On 16 August 2024, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard an Ex Parte application in respect of  our candidate attorney Yuvania Chetty (“Yuvania”).

The application was brought in terms of Rule 22.1.10 of the Legal Practice Rules, read with Section 11 (3) of the Attorneys Act 53 of 1979 (now repealed), which enables candidate attorneys, who have previously served articles and were not able to complete the period, to combine the period of articles rendered with the current period being served.

Prior to this application the position in KwaZulu-Natal was that a candidate who did not complete the full period of articles under a contract, and who wished to resume articles at a later stage, would be required to re-register afresh without being credited for the period already served.

Yuvania had previously served articles with a firm under the old Attorneys Act 53 of 1979 in accordance with the five-year program and did not complete her full term at that stage. She was then subsequently employed by our Richards Bay branch as a paralegal and continued her studies. Upon completing her degree Yuvania proceeded to register her articles with our Richards Bay branch. After extensive research, and with the guidance of Advocate Beatrice De Beer, Yuvania brought the above application in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in terms of which she sought to have her previously served articles recognized and joined to the current period of articles being served. The application was successful with the result that Yuvania is now eligible to register and sit for the competency-based board examinations in August 2024.

This is a precedent setting case in that, for the first time in KwaZulu-Natal, articles that have been served, will not prescribe.