INTERCEPTION OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE

The need to intercept and monitor communications arose in the context of security legislation. However, the use of e-mail and the Internet in the workplace has raised concerns about the privacy of employees’ e-mail and web browsing activities. On the one hand, despite the fact that the employer’s resources are being used, employees still have an expectation that there is some measure of privacy pertaining to their communications. On the other hand, information and communications technology in the workplace raises questions about the supervision of its use. The Regulation of Interception of Communications and the Provision of Communication-related Information Act (70 of 2002 – “the RIC Act”) has recently been enacted. The effect of this Act on interception of e-mail in theworkplace has been the subject of a media flurry and differences of opinion amongst information technology (IT) lawyers. Owing to uncertainties flowing from this Act, it has yet to come into operation.The aim of this note is to provide a cursory overview of the effect of the RIC Act on interception of e-mail in the workplace, to highlight the issues raised by the Act and to make recommendations on how some of these obstacles can be overcome

THE TRUST AS SPECIAL-PURPOSE INSTITUTION

The trust figure has undergone interesting developments in South African law during the last century. Due to its flexibility and multi-functionality it has developed as the legal institution of choice for many holistic business structures: from estate-planning and risk-protection, to financial-instrument entity. Particular financial innovations, such as securitization, required regulators to come up with fresh solutions within existing legal and regulatory systems. The traditional role of the inter vivos trust as a family wealth-transfer device became rather trivial as the importance of the financial and corporate roles of trusts increased. Trusts are not only prevalent in securitization and other investment roles, but also fulfil an increasingly important role in organizational law, which includes a variety of business-legal fields. The evolutionary process of the trust as collective investment-scheme vehicle to that of a legal entity in structured-finance programmes,such as a special purpose instrument, matured without any resistance in South Africa. It is submitted that, in the trust-development process, South Africa should not necessarily find its inspiration solely in developed nations, but should rather position itself in its real context of a developing Southern African democracy, with the potential of becoming an important financial innovator in a world of economic turmoil.It is submitted that a sound legal and regulatory framework for the application of trusts in the financial sphere is crucial. International best practice requires a definite and effective regulatory environment for economic expediency. It is submitted that a hybrid system, as found in South Africa, is better suited to adapt to the challenges of an ever-changing legal and economic reality. It is submitted that legislative interventions should be limited to the bare minimum and a holistic approach should be adopted, including the ratification of The HagueConvention on Trusts and some focused soft-law interventions.&nbsp