- The Supreme Court ruled that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) should compensate all road accident victims, including undocumented foreign nationals.
- The decision comes after the RAF appealed against a ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria
- The RAF challenged the decision in the SCA, arguing that undocumented foreign nationals should be excluded from the scheme.
Justin Williams, a journalist news in brief From 2024, covers current affairs in South Africa. before joining news in briefHe served as a writer and editor-in-chief at the South African chapter of Right for Education Africa.
Source: Twitter
The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) must compensate all road accident victims, including undocumented foreign nationals, noting that the words “any person” in the RAF Act apply to them.
Road accidents do not discriminate
The decision follows the RAF's appeal against a ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which struck down a directive requiring foreign nationals to prove their legal presence. South Africa To claim compensation at the time of injury. In that earlier decision, a full bench led by Judge Norman Davis found that the directive unlawfully required alien claimants to provide proof of legal status in addition to identity. Davis said that road accidents do not discriminate between victims on the basis of race, sex, age or immigration status, and said that nothing in the RAF Act excludes foreign nationals from claiming compensation.
He further said that neither transportation Minister Nor can the RAF amend or limit the scope of the Act through policy decisions or interpretation, as doing so would exceed their legal powers. The RAF challenged the decision in the SCA, arguing that undocumented foreign nationals should be excluded from the scheme. It said the purpose of the directive is to ensure claims relating to accidents within South Africa are processed, prevent fraud and avoid conflict with the Immigration Act. The SCA dismissed the appeal with costs, finding that the RAF Act does not exclude persons on the basis of immigration status and that “any person” includes all road accident victims in the country.
Source: Twitter
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road accident fund The (RAF) has taken its fight. In the Supreme Court of Appeal, arguing that undocumented foreigners should not be allowed to claim compensation from the fund. This comes after a higher court pretoria Ruling in favor of foreign nationals involved in accidents in South Africa.
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