Pretoria High Court sets aside Tau's legal sector BEE code on procedural grounds
The Pretoria High Court set aside the promulgation of the BBBEE Legal Sector Code and remitted the matter to Minister Tau (BusinessDay, TimesLIVE, Polity, BusinessTech, Devdiscourse). It found he had not exercised his statutory discretion and expressed no view on the code's merits. The applicants were Deneys Reitz, Bowmans, Webber Wentzel, Werksmans and Solidarity. The code would have required 30-50% black equity directors in five years.
It is a procedural defeat for the minister on a flagship transformation policy, and it shows that ministers must apply their own mind to sector codes.
No immediate change for clients of law firms. The code may return once the minister reconsiders.
The applicants say the code imposed racial quotas and was adopted without proper decision-making.
Supporters say the legal sector needs transformation targets and that the court did not reject them.
Watch whether Tau appeals, redoes the decision quickly, or lets it lapse. A new decision before the elections would be a political signal.
DailyDrop South Africa edition No. 5 · Morning · FRI., OCT. 9, 2026