Terms & Conditions

This is the website of MCJ Attorneys.

All communications regarding this website should be addressed to info@mcjlaw.co.za.

Use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

The content and design of the website pages are subject to copyright owned by MCJ Attorneys or used under license from third party copyright owners. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted for any purpose.

From time to time this website may feature content related to the law and legal developments. Such content is intended to provide general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice in relation to your particular circumstances.

From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided in order to enhance the interest of other featured content and are not intended to signify that MCJ Attorneys endorses or otherwise has any responsibility for the content of the linked website.

This website is made available for public viewing and use on the basis that MCJ Attorneys exclude, to the extent lawfully permitted, all liability whatsoever for any loss or damage, howsoever arising, out of use of this website or reliance upon the content of this website.

Privacy Policy

A highly regulated information technology environment has emerged pertaining to the collection, processing, transmission, security, storage and disposal of digital and hard copy repositories of information. 

The access to and control of information is inter alia regulated by legislation such as: The Promotion of Access to Information Act (“PAIA”), Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (“ECTA”), Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication – Related Information Act (“RICA”), the National Credit Act (“NCA”) and the National Health Act (“NHA”). Personal Information will be regulated and protected by the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPI”).

Our firm recognises the importance of the protection of personal information and as such subscribes to the principles, outlined in Section 51 of the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act of 2002, that govern your right to have your specific personal information which you provide to us via the internet or otherwise kept private.

1. INTRODUCTION

• Welcome to the website of MCJ Attorneys (“MCJ Attorneys”, “we”, “us”, “our”) currently located at mcjlaw.co.za.
• MCJ Attorneys recognises the importance of protecting your privacy in respect of your Personal Information (as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013) collected by us when you use our website.
• Further, MCJ Attorneys is committed to protecting and preserving the Personal Information of all visitors to our website.
• Please read the following Privacy Policy (“Policy”) carefully to understand how your Personal Information will be treated.
• Please note that we may update this Policy from time to time by posting the latest version on this website, so please ensure that you refer to it periodically.
• By using our website, you agree to MCJ Attorneys, its owners, consultants, employees, agents, representatives and subcontractors, affiliates and/or third parties to process (which will include collecting, using and disclosing) your Personal Information for the purposes stated in this Policy. If you do not agree with our processing activities described in this Policy, please do not use this website.
• We will not use your personal information for any purposes not mentioned in this Policy without your consent.

2. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE MAY COLLECT

• Personal Information is information which identifies, or could reasonably be associated with you.
• Information you provide to us
  • The Personal Information we collect and process may include, but is not limited to, your contact information (such Personal Information may include your name, identity or passport numbers, e-mail address, physical address and telephone numbers).
  • Please note that you are not obliged to provide any such Personal Information on the public areas of our website. However, you may choose to do so by completing information of the various sections of our website, including:
    • subscription to our online services;
    • subscription to publications and newsletters;
    • to contact our attorneys and other employees.
  • We strive to collect only that Personal Information which is necessary for the intended purpose of the collection.
• Information we automatically collect about you
  • With each visit to our website, we may automatically collect and store certain information about you. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
    • technical information, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address which is used to connect your computer to the Internet, operating system and browser type and platform for system administration; and
    • information about your use of our website, including details of your visits such as pages viewed and the resources that you accessed. Such information includes traffic data, location data and other communication data.

3. USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

• We have the highest regard for the privacy of our customers and will use Personal Information only as appropriate in the normal course of business to provide the products and services you have requested and/or will only collect, use, disclose or otherwise process your Personal Information in accordance with this Policy and to positively identify you when you contact us on-line.
• Our firm’s website is hosted with Azapi Online Marketing using the WordPress platform. This allows us to market and sell our products and services to you. Your data may be stored through our website’s data storage, databases and general WordPress applications. They store your data on secure servers behind a firewall.
• When you provide us with your Personal Information (in terms of clause 2 of this Policy), we will use your information to send you publications and newsletters which you have subscribed to receive.
• We will not retain your Personal Information for longer than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which we collected it, unless there is a lawful basis or legal requirement for us to retain your Personal Information for a longer period.
• We do not and will not sell or provide Personal Information to third parties for independent use.

4. SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• We may disclose and share your Personal Information to our third-party service providers and business partners, where necessary or if that information is required to provide the products or services you have requested.
• We do however require that our service providers and business partners take appropriate, reasonable, technical and organisational measures to keep your Personal Information secure and adhere to using any information only as directed by us.
• In addition, our service providers may not use or disclose Personal Information for any purpose other than providing the services on our behalf.
• We may also disclose your Personal Information:
  • when such disclosure is necessary to protect the legitimate interests (safety, property or other rights) of MCJ Attorneys, our attorneys, employees, consultants, or any other person, or where required or permitted by law; or
  • if we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Information in order to comply with any legal obligation.
• There is a possibility that the Personal Information that we collect from you may have to be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside of the Republic of South Africa (for example, by a third-party data hosting service provider).
• Insofar as your information may be transferred outside of South Africa, we will take reasonable organisational and/or contractual measures to ensure that your Personal Information is processed by such third-party service providers for the purposes for which it has been provided to us and that the required levels of protection have been implemented by such third-party service providers to safeguard your Personal Information.
• You agree that once your Personal Information has been de-identified (i.e. we delete any information that identifies you) such de-identified information may be shared in the following circumstances:
  • to our agents, advisers, service providers and suppliers (this may include our CRM provider; search engine optimisation agency, creative, brand, digital and media agencies, Microsoft, Google and other research agents);
  • to monitor web traffic: web servers serving this website automatically collect information about you in relation to the website pages you visit; and
  • for statistics purposes: we may perform statistical analyses to measure interest in the various areas of this website.

5. SAFEGUARDING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

• We value the information that you choose to provide to us and will therefore take all appropriate, reasonable, technical and organisational measures to safeguard and protect your Personal Information to prevent loss of, damage to, misuse or unauthorised alteration or destruction of your Personal Information or unlawful access to or processing of your Personal Information.
• The information we maintain concerning our clients is stored in databases that have built-in safeguards to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of that information.

6. HOW TO ACCESS AND UPDATE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

• We will take reasonable steps to keep your Personal Information accurate and complete. We suggest that you regularly update your Personal Information.
• You can request access to any of your Personal Information that is held by us at any time and for any purpose, including to request that we correct your Personal Information if it is inaccurate or delete the Personal Information if we are no longer required to retain it by law or for a legitimate purpose.
• Requests to access Personal Information held on you in accordance with this Policy can be made to info@mcjlaw.co.za.

7. USE OF COOKIES

• Our website uses cookies, which are small text files sent by a web server to store on a web browser. They are used to ensure websites function properly, store user preferences when needed and collect anonymous statistics on website usage.
• First party cookies
  • Session cookie – This cookie contains a randomly generated number and allows the browser to remember your selections. It expires when you close the browser and contains no personally identifiable information.
• Third party cookies
  • Google Analytics – These cookies are used to collect anonymous website statistics such as the number of visitors in a month, average duration of visits and popular pages viewed. This data is used to review and improve the site.
• Social networks
  • If you share pages via social networks, cookies may be placed by the social networks in question, in accordance with their respective privacy policies.

8. USE OF IP ADDRESSES

• We also collect information that does not identify you personally through our Internet log files, which record data such as IP addresses, browser types and other anonymous statistical data. This information may be used to analyse trends and to gather general demographic information. We do not link this information to personally identifiable information.

9. CONTACT INFORMATION

• If you have any questions regarding MCJ Attorneys’ processing of your Personal Information in terms of this Policy, please e-mail us at info@mcjlaw.co.za.
• Further, if you currently receive marketing information from us which you would prefer not to receive in future, please e-mail us at info@mcjlaw.co.za.

Identification of Clients - FICA

The purpose of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act No. 38 of 2001 ("FICA") is to root out money laundering and the financing of terrorism ("MLFT") which places in jeopardy the economy and constitutional order of any country.

FICA seeks to fulfil this purpose by imposing certain obligations on Accountable Institutions, which are recognised as potential vehicles for financial malfeasance. These obligations regulate the manner in which Accountable Institutions handle money and property in the course of their business dealings with clients and prospective clients. Attorney firms are one of 16 (sixteen) categories of Accountable Institution falling within the ambit of FICA.

Our firm has designed and implemented a Risk Management and Compliance Policy ("RMCP"), which is a document setting out how we will –

• collect information about clients;
• keep records of our clients' transactions; and
• report information to the relevant authorities in certain circumstances.

The RMCP is the successor to what were known as the "internal rules" before FICA was amended by the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act No. 1 of 2017.

Underpinning the RMCP is the "risk-based approach", in terms of which an Accountable Institution is afforded the discretion to evaluate whether, and the extent to which, each of its clients introduces MLFT risk to the firm.

The RMCP and, indeed, FICA itself, exist within the wider context of –

• South Africa's status as an FATF Member State; and
• our firm’s own commitment to playing its part in protecting South Africa's financial system and constitutional democracy, by effectively identifying and managing the MLFT risks to which our firm is exposed, and by co-operating with the relevant authorities whenever this is called for.

The following is a list of documents which our firm will require clients to furnish in order to comply with the requirements of FICA, namely:

Individual / Partnership

1. a certified copy of page 1 of the client’s green bar-coded identity document or card, his/her marriage certificate, antenuptial contract or divorce order (if applicable) or, if married in community of property, also a certified copy of the green bar-coded identity document or card of the client’s spouse or alternatively, if the client's spouse is deceased, also a certified copy of his/her death certificate or death notice;

2. a certified copy of any utility bill* addressed to the client’s residential address (not postal address) or rental contract, or alternatively a sworn affidavit to the effect that the client currently resides at the said address, following a physical site visit;

   * Documents which can be used for verification (not older than 3 months):

   Bank statement / Rental contract / Municipal account / Bond account statement / Telkom account / SARS return or IRP5 / Insurance policy / Salary advice / Motor license / Correspondence by Body Corporate of Sectional Title Scheme, etc.

3. a certified copy of the tax return or any other document issued by the South African Revenue Services, reflecting the client’s income tax number;

4. a cancelled cheque or particulars of the client’s bank account certified by his/her bankers.

Close Corporation (CC) / Company / Trust

1. certified copies of the latest:

CC

Certificate of Incorporation and Founding Statement (CK1) or Amended Founding Statement (CK2 and/or CK2A), all of which must have the Registrar’s stamp (CIPC-logo must be visible) and be signed by a member;

Company

Registered prior to May 2011

Certificate of Incorporation CM1 or CM3, Memorandum and Articles of Association CM2, CM4 and/or CM44, Certificate of Change of Name CM9 (if applicable), Certificate of Confirmation of Registration (if the company has been converted from a close corporation), Notice of Registered Office and Postal Address CM22, Certificate to Commence Business CM46 and Contents of Register of Directors and Auditors CM29, all bearing the Registrar of Companies’ stamp and be signed by the Secretary of the company or independently obtained current CIPC certificate printouts (CIPC-logo must be visible)

Registered after May 2011

Notice of Incorporation CoR 14.1 and Registration Certificate CoR 14.3, Standard Form or Amended Memorandum of Incorporation CoR 15.1, Certificate of Change of Name CoR 9, 10, 11 and/or 15.2 (if applicable), Notice of Conversion and Certificate of Confirmation of Registration CoR 18.3 (if the company has been converted from a CC), Notice of change of Registered Office CoR 21.1 and/or Notice of change of particulars of person to accept service CoR 21.2, Certificate to Commence Business and Notice of Change of company and external company Directors CoR 39 and Notice of change of auditor or company officials CoR 44, all bearing the Registrar of Companies’ stamp and be signed by the Secretary of the company or independently obtained current CIPC certificate printouts (CIPC-logo must be visible);

Trust

Trust Deed with full details of the founder/donor/trustees or other founding document and Master’s Letters of Authority;

2. certified copies of all members’ & mandated officials’ / directors’ & mandated officials’ / trustees’, beneficiaries', founder's & mandated officials’ green bar-coded identity documents or cards, marriage certificates, antenuptial contracts or divorce orders (if applicable) or if married in community of property, also certified copies of the green bar-coded identity documents or cards of such member’s & mandated officials’ / director’s & mandated officials’ / trustees’, beneficiaries', founder's & mandated officials’ spouse or alternatively, if the member’s & mandated officials’ / director’s & mandated officials’ / trustees’, beneficiaries', founder's/donor’s & mandated officials’ spouse is deceased, a certified copy of his/her death certificate or death notice. If any member of a CC or a company’s ultimate beneficial owner is a trust, then also certified copies of the trust-documents referred to in 1 above. If a company is a trustee of a trust, then also certified copies of the company-documents referred to in 1 above. Where a trust’s founder/donor cannot be traced or his/her death certificate is not available, an affidavit signed by all trustees must be submitted in accordance as confirmation;

3. a certified copy of any utility bill addressed to the CC’s / company’s / trust’s physical operating / business address (not postal address, and if more than 1, then the Head Office and Client Office is required) or rental contract, or alternatively a sworn affidavit to the effect that the said address is currently the CC’s / company’s / trust’s physical operating / business address, following a physical site visit;

4. a certified copy of the tax return or any other document issued by the South African Revenue Services reflecting the CC’s / company’s / trust’s income tax and/or value added tax (VAT) registration number(s);

5. a cancelled cheque or particulars of the CC’s / company’s / trust’s bank account certified by the CC’s / company’s / trust’s bankers;

6. a certified copy of the CC’s / company’s / trust’s Resolution in terms of which the transaction is authorised (date of meeting must be prior to, or similar to the date of transaction);

7. a certified copy of an Extract of Shareholder’s Register in order to identify the company’s shareholders with more than 25% interest;

8. written confirmation of the particulars of the CC’s / company’s trade name / registered office / contact details (postal address, tel. no., land line, cell no., fax, e-mail) / full names of all executives, managers and authorized representatives / full names and contact details of all shareholders with more than 25% interest.

The following tables provide guidance on the procedures that will be followed by our firm to identify and verify clients in accordance with our RMCP:

• Table 1: Natural Persons (click to download)
• Table 2: Private Companies and Close Corporations (click to download)
• Table 3: Partnerships (click to download)
• Table 4: Trusts (click to download)

Access to Information

The purpose of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (often referred to as “PAIA”) is to give effect to Section 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996. Section 32 provides for “the right of access to information” and states that “everyone has the right of access to any information held by the State and to information held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.”

The motivation for giving effect to the right of access to information is to foster a culture of transparency and accountability both in Public and Private Bodies and to promote a society in which the people of South Africa have effective access to information, to enable them to more fully exercise and protect all their rights.

Our PAIA Manual can be downloaded here (click to download)

Copyright

All copyrights in material/work pertaining to this website is retained by and strictly reserved in favour of MCJ Attorneys and/or MC Jacobs by virtue of the Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978, as amended. No part/portion of this website or any of its contents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, inclusive of photocopying, scanning, recording, modification, adaptation or by any information in storage and retrieval system, without the aforesaid publishers’ prior written consent and permission first having been obtained, unless otherwise indicated for any stand-alone materials. Any unauthorized reproduction of this website or any part/portion thereof or any of its contents will constitute a copyright infringement and render the doer liable under both civil and criminal law.

This website may however be shared by any of the following means:

1. by providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate; and
2. by quoting extracts from the website with attribution to mcjlaw.co.za.

For any other mode of sharing, please contact MCJ Attorneys first. Commercial use and distribution of the contents of this website is not allowed without express and prior written consent and permission of MCJ Attorneys.