2025, the correction of obvious factual errors in judicial acts was regulated by law for the first time (with the new art. 33a of the CPC). However, the legal framework creates some theoretical and practical ambiguities and difficulties in this procedure. The article examines the nature of obvious factual errors and distinguishes them from similar institutions. The procedure for its removal is analyzed and changes de lege ferenda are proposed, related to the conduct of an open court hearing when deciding on the removal of the factual error and when appealing and protesting the decision to correct the obvious factual error.
