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person may acquire rights or be released from obligations through the passage of time. This is known as prescription. The objective of prescription is to achieve legal certainty and finality in the relationship between a debtor and a creditor, with the focus on protecting a debtor (consumer) against the unfairness of having to defend old claims. Old claims are therefore after the elapsing of specific time periods extinguished through prescription. A debtor must then specifically raise prescription as a defence against claims from creditors based on prescribed debts. The prescription of consumer debts is regulated by the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (when the credit agreement falls under the NCA) and the Prescription Act 68 of 1969. The Prescription Act generally regulates all aspects of the prescription, which would also include consumer debts, while section 126B of the National Credit Act regulates and prohibits certain practices related to prescription, such as the selling of prescribed consumer debts or the continued collection or re-activation of prescribed consumer debts. In this article several practical aspects related to prescription and the National Credit Act are discussed, such as the impact of non-compliance with section 96 and section 129(1)(a) of the NCA on prescription. Section 126B is specifically analysed, and the question whether section 126B absolutely prohibits certain abusive practices related to the prescription of consumer debts is answered. Several shortcomings of the current legislation are also pointed out. In this article some aspects of the draft Prescription Bill proposed by the South African Law Reform Commission are also considered. In particular, we focus on the impact the Bill may have on the consumer-credit industry.

The jurisdiction or competence of the Equality Court to hear a dispute concerning alleged hate speech is affected by various jurisdictional factors. The decision in South African Human Rights Commission v Khumalo 2019 1 All SA 254 (GJ) reveals several shortcomings in the provisions regulating jurisdiction in the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4 of 2000 which must be attended to in order to provide clarity and legitimacy in regard to the application of the protection against hate speech.

Op 1 April 2014 het regulasies ingetree wat behels dat sekere nadelige verbruikerskredietinligting en inligting aangaande volopbetaalde siviele vonnisse van alle kredietrekords van verbruikers wat gehou word deur alle geregistreerde kredietburos verwyder moet word. Die regulasies maak voorsiening vir 'n proses ten aansien van die eenmalige verwydering van sodanige inligting sowel as om inligting aangaande volopbetaalde vonnisse op 'n voortdurende basis te verwyder. Die Nasionale Krediet Wysingswet 19 van 2014 maak ook voorsiening vir die deurentydse verwydering van sodanige inligting. Alhoewel die regulasies redelik eenvoudig is, is daar tog 'n paar fasette wat onduidelikheid veroorsaak. Grotendeels het dit te make met die korrekte interpretasie van sekere woorde en uitdrukkings wat in party subregulasies gebruik word. Dit is byvoorbeeld onduidelik of die regulasies ook van toepassing kan wees op sekere regspersone. Daar is ook nie sekerheid oor welke inligting steeds in verbruikers se betalingsprofiel mag verskyn en hoe sodanige regulasies die betalingsprofiele beïnvloed nie. Die regulasies bepaal duidelik dat die inligting wat verwyder is van die kredietrekords van verbruikers ingevolge die regulasies nie deur kredietgewers gebruik mag word tydens die assessering of 'n verbruiker kwalifiseer vir enige krediet nie. Wat die regulasie egter nie bepaal nie is of sodanige kredietgewer sodanige inligting mag gebruik waar hy dit bekom het deur nie na 'n kredietburoverslag te kyk nie, maar deur sy eie interne rekords na te gaan, byvoorbeeld in die geval waar hy met 'n bestaande kliënt te doen het nie. Hierdie aspekte, sowel as 'n paar ander, word in diepte in hierdie artikel bestudeer. Die impak wat die regulasies op die verbruikerskrediet mark tot dusver gehad het, sowel as 'n paar voordele en nadele van die regulasies word ook kortweg bespreek.