The Firm is very proud of and is well known throughout South Africa for its speciality work that it conducts in the public sector in the National, Provincial and Local Government administrative sphere.

It has been involved in litigation in this area since establishment in 1996, throughout the entire democratic transformation process in South Africa from which time the Firm has acted as experts in the Local Government administrative law spheres.

The Firm has extensive experience in both opposed action and application related litigation in the different Courts. This has principally been in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and the High Court environments.

The professional staff of the Firm has been involved in litigation matters in the following types of disputes:

• Challenging and/or enforcing the validity of general administrative acts, both at a Provincial Government as well as Local Government level
  
  
• Challenging and/or enforcing the validity of Municipal Council Resolutions, Executive Mayoral Committee Resolutions and Recommendations, Section 79 and 80 Committee Resolutions and Recommendations
  
  
• Defending High Court litigation in disputes relating to the appointment, suspension and dismissal of municipal managers, Section 57 managers and other senior management employees in the Provincial and Local Government spheres
  
  
• Supply Chain Management litigation relating to tender evaluation / adjudication disputes and interdicts for the review and setting aside of tenders adjudicated by municipalities and public entities at Provincial and National level
  
  
• Damages claims
  
  
• Contractual claims
  
  
• Constitutional Court and High Court litigation relating to challenges in respect of the validity of property rates, taxes and tariffs implemented by Municipalities
  
  
• Litigation relating to the eviction of squatters. The Firm has successfully opposed a variety of eviction applications to prevent the unlawful eviction of less privileged communities on mandates from municipalities

Obtaining and/or opposing interdicts on an urgent, semi-urgent and in
the normal course of court proceedings relating to municipal property, municipal resolutions and/or general administrative decisions

• Collection of municipal taxes, rates and tariffs
  
  
• Attendance to litigation in respect of Town Planning, Environmental Law and Property Law
  
  
• Expropriations for purposes of establishment of housing and agri-village purposes
  
  
• Litigation relating to breaches of services agreements and/or conditions of establishment with property developer
  
  
• Declaratory orders and review applications relating to general administrative acts within all spheres of Government
  
  
• Applications relating to access to information and the that follow in the public and international law sphere

We attend to litigation on behalf of National, Provincial and Local Government in all the different Courts and Tribunals.

We have successfully defended the North West Provincial Government against review applications to set aside interventions at Local Government level by the Provincial Government in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution. The Firm has also successfully defended Municipalities against inappropriate section 139(1)(b) interventions.

We have particular knowledge in the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Local Government: Municipal Financial Management Act and the Property Rates Act as well as the myriad of related regulations. The Firm also frequently deals with disputes relating to Municipal Council Rules of Order, Delegations of Authority, Annual Budgets, Integrated Development Plans, Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans, establishment, functioning, management and procedures of Section 79 and Section 80 Committees, Municipal Public Accounts and Audit Committees, Town Planning Schemes, etcetera.

At a Municipal level, assistance and advice has been provided in the formulation and drafting of indigent policies, debt collection and debt control policies and the recovery procedures.