Business Judgement Rule In South Africa
Germany has adopted the business judgment rule specifically in the german stock corporation act 1965 aktiengesetz.
Business judgement rule in south africa. Inproceedings smit2016theao title the application of the business judgment rule in fundamental transactions and insolvent trading in south africa. This is the essence of the business judgement rule 1 which entered the south african legal lexicon with the arrival of the companies act 2008 the act. 3 minutes the institute of directors in southern africa iodsa has welcomed the introduction of the business judgment rule into south african company law which seeks to protect directors from liability to the company and shareholders as a result of poor decision making.
Currently in south africa there is limited case law in which directors have been held. Linda muswaka law lecturer school of postgraduate studies and research north west university south africa. Directors duties in south africa are found in the act as well as in the common law.
Unless the requirements of the business judgement rule as set out in section 76 4 of the act applies a director who is in breach of his duty of care and skill may be held liable for his misconduct in his capacity as director. What this means is that when the business judgment rule applies it is taken. The business judgment rule is implicit in the judgments of english and south african courts and the king committee has recommended its formal recognition in south africa.
It has been heralded by many as the key form of protection for directors and allows them to make informed judgements without the threat of liability hanging over their heads. Among these countries are south africa and germany. The need for such formal recognition and stricter interpretation of the duty of care and skill discussed.
Dyke michael john. For listed companies these director duties are coupled with the. Skill and diligence8 and the business judgment rule.
In south africa the rule has been incorporated with the companies act 71 of 2008. Therefore the rule has been codified in numerous countries all over the world. The disney case in re walt disney derivative litigation case no.