BSALA

Welcome to the website for the British South African Law Association, a bilateral association formed in 1996 with the aim of fostering links between the legal communities in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Latest News

Annual Dinner - Guest speaker Mr FW de Klerk, Former State President of South Africa

Further details can be found in the attached invitation and booking form (Word and PDF versions), together with contact details for further enquiries.

Annual Dinner - Guest speaker Mr Justice Edwin Cameron

ANNUAL DINNER – 26^TH JUNE 2007: GUEST SPEAKER MR JUSTICE EDWIN CAMERON (SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA)
at the East India Club, St James’s Square, London

At the annual dinner on 26^th June 2007, the members of BSALA and their guests were given an inspiring address by Mr Justice Edwin Cameron under the title “Constitutionalism, Democracy and AIDS in South Africa”.

The guest speaker was introduced by the BSALA Chairman, Seamus Smyth, and a vote of thanks was delivered by the BSALA Vice-Chair, Mrs Justice Linda Dobbs. The occasion attracted a glittering audience which included as guests Lord Scott of Foscote, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Justice Ward and Tim Dutton QC, Vice-Chairman of the Bar.

I B Tauris, the publishers of Edwin Cameron’s book “Witness to AIDS” kindly donated five copies which were auctioned in a sealed-bid auction with very great success indeed, the proceeds of which will be put towards BSALA’s sponsoring a bursary for a law student at the University of the Western Cape. The names of the winners and the sum raised by the sealed-bid auction will be posted on this site when the winners have been notified and the bids collected.

The evening generally, in addition to an address which was at the same time humbling and challenging and inspirational, was a great success and a most enjoyable occasion. My thanks in large measure, are due to Kimon de Ridder, BSALA’s treasurer and Lance Terry, the secretary, for organising the event. We all look forward to many more...

Seamus Smyth


Seamus Smyth (BSALA Chairman), Mr Justice Edwin Cameron and Lord Hoffmann

Roshnee Mansingh, Lord Justice Ward, Mrs Justice Linda Dobbs, Mr Justice Edwin Cameron and Lord Scott		Mr Justice Edwin Cameron, R. Mansingh, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Justice Ward

WINNERS OF THE SEALED BID AUCTION - OCT 2006

In October 2006 on the occasion of an inspiring address to BSALA by George Bizos SC, a sealed-bid auction was held of eight copies of his book “No One to Blame? – In Pursuit of Justice in South Africa”. £437 was raised, and BSALA is very grateful to George Bizos and his publishers David Philip and Mayibuye Press for the donation of the books. The winning bids were made by Leszek Dobrovolsky, Peter Carter QC, Dilnaaz Kazi, Seamus Smyth, Melissa McGregor, Jonathan Ashley-Norman, Michael Goldstein and Brian Hurwitz.

Congratulations and many thanks to the winners for their generous bids!

AGM and Reception to be held on 27 April 2007

THE BRITISH SOUTH AFRICAN LAW ASSOCIATION

is pleased to announce it is hosting an informal drinks reception

Date: Thursday 26th April 2007

Time : 18h30 to 20h00

Venue: Stewarts Solicitors, 63 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LW.

The event is open to all who may be interested in BSALA but as space is very limited it will be necessary to RSVP via email by not later than
noon on the 24th April 2007 in order to attend

To RSVP or for more information please email Lance Terry.

The Reception will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting, which will be held at the offices of Stewarts Solicitors at 6pm.

10th Anniversary Celebrations at South Africa House

On 30th November 2006 the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, Advocate Johnny De Lange MP, gave a keynote address at South Africa House, entitled "Nation Building and Reconiliation".

BSALA hosts Tokyo Sexwale talk on Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa

BSALA hosted a function at South Africa House on the 26th September 2006 which was addressed by prominent South African businessman Mr Tokyo Sexwale. The event was attended by more than 100 people. Mr Sexwale spoke on the topic of Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa. He also addressed himself to a wide range of current issues in South Africa. The event was a huge success and has generated a great deal of interest.

George Bizos SC addresses BSALA

On 17 October 2007 we were honoured to have George Bizos SC speak to BSALA on the topic of "Is Amnesty a Substitute for Justice?". A copy of his talk can be found here.

Africa 2005: Putting Our Promises into Practice

"At the invitation of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office I attended a panel discussion at Lancaster House on 24th May 2006. The panel discussion was part of the UK-South Africa Bilateral Forum 2006 and the theme of the panel discussion was 'Africa 2005: Putting Our Promises into Practice'.

The UK speakers were Lord Triesman of the FCO and Paul Boateng the High Commissioner in South Africa, and from South Africa Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Minister Abdul Minty who is the President’s representative on the NEPAD steering committee. The panel addresses were very interesting and stimulated more questions from the 200-or-so delegates than there was time to deal with. The occasion was held under the Chatham House rule, so I am sadly not able to report the content of the addresses."

AGM - 26th April 2006

The AGM was held on Wednesday, 26th April 2006, at the offices of Carter Lemon Camerons. A link to the minutes of the AGM can be found below.

BSALA member speaks at Chamber of Commerce Conference

Recently the London Chamber of Commerce asked BSALA to provide a speaker for its conference entitled “South Africa: Opportunities and how to make them happen”, held in December 2004. BSALA member Lance Terry kindly agreed to speak on the “Legal Aspects of Doing Business in South Africa”. The conference was attended by more than 75 Chamber members and guests.

Lance provided an overview of the South African legal system and highlighted some of the legal issues that may arise for UK based companies doing business either in South Africa or with South African parties. The legal aspects covered included those relating to company law compliance, exchange control, employment, competition and tax law.

Lance practices as a company/commercial solicitor with Hampshire based law firm, Glanvilles Solicitors.

Annual Dinner - 9th November 2004

More details to follow but the dinner held last night was a great success. Anthony Gubbay's speech will hopefully be reported on in a bit more detail, but in the meantime here are a few pictures.

If you would like high resolution copies of these image files, please e-mail me.

Mr Justice Moseneke addresses BSALA on 30th June 2004

Despite the chaos caused by the tube strike we had an extremely good attendance at the address given by Mr Justice Moseneke, a judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Those of you who were unable to make it missed something quite exceptional indeed. The South African High Commission very kindly allowed us to use the Reading Room. Link


	Jonathan Schwarz, Anthony Gubbay and Mrs Justice Dobbs		Alexander Glassbrook, Dr Laetitia Muir, Melissa Moore, Mark Davies and Dr Dilnaz Kazi

	Mr James, Anthony Hudson, Fiona Campbell and Dominic Ward		Duncan Tuft , Dr Robert Gaitskell QC, Kevin Metzger, Angelika Metzger, Dr Deborah Gaitskell

	Iqbal Meer, Richard Timmis, Antoinette Timmis		- , Sandra Barton, Katherine Lennon, Geoff Johnson

	Teja Picton Howell , Matthew Coleman , Lionel Woodward, Dr Kimon de Ridder, Mark Rondell


	Malusi Mahlulo (First Secretary to the High Commission), Mr Justice Moseneke, Seamus Smyth and Iqbal Meer