​​​The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application for leave to appeal in a high-profile fraud case, making it possible for the Stellenbosch University (SU) Law Clinic to launch a class action trial – the first of its kind to be brought by a South African university law clinic.

The case relates to the alleged defrauding of thousands of consumers by the Lifestyle Direct Group International from 2015 to 2019. The Law Clinic applied for the certification of a class action against the websites and their owners who duped these consumers into believing they were applying for a loan when in fact they were locked into a subscription for “legal services".

The High Court certified the class action – only the 10th class action in the country to be successfully certified – in 2021.

Following this successful certification, those responsible for the alleged fraudulent scheme have lodged three unsuccessful attempts at appealing the certification order. A final attempt at such appeal was submitted to the Constitutional Court at the end of 2022.

“We are delighted that the final attempt at frustrating the institution of the class action on behalf of thousands of deceived consumers has failed and that we may now launch the class action trial proceedings. More information about the class action will follow in due course," says Dr Stephan van der Merwe, senior supervising attorney at the Law Clinic and lecturer at SU.

The Law Clinic is involved in many aspects of the legal profession, including the provision of legal services. The pandemic notwithstanding, the SU Law Clinic has been able to provide direct legal services to more than 6 300 people - many of whom would otherwise have been unable to access or afford legal advice - during the past five years.

As many South Africans are unable to afford legal services, the Law Clinic's contribution to improving legal access is significant, says Prof Theo Broodryk, managing attorney at the SU Law Clinic.

According to the Law Clinic's Social Impact Report 2018–2022, 41% of those who consulted at the clinic qualified for legal aid, with the majority – 35% – seeking help for family related matters.  Just over a third of all consultations were related to eviction issues. Interestingly, 55% of those seeking legal services were women, and almost half (48%) resided in the Stellenbosch municipal area.

As part of its community engagement initiatives, students taking part in the Financial Literacy Project were able to impart financial literacy skills in person to more than 2 000 learners and farm workers in the area in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The Law Clinic also presented community-based training presentations on topics ranging from wills to children's rights.  

Teaching is a core focus of the Law Clinic and final-year law students are encouraged to develop important skills in a clinical setting by providing legal services to Stellenbosch's indigent community. This hands-on training continued, under observance of the relevant social distancing requirements, even during the pandemic. According to Van der Merwe, who is responsible for the clinical legal education programme, “students form an integral part of the Clinic's efforts to assist and empower our clients in a manner that also raises the students' social justice awareness". 

In line with its vision to develop a community that is legally empowered and that has a better capacity to exercise its rights, the Law Clinic has engaged in several high-impact litigation cases in recent years.

Another matter that garnered public interest was the Clinic's written submission in 2018 to the National Treasury to have feminine hygiene products listed as zero-VAT items. The so-called tampon tax was scrapped following various representations made, including those of the Clinic, a year later, bringing SA in line with countries such as Kenya, Canada, Germany, and Australia. 

The SU Law Clinic is internationally recognised as a leading African social justice law firm, and in 2021, it was named South African Social Justice Law Firm of the year at the annual Global Law Experts Awards. ​