Ebrahim Patel, Minister for Trade, Industry and Competition; (Matthew Brewer/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Organizations representing black lawyers have submitted papers in the Pretoria High Court to compel the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to publish in the Official Gazette the Law Sector Code (LSC), a far-reaching Black Economic Empowerment Act, to foster transformation in the industry. Submitted to.
The organizations claim that promulgating the code will help address “discriminatory patterns of procurement.”
Some black lawyers say the briefing pattern discriminates against them.
These organizations claim that Ebrahim Patel's failure to promulgate the LSC was illegal and discriminated against black legal practitioners.
These organizations represent black lawyers and are led by the Black Lawyers Association, the National Democratic Lawyers Association, the Black Lawyers Association, and the South African Pan-African Bar Association.
The case comes after a legal spat in which Gauteng High Court judge Mandlenkosi Moosa recently asked the court's lawyers to explain why there were no black lawyers on the team arguing BEE cases in court.
The judge questioned whether the absence of any black lawyers violated the equality clause of Article 9 of the Constitution.
“One of the most important indicators of this inequality is the fact that major commercial and corporate directives are dominated by large, predominantly white-owned corporations,” the organization said Thursday. said Rafael Grant Brink, who filed the documents. “Black lawyers, in contrast, continue to experience discrimination, particularly with regard to procurement practices.”
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The parties allege that Mr. Patel is slowing down the process and defeating the purpose of the B-BBEE Act. “This has the effect of undermining the mandate for constitutional change,” his affidavit reads in part. This “unreasonable delay” negatively impacts black lawyers. “In violation of that duty, as a member of a government tasked with transforming South African society, the Minister has chosen to derail the transformation through inaction,” Mr Brink said.
Mr. Brink said in his affidavit that the B-BBEE Act was promulgated to give effect to Article 9 of the Constitution. This section of South Africa's supreme law is crucial to this case because it provides for equality, which includes the “full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms.” It includes legislation and other measures designed to protect or advance individuals and persons in order to facilitate the achievement of equality. Categories of people who are disadvantaged by unfair discrimination could be addressed,'' Brink said.
Mr Brink said Mr Patel's failure to issue a code of good practice to further the objectives of the law was unlawful.
