Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf): Open Journal Systems
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THE SEARCH WARRANT PROVISIONS OF THE CYBERCRIMES ACT AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT
No full textThe recently enacted Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 regulates the powers of the police and investigators to investigate cybercrimes. Chapter 4 of the Act provides for the powers of the police and others in respect of search, access or seizure in the investigation of cybercrimes and other offences committed by means of cybertechnology. The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 will continue to operate in addition to the provisions of the Cybercrimes Act, to the extent that the Criminal Procedure Act is not inconsistent with the Cybercrimes Act. The search and seizure provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act are object-based, as they do not deal explicitly with the specialised procedures that are required to investigate cybercrimes or other offences that involve the use of digital devices. The Cybercrimes Act attempts to address this shortcoming. The coexistence of the search and seizure provisions in these two Acts may cause difficulties in the fight against crime. In addition to the validity requirements of search warrants, as set out in the Acts, additional intelligibility requirements for the validity of search warrants have been developed by the courts
Exploring COVID-19 public perceptions in South Africa through sentiment analysis and topic modelling of Twitter posts
No full textThe narratives shared on social media during a health crisis such as COVID-19 reflect public perceptions of the crisis. This article provides findings from a study of the perceptions of South African citizens regarding the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March to May 2020. The study analysed Twitter data from posts by government officials and the public in South Africa to measure the public’s confidence in how the government was handling the pandemic. Results produced by four popular machine-learning classifiers for sentiment analysis— logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)—demonstrated these classifiers’ levels of effectiveness. In addition, the study used, and evaluated the effectiveness of, two topic-modelling algorithms—latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) and non-negative matrix factorisation (NMF)—in the classification of social media discourses in terms of frequently occurring topics. In terms of South African public sentiment towards COVID-19 and the government’s response, it was found that, based on the Twitter data, South Africans held predominantly negative views
DEINDIVIDUATION AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
No full textThis contribution assesses the social-psychological concept of deindividuation in the particular context of its use in instances of crowd violence in South African criminal law. Well-established as a mitigating factor, and yet not used over the past couple of decades, the question is posed as to whether this concept still finds application in contemporary South African law and society
SAPS ELECTRONIC REGISTER FOR PERPETRATORS OF ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN
No full textAbuse against women is a severe social problem that needs an effective combat mechanism. Globally, women have been subjected to violence to such an extent that the problem has caught the international community’s attention. In response to the abuse of women, the international community has introduced a legal framework to assist countries in setting up preventative and protective measures to realise women’s rights and make them free from all forms of violence. The instruments introduced by the international community include UN Resolutions, General Recommendations on violence against women and children, and the like. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 guarantees everyone the right to freedom of security, including the right to be free from all forms of violence. While South Africa has made great strides in passing legislation to protect women from violence, the preventative methods have not been effective in combating women abuse. Thus, South Africa needs more preventative mechanisms to protect women, and police at the forefront of implementing those preventative mechanisms. This article investigates mechanisms that the international community has suggested, looks at other countries’ approaches to combating violence against women, and then argues for a process where women have access to information about a potential abuser’s previous criminal history
THE ADMINISTRATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE MIDST OF COVID-19: A NEED FOR A SPECIALISED AND INDEPENDENT SOCIAL SECURITY ADJUDICATION SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA
No full textThe spread of the Coronavirus has had an adverse effect in many parts of the world including South Africa. Many people contracted the disease, and some even died. It is worth mentioning that to date, people are still contracting and dying from this disease. Related consequences that came with the management of the disease have had dire repercussions both on the economy of the country and social conditions of many, in particular the impoverished. In a bid to circumvent the socio-economic hardships given birth to by the disease the State made provision for a number of social relief measures to improve the conditions of those who were at the plight of poverty. These social relief measures had their own shortcomings, such as mismanagement of allocated funds, fraud and maladministration. These shortcomings left the intended beneficiaries destitute. At this point those affected by such discrepancies had no recourse available to them due to lack of awareness, lengthy adjudication processes, exorbitant legal fees and most importantly the lack of an independent social security adjudication system to solely deal with matters of this nature. The lack of an independent social security adjudication system invites quite a number of constitutional breaches such as the breach of the right to social security and the right of access to courts and in turn, has a bearing on socio-economic rights during this era of the pandemic. In an endeavour to provide amicable solutions to the above shortcomings, this article suggests that the pandemic necessitated the implementation of the long-called-for establishment of an independent social security adjudication system which will only deal with social-security-related matters. To amplify the need for an independent social security adjudication system the article makes recommendations to this effect. It is worth mentioning that the article was written at the height of Covid-19 and when the lockdown regulations were still in force and effective, this is thus reflective in the contents of the article
A Comparative Analysis of the Treatment of Inflation in South African Capital Gains Tax and the Accrual Systems
No full textInflation is often defined as a continuous and considerable rise in prices in general. Recently it has become a focal point due to globally elevated levels of inflation. Considering its treatment in the South African legal system, this article unpacks the contrary approaches of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 (MPA) and the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (ITA) regarding inflation. These two Acts are considered as they provide different approaches to inflation, therefore different outcomes. While the MPA makes provision for inflation in determining the growth of each of the estates of spouses married out of community with the accrual system, the ITA does not recognise inflation insofar as it relates to capital gains tax. Comparing the approaches of the MPA and the ITA reveals disparities in the law and justifies the investigation conducted in this article.
Accordingly, this article compares the effect of inflation and capital gains tax and why inflation is not considered when determining the base cost of an asset for capital gains tax purposes. To explain the inconsistency between the MPA and the ITA, this article firstly unpacks the characteristics of the South African matrimonial property regime insofar as it relates to inflation. Thereafter, the article characterises the South African application of the capital gains tax and articulates the shortcomings of existing capital gains tax provisions and the resulting challenges in the application of both Acts.
In comparing the ways in which the MPA and the ITA deal with inflation, a clear distinction becomes evident. This article finds that, while the initial inclusion rate for capital gains tax inflation is largely accommodated, subsequent increases in the inclusion rate have erased this provision. Given these findings, this article suggests that the current South African capital gains tax regime's inclusion rate be further investigated to determine whether a wider set of exclusions could be developed to better accommodate inflation
South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport Position Statement on CBD (Cannabidiol) and THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)
Full text linkCannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have become easily available to athletes over the years. Using these substances may inadvertently expose an athlete to the possibility of an adverse analytical finding (a ”positive” test) and a sanction. Athletes need to understand the risk of an antidoping rule violation or adverse analytical finding should these products be used, especially if no therapeutic use exemption exists. This position statement attempts to clarify the use of CBD and THC and their associated risks with Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRV) in the athletic population. The South African Sports Medicine Association supports this position statement
From waste cooking oil to oxygen-rich onion-like nanocarbons for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions
No full textVegetable cooking oil is used in domestic and commercial kitchens owing to its ability to modify and enhance the taste of the food through the frying process. However, as the oil is used through several frying cycles, it changes colour to dark brown and acquires an unpleasant smell. At this point, the waste oil is usually discarded, thereby finding its way into freshwater streams due to poor disposal and thus becoming an environmental pollutant. To provide an alternative, ‘green’ route to waste oil disposal, herein we report on the metal-free synthesis of onion-like nanocarbons (OLNCs) made from waste cooking oil via flame pyrolysis. The OLNCs were then applied in the removal of hexavalent chromium ions from aqueous solutions. The as-synthesised OLNCs were found to have similar properties (size, quasi-spherical shape etc.) to those synthesised from pure cooking oils. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data showed that the OLNCs contained C-O-type moieties which were attributed to the oxygenation process that took place during the cooking process. The OLNCs from waste oil were applied as an adsorbent for Cr(VI) and showed optimal removal conditions at pH = 2, t = 360 min, Co = 10 mg/L and Q0max = 47.62 mg/g, superior to data obtained from OLNCs prepared from pristine cooking oil. The results showed that the OLNCs derived from the waste cooking oil were effective in the removal of hexavalent chromium. Overall, this study shows how to repurpose an environmental pollutant (waste cooking oil) as an effective adsorbent for pollutant (Cr(VI)) removal.
Significance:
Waste cooking oil outperformed olive oil as a starting material for the production of OLNCs for the removal of toxic Cr(VI) from water.
The superior performance of the OLNCs from waste cooking oil was attributed to the higher oxygen content found on their surface and acquired through the cooking process.
Not only are the OLNCs produced from waste cooking oil effective in the removal of Cr(VI), but they can be used multiple times before replacement, which makes them sustainable
The value of multibeam bathymetry in marine spatial planning in South Africa: A review
No full textGiven a growing global population and shift to embrace the blue economy, a need for marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged in South Africa to sustainably resolve the rising conflicts over the use of marine and seabed resources and services. A well-developed marine spatial plan yields numerous ecological, social and economic benefits. These are achieved through mediating between spatially conflicting economic drivers’ interests (e.g. commercial fishing, tourism, mining), preventing their activities from compromising thresholds of an environment’s sustainability. Within the MSP framework, high-resolution geospatial datasets are required to document and describe the seabed in the highest possible detail. At any scale, integrated analysis of seabed geomorphology and habitats is anticipated to greatly improve the understanding of ecosystem functioning from a multidisciplinary perspective, whilst improving MSP procedures and management of marine space. South Africa is the first of few African countries to have an approved and implemented MSP framework, but is still somewhat behind globally in implementing large-scale regional hydroacoustic surveys to cover the country’s vast offshore territory. The deficiency of hydroacoustic surveys is perhaps due to a relative lack of funds and poor communication about the value of multibeam echo-sounder (MBES) derived data, whilst marine geoscience remains a scarce skill in the country. This review paper presents a geological perspective of MSP and explores (1) the value that seabed mapping offers MSP specifically and (2) the need to increase seabed mapping with MBES, using a recently initiated project from the South African east coast as a case study.
Significance:
The collected MBES data (our case study) provides unprecedented seabed detail of the complex reef habitat and adjacent areas within specific management zones of the uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area. We reveal seabed features and their spatial distribution at a scale not possible using earlier (singlebeam) seabed mapping techniques. These high-resolution data will enable a better understanding of east coast marine habitats whilst contributing to improved spatial management of areas within and around the uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area