, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE TO ANSWER YOUR ASSIGNMENT
You are the legal representative of ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd, a supplier of high voltage electricity cables.
Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd is one of the customers of ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd and the latter on 01 February
2025 supplied cables to Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd on terms requiring payment to be made within 60
days of delivery. You are approached by ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd with instructions to recover an amount
of R1.5M which is owed to your client by Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd. You proceed to serve Brown
Cables (Pty) Ltd with a demand. Upon receipt of the demand, Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd, through its sole
director and shareholder, Dennis Brown, informs you that Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd acknowledges its
debt to ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd and subsequently enters into an acknowledgement of debt (AOD).
Brown Cables subsequently fails to abide by the payment procedure agreed upon in the AOD.
A) Would you advise ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd to make use of the Provisional Sentence Procedure
to recover the amount owing? Provide reason(s) for your answer.
Yes, I would advise ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd to make use of the Provisional Sentence Procedure to
recover the amount owed.
The Provisional Sentence Procedure is available where the claim is based on a liquid document,
meaning a written instrument that contains an unconditional acknowledgment of debt for a fixed or
ascertainable amount of money. In this case, Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd, through its sole director
Dennis Brown, acknowledged its indebtedness and entered into an Acknowledgment of Debt (AOD).
This satisfies the primary requirement for instituting provisional sentence proceedings, as an AOD
qualifies as a liquid document.1
For a document to qualify as liquid, it must meet specific criteria: it must be in writing, signed by the
debtor or their authorised agent, be unconditional, and reflect a clear acknowledgment of liability for
a fixed amount. The facts suggest that these requirements are met. The AOD would have been signed
by Dennis Brown, the sole director and shareholder, which satisfies the requirement of signature by
an authorised representative. The amount due—R1.5 million—is clearly stated, and the
acknowledgment is unconditional, indicating that the debt is certain and due.2
The Provisional Sentence Procedure offers the benefit of speed and efficiency. Since the
acknowledgment of debt removes the need to prove the existence of the underlying agreement or the
delivery of cables, ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd can pursue judgment quickly and avoid a lengthy trial.
This is especially important where the defendant, as in this case, has already defaulted on a payment
plan arising from the AOD. The court may grant provisional sentence unless the defendant satisfies
the court that there is a defence worthy of going to trial.3
Using this procedure is a strategic way to compel payment efficiently while still affording the
defendant the opportunity to enter the principal case if they wish to dispute the claim. Given the facts,
there appears to be no substantial defence against the claim, making the Provisional Sentence
Procedure an appropriate remedy.3
1: Marnewick 2019:125.
2: Marnewick 2019:125–126.
3: Marnewick 2019:126.
You are the legal representative of ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd, a supplier of high voltage electricity cables.
Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd is one of the customers of ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd and the latter on 01 February
2025 supplied cables to Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd on terms requiring payment to be made within 60
days of delivery. You are approached by ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd with instructions to recover an amount
of R1.5M which is owed to your client by Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd. You proceed to serve Brown
Cables (Pty) Ltd with a demand. Upon receipt of the demand, Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd, through its sole
director and shareholder, Dennis Brown, informs you that Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd acknowledges its
debt to ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd and subsequently enters into an acknowledgement of debt (AOD).
Brown Cables subsequently fails to abide by the payment procedure agreed upon in the AOD.
A) Would you advise ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd to make use of the Provisional Sentence Procedure
to recover the amount owing? Provide reason(s) for your answer.
Yes, I would advise ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd to make use of the Provisional Sentence Procedure to
recover the amount owed.
The Provisional Sentence Procedure is available where the claim is based on a liquid document,
meaning a written instrument that contains an unconditional acknowledgment of debt for a fixed or
ascertainable amount of money. In this case, Brown Cables (Pty) Ltd, through its sole director
Dennis Brown, acknowledged its indebtedness and entered into an Acknowledgment of Debt (AOD).
This satisfies the primary requirement for instituting provisional sentence proceedings, as an AOD
qualifies as a liquid document.1
For a document to qualify as liquid, it must meet specific criteria: it must be in writing, signed by the
debtor or their authorised agent, be unconditional, and reflect a clear acknowledgment of liability for
a fixed amount. The facts suggest that these requirements are met. The AOD would have been signed
by Dennis Brown, the sole director and shareholder, which satisfies the requirement of signature by
an authorised representative. The amount due—R1.5 million—is clearly stated, and the
acknowledgment is unconditional, indicating that the debt is certain and due.2
The Provisional Sentence Procedure offers the benefit of speed and efficiency. Since the
acknowledgment of debt removes the need to prove the existence of the underlying agreement or the
delivery of cables, ADB Cables (Pty) Ltd can pursue judgment quickly and avoid a lengthy trial.
This is especially important where the defendant, as in this case, has already defaulted on a payment
plan arising from the AOD. The court may grant provisional sentence unless the defendant satisfies
the court that there is a defence worthy of going to trial.3
Using this procedure is a strategic way to compel payment efficiently while still affording the
defendant the opportunity to enter the principal case if they wish to dispute the claim. Given the facts,
there appears to be no substantial defence against the claim, making the Provisional Sentence
Procedure an appropriate remedy.3
1: Marnewick 2019:125.
2: Marnewick 2019:125–126.
3: Marnewick 2019:126.
