Johan Henning

Perspectives on financial crimes in Roman‐Dutch law

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identity the prevalence and kinds of financial crime in seventeenth and eighteenth century Roman‐Dutch law.Design/methodology/approach – The object is achieved by a legal and historical analysis of the available legal sources especially of the main Roman‐Dutch and other institutional authorities.Findings – It is found that the general crime of falsity in Roman‐Dutch law had a much greater ambit than the present‐day fraud and had it survived, would have been very valuable to combat present‐day financial crime more effectively.Research limitations/implications – Further research on other Roman‐Dutch sources on falsity.Originality/value – The paper shows there is much to learn from legal history in that the recognition of a general crime of falsity will very valuable to combat present‐day financial crime much more effectively. Of value to everybody engaged in the battle against financial crime.

Fortifying a risk-based approach in the South African AML/CFT process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is evaluate the provisions of Financial Intelligence Centre Act Amendment Bill, 2016 which intends to give effect to the implementation of the envisioned risk-based approach in anti-money laundering/combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) processes, as well as the extent to which the provisions address certain technical shortcomings elucidated in 2009 Mutual Evaluation Report concerning South Africa’s AML/CFT’s framework. Design/methodology/approach Sources of information consisted of scholarly articles, articles retrieved from the Web, news reports, reports published by national and international regulatory bodies, legislation and draft legislation. Findings Findings suggest that the South African legislature not only addresses the particular shortcomings specifically highlighted in the 2009 Mutual Evaluation Report comprised by the Financial Action Task Force but also requires the establishment of a framework for the realisation of a risk-based approached in every “risk” scenario and on an on-going basis. Practical implications Accountable institutions will be required to establish and implement a Risk Management and Compliance Program which must provide both the framework and the strategy for the execution of the risk-based approach when establishing a business relationship, during the course of administrating the business relationship as well as when concluding any single transaction in pursuit of the business relationship. Originality/value This paper serves to alert accountable institutions, compliance and corporate governance professionals and AML and counter-terrorist financing practitioners of the risk-based approach South African accountable institutions will be obliged to implement in their AML/CFT processes, the extent to which a risk-based approach must be incorporated and the aspects that must be provided for in terms of the mandated Risk Management and Compliance Program once the Financial Intelligence Centre Act Amendment Bill, 2016 is signed into law.

Interpreting the new South African Companies Act: some challenges

Professor Johan Henning examines the South African Companies Act of 2008 and the Companies Amendment Act of 2011 which both came into operation on May 1, 2011. He notes that the new Companies Act elicited a veritable tsunami of legal writing and analyses, both in law journals and in law reports. This is not surprising, especially in view of the fact that by far the greater part of its provisions had to be amended on the day it became operative. His paper focuses primarily on some of the interpretation imperatives of section 5 of the Companies Act, as well as a few of the challenges posed by their implementation.

South Africa – Close Corporations 1985-1997: a statistical survey

Professor Johan J. Henning (University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein) assesses the impact of the Close Corporations Act 69 of 1984 on South African company law. Published in the Letter from … section of Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.

Partnership law for the new millennium

Paper outlining the history of partnership law in the United Kingdom and suggested proposals from the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission for reform to problem areas such as: the firm as equity, unnecessary closure of business and mechanisms for dissolution of solvent partnerships. Article taken from the introduction given by Professor Henning at the conference on partnership law reform staged on 4 th June 2001 by the Centre for Corporate Law and Practice at the IALS, the Law Commission for England and Wales, and the Scottish Law Commission. Published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.

Partnerships – Limited partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships

Consideration of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 which introduced a new corporate entity, carrying the designations “partnership” and “limited” which allow members to limit their liability whilst organising themselves internally as a partnership. Article by Professor Johan Henning (Director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Practice, IALS and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, South Africa). Published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.