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The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law

Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019.

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Other Authors: Barnard, Jacolien
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2020
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Barnard, Jacolien
author_browse Barnard, Jacolien
author_facet Barnard, Jacolien
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2020 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:38.583Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2020
publishDateRange 2020
publishDateSort 2020
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/77424 The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law Barnard, Jacolien netshipised@gmail.com Netshipise, Divhanani UCTD Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. Exemption clauses are often incorporated in consumer agreements by suppliers to exclude or limit liability on the supplier’s part. Just like any other term in the agreement, an exemption clause will also be considered to be a reflection of the actual or presumed intentions of the parties and the courts must give effect to it. However, research reveals that the application of these clauses often operates in favour of the supplier and to the detriment of the other party, who is usually a consumer as defined by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (hereafter CPA). This dissertation seeks to analyse the legal status of exemption clauses in South African consumer agreements, particularly unfair, unjust and unreasonable clauses. The research done indicates that courts have relied on several techniques, the most common one being the restrictive interpretation method which is used to limit the application of an exemption clause. It will also be shown that South African courts have also relied on public policy which now incorporates the values of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 (hereafter Constitution) and would prevent certain exemption clauses from being enforced if they would result in injustice. Despite the application of these techniques, this research shows that challenges imposed by the use of exemption clauses continued to rise. The CPA was enacted with an aim to advance and protect consumers’ interests in the commercial industry. This dissertation will further explore how the CPA has ensured fairness in consumer agreements by introducing certain requirements for incorporating exemption clauses into consumer agreements. It will further be shown that the CPA strictly prohibits the use of certain exemption clauses in consumer agreements. The relevant provisions under Chapter 2 Part G of the CPA will be critically discussed The dissertation will also look at how English law has attempted to deal with the use and application of unfair and unjust exemption clauses. The significance of this part of the dissertation is to compare the techniques employed under English law with those employed in terms of South African law and make recommendations where possible. This will be done by analysing legislations of the UK, as well as legislation of the European Union, in particular, the 1993 EC Directive on Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts as it has been incorporated under the UK law. Mercantile Law LLM Unrestricted 2020-12-21T09:53:42Z 2020-12-21T09:53:42Z 2020/04/09 2019 Mini Dissertation Netshipise, D 2019, The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law, LLM Mini Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77424> A2020 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77424 en © 2020 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title_full The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title_fullStr The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title_full_unstemmed The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title_short The scope and validity of exemption clauses in South African law
title_sort scope and validity of exemption clauses in south african law
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77424