Law Society of South Africa welcomes High Court ruling on RAF urgent bid to extend moratorium on executions
LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA WELCOMES HIGH COURT RULING ON RAF URGENT BID TO EXTEND MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) welcomes the judgment handed down by Justice Nyathi in which the urgent application brought by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) was struck from the roll with punitive costs. The RAF had sought a further 180-day stay of executions, but the court ruled that the matter lacked urgency. Costs were awarded on the attorney and client scale, including the costs of senior and junior counsel where so employed.
The RAF sought the court’s indulgence to further limit the existing rights of its judgment creditors by extending, yet again, the suspension of writs and warrants. The RAF asked the court to extend a previous temporary pause on executions. In plain terms, that pause stops sheriffs from enforcing court orders against the RAF. Because of this decision, there is no new blanket pause in place. The court’s decision reaffirms that extraordinary, time-limited relief is not a licence for indefinite evasion of court-ordered obligations.
In recent years, the RAF has asked courts for short, time-limited moratoria. These were granted as exceptional measures to give the RAF breathing room to organise its affairs. They were not meant to become permanent or to be renewed repeatedly. The High Court judgment confirms that any request to limit people’s rights must meet a high bar and must be genuinely urgent. It also signals that systemic issues at the RAF should be addressed through proper planning, and cooperation with stakeholders, not through serial urgent applications.
The judgment aligns with the LSSA’s long-standing work to safeguard victims’ rights and insist on lawful, transparent RAF administration. In recent years:
· The LSSA, together with the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, secured an interim interdict suspending the 2022 medical tariffs that would have left victims out of pocket and excluded essential services (such as helicopter air ambulances).
· The LSSA publicly objected when legal practitioners were made to queue overnight to access block settlement slots, urging that settlement initiatives must be structured, fair, and claimant-centred. The LSSA acknowledges that more recent efforts to run block-settlement drives were made within the RAF’s regional offices.
· Alongside peer bodies, the LSSA co-authored the Joint Memorandum on the crisis at the RAF, calling for practical, time-bound reforms, credible financial reporting, and cooperative governance to restore the Fund to health, without sacrificing claimants’ rights or court compliance.
The High Court judgment draws a necessary boundary: Temporary relief cannot become perpetual delay. The RAF’s mandate is not abstract, it is a promise embedded in statute and enforced by our courts: To make good, swiftly and fairly, the losses suffered by road-accident victims. Where the Fund fails to honour that promise, the rule of law must intervene.
President of the LSSA Nkosana Mvundlela noted that this is a victory for the rule of law and for the thousands of claimants who depend on the RAF for life-changing compensation. Mr Mvundlela added: ‘The RAF exists to compensate victims, road accident victims depend on RAF payments for medical treatment, rehabilitation, mobility aids, and income support. Many have final court orders or settled claims that should be paid. A further blanket pause would have delayed those payments again and limited the rights of people and service providers who already have judgments in their favour. We urge the RAF to focus its energy on paying claims and fixing the underlying problems that cause delays.’
The LSSA reaffirms its commitment to upholding the rights of road accident victims and to ensuring that legal practitioners across South Africa can continue to act effectively in advancing the interests of their clients.
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA,
Nkosana Francois Mvundlela
For media inquiries, please contact:
LSSA Communication Manager: Mapula Oliphant
Tel: (012) 366 8808
Cell: 076 026 5997
Editor’s note: The Law Society of South Africa brings together the Black Lawyers Association, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and Independent attorneys, in representing the attorneys’ profession in South Africa.
