It remains unclear how the culture of corruption will be adequately addressed. What is clear, however, is that the negative public perception of NPAs and other legal public institutions is justified. Gaining the public`s trust will be a massive and long-term undertaking. According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), South Africa currently has the third highest number of cybercrimes in the world (www.aon.co.za, accessed 26.07.2019). Ransom threats and money theft through fraudulent transactions are among the biggest problems law firms face. It is estimated that the country loses R2.2 billion a year due to cyberattacks. The Legal Practitioners` Compensation Insurance Fund (LPIIF) has been informed of at least 110 cyber fraud claims worth over R70 million since July 2016. Aon SA (www.aon.co.za, accessed 26.07.209), a company specializing in legal risk management, indicates that the placement of lawyers is targeted in particular by cybercriminals. Although detainees and defendants are entitled to legal aid, which is provided and funded by the state when „substantial injustice would otherwise result,“ this right has been limited due to a general lack of information about the right to legal representation and insufficient state funding of these legal services. There is no automatic right of appeal unless a convicted person is under the age of 16, but the courts can give leave to the accused. In addition, the Act provides that the High Court may review prison sentences of more than six months. The government did not restrict or disrupt internet access and censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government was monitoring private online communications without proper legal authorization. However, the law allows government surveillance of telecommunications systems, including the Internet and email, on national security grounds.
The law requires all service providers to record the identity, physical address and phone numbers of customers in secure databases. Factors that prevent people from accessing the legal system and contribute to a negative public perception of the legal profession include the high cost of legal services, lack of representativeness of the legal professions, unequal geographical distribution of lawyers, lack of recognition of the role of paralegals, lack of information on the availability of legal services, the intimidating image that lawyers have, the limited services to small claims courts, the lack of redress systems, the limited efficiency of the state legal aid system, and the inability of many lawyers to perform community service (www.gov.za, accessed 25.07.2019). On the second day of the Bar`s Annual Law Conference (www.derebus.co.za, accessed 27.07.2019), the National Director of the Public Prosecutor`s Office, Shamila Batohi, reiterated the public`s concern about corruption in the legal profession. She explained that the culture of integrity is stretched and that the rule of law is tarnished almost beyond recognition. She added that revelations of „state capture“ and endemic corruption affecting both government and business continue almost daily. She added: „I am particularly shocked and deeply saddened by the allegations of corruption against those accused of persecuting South Africans and protecting our public institutions, including the national prosecutor`s office.“ The Employment Equity Act protects all employees from unjust discrimination based on race, age, sex, religion, marital status, pregnancy, family responsibilities, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, disability, conscience, beliefs, politics, opinion, culture, language, HIV status, childbirth or any other arbitrary reason. The legal test used to assess discrimination in all cases is whether the terms and conditions of employment of employees of the same employer who perform identical or substantially similar work or work of equal value differ, directly or indirectly, for any of the above reasons. It is up to the workers to prove this discrimination. The penalties were similar to those for comparable offences. The Government has a regulated code of conduct to assist employers, workers and trade unions in developing and implementing comprehensive, gender-sensitive and HIV/AIDS-compliant policies and programmes in the workplace. Access to basic services: Although the law provides that asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees have access to basic services, including education, health, social support, police, and justice, NGOs said health facilities and law enforcement personnel discriminate against them.
Some refugees said they did not have access to school for their children. They reported that schools often refused to accept asylum documents as proof of residence. NGOs reported that banks regularly denied services to refugees and asylum-seekers if they did not have government-issued identity documents. Following a court ruling in June in response to a lawsuit filed by refugee NGO Scalabrini Center in Cape Town, the government has made COVID-19 support payments to refugees and migrants. Refugees are already legally entitled to such social support. On the second day of the Law Society`s annual conference in Pretoria earlier this year, Johannesburg lawyer Lucien Pierce gave a lecture on „Cybersecurity Considerations for Legal Practitioners: Preparing for When, Not Ob, It Happens!“ (www.derebus.co.za, accessed 27.07.2019). He noted that law firms are like gold for hackers because of the sensitive information they keep. He also referred to international incidents, for example, during the period from 2011 to 2015, 80% of major U.S. law firms had a cyber breach or data breach.
Pierce added that all businesses should be vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity, suggesting five basic steps companies should implement, namely (1) making sure someone is responsible for cybersecurity, (2) assessing your risks, (3) putting safeguards in place, (4) selecting reliable and secure service providers, and (5) focusing on continuous improvement. Agricultural workers also reported health and hygiene problems. In a 2017 report, the NGO Women on Farms Project found that 63% of agricultural workers surveyed lacked access to sanitation and were forced to look for a bush or remote location. The report also included reactions from farm workers and their children, who reported suffering from health problems such as rashes, cholinesterase depression, poisoning, adverse effects on the nervous system, and asthma due to the pesticides they were exposed to. International Child Abduction: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the U.S. Department of State`s annual report on international parental child abduction in travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases. Latest elections: In May 2019, elections to the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the Provincial Parliament were held in the country. The ANC won 58 percent of the vote, the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party 21 percent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 11 percent. According to the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, turnout was 66 percent, the lowest turnout since the end of apartheid.
The Institute stated that the elections were transparent, fair, credible and in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework for elections. Law firms that succeed in the new economy are based on the rule of law, data-driven (web/cloud) on-demand (web/cloud) solutions, trustworthy, and offer a connected experience through an interactive workforce. In addition, only 42 per cent of South Africans surveyed said they had confidence in the people handling their complaints, and only 7 per cent of lawyers had received such training. This ranks South Africa among the worst in the world when it comes to bullying and sexual harassment in the legal workplace. The law allows workers to strike on issues of mutual interest such as wages, benefits, disputes over organizational rights, workers` socio-economic interests, and similar measures. Workers cannot strike for disputes for which there are other remedies, such as arbitration. Workers` rights NGOs operated freely.