Donald Dinnie

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Firm/Organization: Norton Rose Fulbright
Blogs: Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot, Financial services: Regulation tomorrow

Latest Articles

The risk landscape has led business people, and their legal and compliance teams, to bemoan the business world in which we live. Unsurprisingly, regulatory compliance is the top risk for most industries. Navigating the risk landscape is now a significant focus of businesses and while traditionally accountant-firm driven, risk advisory services offered by law firms are sought after. The evolving risk landscape of political and economic events is affected by: the increasing exposure of…
Technological and business model disruption has spurred Norton Rose Fulbright’s focus in seeking new inventive solutions for clients. We are working with new and emerging technology to drive efficient legal services and to reduce costs. We are already providing cutting edge legal-tech solutions, and this will grow. For example, our ‘POPI Counsel’ is in essence a virtual attorney which asks the user questions about compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act and related issues…
The South African Law Reform Commission has issued a lengthy paper on the investigations into medico-legal claims with proposals for the reform of the law in connection with those claims. The paper discusses the current situation and the legal principles underlying claims for damages for medical negligence, state liability, the basis for payment of compensation (including some international comparisons), and suggestions for possible legislative reform. It includes a call for comments on a number of…
The South African Law Reform Commission has issued a lengthy paper on the investigations into medico-legal claims with proposals for the reform of the law in connection with those claims. The paper discusses the current situation and the legal principles underlying claims for damages for medical negligence, state liability, the basis for payment of compensation (including some international comparisons), and suggestions for possible legislative reform. It includes a call for comments on a number of…
Africa’s largely untapped specialty lines insurance market has significant opportunities for insurers willing to enter the region. As the market develops, more difficult and unusual risks will be written. Regulations which vary by country must be considered. For example, placing insurance with a locally licensed insurer is often a requirement or a percentage of the insurer may have to be locally owned. Therefore partnering with local insurers is an option. Apart from local ownership, issues…
Africa’s largely untapped specialty lines insurance market has significant opportunities for insurers willing to enter the region. As the market develops, more difficult and unusual risks will be written. Regulations which vary by country must be considered. For example, placing insurance with a locally licensed insurer is often a requirement or a percentage of the insurer may have to be locally owned. Therefore partnering with local insurers is an option. Apart from local ownership, issues…
The Protection of Personal Information Act (which is best described as the Data Privacy Act and not a flower) permits a data subject to institute a civil action for damages where there has been a breach of the Act. A court may award an amount that is just and equitable including payment of damages as compensation for patrimonial and non-patrimonial loss suffered by the data subject as a result of the breach, and also aggravated…
The Stransham-Ford judgment elicited much debate not only from a legal perspective but an ethical one. Both the Health Professions Council and the Ministry of Health have indicated that they are opposed to doctors playing any role in assisted suicide. In South African law the position remains according to the Stransham-Ford judgment that unless the medical professional’s assistance in an assisted suicide is specifically sanctioned by a court on the facts of each case, the…
The law obliges medical schemes to pay the costs of treating prescribed minimum benefit conditions in full. The Supreme Court of Appeal in The Council for Medical Schemes v Genesis Medical Scheme provides a useful reminder of when a party may waive rights conferred by law for their benefit. The Medical Schemes Act does not expressly provide that scheme members may not waive rights conferred by the Act upon them. The medical scheme argued that…
The Constitutional Court judgment in De Lange v Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa dealt with a number of interesting issues. One was whether good cause existed, as contemplated by the Arbitration Act, to set aside an arbitration agreement concluded between the parties. Neither the Arbitration Act nor our courts have expressly defined what good cause is. The Constitutional Court, however, said that it was clear that the onus to demonstrate good…