HIGH COURT SETS ASIDE DECISION TO GAZETTE LEGAL SECTOR CODE, REMITS IT TO MINISTER FOR RECONSIDERATION
Media Release | 12 October 2026
A full bench of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria today reviewed and set aside the decision of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to gazette the B-BBEE Legal Sector Code, and remitted the matter to the Minister for reconsideration. The court was explicit that its finding concerns how the decision was taken, not the content of the Code. In its words: "The constitutional imperative of transformation and the pressing need to address persistent inequalities within the legal profession remain undiminished."
The application was brought by Deneys in December 2024. Bowmans, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans intervened in support in April 2025. The matter was heard in May 2026.
What the court decided
Section 9(1) of the B-BBEE Act gives the Minister a discretion to issue a sector code. It does not require him to gazette a code because the sector has reached agreement on it. The court found that the Minister did not exercise that discretion when the Code was gazetted on 20 September 2024: on the Minister’s own account, he understood his role as recognising and publishing what the sector had agreed, rather than evaluating for himself whether the Code and its departures from the Generic Codes were justified. The court held that this is incompatible with the power Parliament conferred, and set the decision aside.
What the court did not decide
The court did not find the Legal Sector Code incapable of lawful promulgation, and it expressed no view on whether the Code’s provisions are consistent with the Constitution or the B-BBEE Act. Deneys had also raised concerns about specific provisions of the Code. Given its finding on the decision itself, the court did not need to consider them. The court described transformation and the rule of law as “mutually reinforcing constitutional commitments”, and the need for transformation in the profession as “both necessary and urgent”.
Deneys’ position
Deneys brought this application on the basis that the decision to gazette the Code was not lawfully taken. The court has upheld that contention. The firm did not challenge, and does not challenge, the principle of a sector-specific code for the legal profession, as it made clear to the court. The court recorded its regret that the substantive questions could not be determined at this stage, given the urgency of transformation. Deneys shares the wish to see a lawful sector code in place.
Deneys’ commitment to meaningful and sustainable transformation in the legal profession is unchanged. For the firm, transformation is a strategic and professional imperative, not a regulatory formality, and the obligations that go with it do not fall away as a result of this judgment. The firm will continue to pursue its transformation commitments, and will engage constructively with the Minister, the Legal Practice Council and the profession on the way forward. The objective is what it has always been: a sector code that is workable, evidence-based and capable of delivering genuine transformation outcomes.
Media Enquiries
Cherisse Rao
Chief Marketing Officer, Deneys, c/o Elizabeth Ferreira at Narrate
liz.ferreira@narrateglobal.com
‘Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’.