Department of Mercantile Law establishes relations with the Companies Tribunal

The relationship between the Department of Mercantile Law and Companies Tribunal was sparked by the seminar which was jointly hosted earlier in 2021 discussing “Legislative shortcomings in implementing the Tribunal’s mandate”. Which was followed by further engagements which included joint engagements addressing various issues within the company law space, to develop shared insights to create as well as advance the academic knowledge and its implementation in practice.

Both partners have agreed to propel the relations through expert lecture series & seminars with speakers coming from both organisations, developing information material which will be distributed at various public roadshows planned by Companies Tribunal across the country, inviting practitioners to present guest lectures at the Department for certain modules such as insolvency law or competition law closely associated to company law.

Furthermore, the partnership envisions research topics which can be investigated at postgraduate studies especially by Masters and Doctoral level number, in areas of joint interest within company law. Which can then be translated into practical actions or projects which can be implemented by practitioners at the Companies Tribunal to address some of the existing challenges currently experienced by the regulator.

The parties also discussed a joint interest to explore hosting of moot court as a mechanism of collaboration, to provide exposure to students on the nature of work and cases that the Companies Tribunal handles. As well as, the viability of incorporating moot court exercises of this nature into the LLB curriculum or extra-curricular activities within with the Faculty of Law, will be further discussed for implementation in the long term.

The working agreement was facilitated by the joint leadership of Prof Phumudzo Munyai, the current HOD at the Department of Mercantile Law with his team comprising of Dr Tshepiso Ngoepe and Prof Christiaan Swart. Together with Mr Selby Magwasha, the Acting Chief Operations Officer at Companies Tribunal. This marks an era of collegiality and a partnership in a quest to making a meaningful contribution within the implementation and regulation of South African company law.

Prof Elsabe Schoeman, the Faculty of Law Dean commended both teams on the work done and wished them success in their joint venture.