South African law is not codified, which means that it is not enshrined in a comprehensive legislative text. Our law was influenced by the Romans; Dutch-novel; and English law in light of our country`s history. Roman law stems from the influence of this society in Europe and the attempt to codify the law in the Corpus Iuris Civilis in 291 AD, and it remains a main authoritative source to which South African courts can turn to resolve certain legal issues. The other superior courts created under separate statutes are the Land Claims Court and the Labour Appeal Court. In addition to these higher courts, district and regional courts hear minor civil and criminal cases. Decisions of lower courts are not revoked. The Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission attempts to resolve labour disputes. Until 1950, the English Privy Council was the highest court of appeal in the South African judicial system. South Africa no longer has a jury system. Juries were finally abolished for all courts in 1969.
[2] „Researching South African Law“ by Amanda Barratt and Pamela Snyman, March 2005. www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/south_africa.htm At the end of the African continent is an Eldorado in the form of South Africa. Located at the southern tip of the continent, it`s no wonder that South Africa is often considered another African country. In fact, South Africa is outside of Africa (if you`ll pardon the pun) and is considered the Golden Dreamland, not only because of its supposed natural gold deposits, but also because of its history and liberation struggles, first led by Gandhi and later by Nelson Mandela. As a highly modernized and developed state, with a high quality of life, a rule of law based on the supremacy of a constitution and a bill of rights, natural beauty, endless coastline and Louis Vuitton or Christan Lacroix. It`s easy to believe why you might leave Africa! From 6 April 1652, the Dutch landed at the Cape of Good Hope, the Romano-Dutch legal system and its legislation and laws increasingly prevailed, until 31 May 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed as a dominion of the British Empire. Even then, and to this day, wherever English law does not exist, Roman-Dutch law forms the foundation to which South Africa looks in its quest for clarity in its law. [ref. The new South Africa shows few remnants of the apartheid regime, which can now be found carefully archived in museums, old legal reports and government newspapers or in the memoirs of former political prisoners. Perhaps the most important and important change was the dismantling of the legal edifice that allowed the apartheid regime to function so well. Thanks to a radical overhaul in 1994, an apartheid state was instantly transformed into a constitutional democracy [1]. Below you will find an overview of the sources of the law, the reformed legal system, the legal profession (which has remained unchanged despite the fact that a draft law on legal practitioners has been pending in Parliament for several years) and, finally, an overview of some controversial decisions of the Constitutional Court that illustrate the commitment of the judiciary to the new legal order.
The South African judicial system is organized according to a clear hierarchy by Chapter 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, in particular Article 166, and consists (from lowest to highest judicial authority): Kavass, Igor I. and Mary Miles Prince (eds.) World dictionary of legal abshortviations – Buffalo: Hein, 2002 (loose-leaf updates). Until 1795, the Seven United Provinces of Holland were an independent sovereign state. Together with the other territories of the Netherlands, it was organized into a fairly free political entity known as the Republiek der Vereenigde Nederlanden (United Republic of the Netherlands). [12] Originally it was a rural area, but rapid development in the 15th century turned it into a commercial center. The old Germanic customary law was no longer able to settle disputes in everyday trade, and the Dutch turned to more advanced Roman law. They adopted it and changed their lives so well that the great Dutch jurist Hugo de Groot (Grotius) in the early 17th century was able to call this fusion (or combination) of Dutch and Roman principles a „new“ legal system with its own content. Thus began Romano-Dutch law. It would later form the basis of today`s common law in South Africa in a form that had been extended by the so-called placaats, the legislation of the time.
[12] In some divisions of the High Court, there is a supervisory office headed by a Master of the Court. The tasks of the Master are administrative and quasi-judicial and focus on deceased or insolvent successions or the liquidation of a company. They also deal with issues relating to persons with legal disabilities. In addition, the legislation has also created a number of specialized courts to deal with specialized areas of law of importance to the public and to avoid a delay in the main infrastructure of law administration. These courts exist alongside the judicial hierarchy; Their decisions are therefore subject to the same appeal and review procedure by the ordinary courts, from a certain level, depending on the specialised court concerned. Within these specialized courts, there are, to name but a few, the Court of Appeal for Competition, the Electoral Tribunal, the Land Claims Tribunal and the Labour and Labour Court of Appeal. [10] London: Bowker-Saur, 1993 (contains abbreviations for South African legal sources). Since the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River Colony in 1910 as a dominion within the British Empire, known as the Union of South Africa, and prior to the creation of the Republic of South Africa in 1961, much of English law has been incorporated or formed the basis of South African law. The jury system was abolished in 1969 and cases are decided by a single judge, sometimes assisted by two assessors. English law and Roman-Dutch law, which prevailed before that time, constitute the foundation to which South Africa still looks today in its search for clarity in its law and where there is a vacuum in its law. Page 94 Note 2 1883 Comm. 216, p.
12, a statement by Sir Theophilus Shepstone accepting a proposal submitted to him. He himself was against codification: see below, p. 99. Sir Theophilus was one of the preeminent authorities in the field of native administration, particularly in Natal, and the initiator of the Shepstone system: Brookes, The History of Native Policy in South Africa from 1830 to the Present Day, chap. III, pp. 41 ff. Trilingual Legal Dictionary (English-Afrikaans-Latin) 3rd edition – South Africa has a „hybrid“ or „mixed“ legal system[1], formed by the interweaving of a number of different legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a customary law system inherited from the British, and a customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans (often referred to as African customary law), which, according to the There are many variations in tribal origin). These traditions had a complex relationship, with English influence most clearly expressed in procedural aspects of the legal system and jurisprudential methods, and Romano-Dutch influence most clearly expressed in its substantive private law. [2] As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in matters of criminal and civil procedure, company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman-Dutch common law is followed in South African contract law, tort law, personal law, substantive law, family law, etc. With the entry into force of the interim constitution in 1994 and its replacement in 1997, the final constitution, another component was added to this fabric.
Legalbrief is a subscription service that offers a daily email with the latest legal news. The free services include an extensive archive of legal journal articles (full-text), including reports on court proceedings and new laws. The archive can be searched or searched by subject or keyword. Page 93 Footnote 4 The term „aboriginal law and custom“ therefore refers to the aboriginal legal system as a whole: see 74 (1957), S.A.L.J. 314-17. The Constitutional Court, as the provider and guardian of the Constitution, is constantly concerned about how sensitive socio-economic and political legal issues can be recognized and implemented in the context of limited public resources to respect the rights of every citizen. Some examples are illustrated in the following cases. Legalnet is primarily a paid information service for lawyers.
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