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parole, although a court can be approached to order that a prisoner
be placed on parole after serving two-thirds of the entire sentence. The
maximum amount of years that a prisoner can serve however without
being considered for parole is 25 years.
Lastly one should note that although prisoners have been granted
parole it does not mean that the period of their sentence is over. Should
a paroled prisoner break his parole conditions, parole may be revoked
and the prisoner will have to serve the remainder of his sentence. Parole
is a complex aspect of our corrections system and many considerations
come into play when parole is being considered. These considerations
are not always available to the public to help them understand why
parole may have been granted.

Can a surety be released by the prejudicial
conduct of a creditor?

Japie Kruger
June 2017

“I agreed to stand surety for my brother-in-law in one of his
business deals. He however failed to meet his obligations and
the creditor sold of his beach house on an execution sale.
However, the house was sold in my view for far less than it was
worth and now there is a shortfall which the creditor wants me
to stand in for. If they had sold his house for its full value, there
wouldn’t be a shortfall. Surely I can’t be held responsible for
the shortfall?”

Where assets are sold by a creditor at a fraction of its value, it does
prejudice a surety. But, it does not automatically mean that the creditor
acted unlawfully. There is no principle in our law that states that should a
Litigation creditor’s actions in respect of the principal debtor prejudice a surety, the
surety can be released from its obligations under the deed of suretyship.
The only instance where a surety can be released (totally or partially)
is where there has been a breach of a legal duty or obligation by the
creditor that was required from the creditor in terms of the principal
agreement (e.g. loan agreement) and/or the deed of suretyship.

If, however, a creditor’s actions are in line with the provisions of the
principal agreement and deed of suretyship, the prejudice caused
is something that was consented to by the surety, as most deeds of
suretyship require that the surety is bound as surety and co-principal

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