Jamie and Leigh are 10-year-old twins who were born on 12 January 2023 at National Hospital in Bloemfontein. On the same date of their birth, Parliament published the Twins Act 3 of 2023 in the Government Gazette. Section 9 of the Twins Act provides that twins born on or after 1 January 2023 do not have a right to inherit or benefit from

Question

Jamie and Leigh are 10-year-old twins who were born on 12 January 2023 at National Hospital in Bloemfontein. On the same date of their birth, Parliament published the Twins Act 3 of 2023 in the Government Gazette. Section 9 of the Twins Act provides that twins born on or after 1 January 2023 do not have a right to inherit or benefit from

the estate of their deceased grandparents. Section 84(4) of the Act provides that “Any amendment, withdrawal or insertion made [by the Minister] under this section in any calendar year shall, unless Parliament otherwise provides, lapse on the last day of the next calendar year, but without detracting from the validity of such amendment, withdrawal or insertion before it has so lapsed”.

4.2 What are the obstacles to this legislation commencing before its date of publication?

Answer 1

One possible obstacle is the fact that Jamie and Leigh were born before the Twins Act was enacted. This means that they were technically born before the legislation that affects their inheritance rights came into effect. Additionally, there may be logistical challenges in enforcing the legislation retroactively, as it may be difficult to determine which twins are impacted and how to administer the changes to their inheritance rights.