In less than two years, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has again seen a change in political leadership. At one level, this creates the usual practical concerns: shifting priorities, delays in decision-making, inconsistent approaches to pending matters, and growing backlogs in applications and appeals. But in the ...

Introduction The international legal framework governing submarine cables is primarily derived from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Under Articles 113 to 115, States are required to adopt domestic legislation criminalising the breaking or injury of submarine cables, whether intentionally or through negligence, and to ...

Ships travel globally. Judicial certainty often does not. The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (2022), better known as the Beijing Convention was finalised by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and entered into force on 17 February 2026. The aim ...

Update: Merchant Shipping Bill Withdrawn to Allow Nedlac Consultation During the week of 13 October 2025, Cabinet announced that the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2023 has been withdrawn from Parliament to enable the Department of Transport (DoT) to finalise consultations with the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). The Bill, ...

Legal Clarity in the Hake Inshore Trawl Sector: The Minister Issues an Addendum to the Appeals GPR On 8 October 2024, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment signed the General Published Reasons for Decisions on Section 4 for Category B Entities in the Hake Inshore Trawl (HIT) Sector ...