SHORT MESSAGE SERVICES AND E-CONTRACTING Jafta v Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife [2008] 10 BLLR 954 (LC)

Abstract

With the emergence of internet-based e-commerce in the last decade of the 20th century, commercial activity entered into a new era and it has been said that modern society is now past the point where we can treat the Internet and indeed all things electronic as if they were part of some kind of fictional or fantasy realm that is only tangentially connected to the real world. This was brought into clear focus with a recent decision handed down by the Durban Labour Court, where they also warned that, even though e-mails and SMS’s and the language that these text messages carry seem informal, treating them as having no legal effect would be a mistake (Jafta v Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife [2008] 10 BLLR 954 969F).