SCL1501 SKILLS COURSE FOR LAW STUDENTS AT UNISA
VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST
VERSION 2026 (MULTIPLE CHOICE)
1. What is the primary purpose of SCL1501? a) To teach accounting skills
b) To develop foundational legal skills for law students ANSWER c) To
prepare students for medical school d) To teach computer programming
2. Which of the following best describes "law"? a) A set of moral guidelines
b) A system of rules enforced by a governing authority ANSWER c)
Personal opinions of judges d) Religious teachings only
3. The South African legal system is best described as: a) A pure common
law system b) A pure civil law system c) A mixed legal system
ANSWER d) A customary law system only
4. Which document is the supreme law of South Africa? a) The Companies
Act b) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ANSWER
c) The Criminal Procedure Act d) The Bill of Exchange Act
5. What does "stare decisis" mean? a) To stand by decided cases ANSWER
b) To ignore previous decisions c) To create new laws d) To appeal a
decision
6. The Bill of Rights is found in which Chapter of the Constitution? a)
Chapter 1 b) Chapter 3 c) Chapter 2 ANSWER d) Chapter 4
7. Which of the following is a source of South African law? a) Legislation
ANSWER b) Social media posts c) News articles d) Personal opinions
8. Roman-Dutch law was brought to South Africa by: a) The British b) The
Dutch settlers ANSWER c) The Portuguese d) The French
9. What is "legislation" also known as? a) Case law b) Common law c)
Statute law ANSWER d) Customary law
10.Which court is the highest court in South Africa for constitutional
matters? a) Supreme Court of Appeal b) High Court c) Constitutional
Court ANSWER d) Magistrate's Court
, SECTION B: LEGAL RESEARCH SKILLS
11.Which of the following is a primary source of law? a) Legal textbooks b)
Journal articles c) Legislation ANSWER d) Law dictionaries
12.A secondary source of law includes: a) Case law b) Statutes c) Legal
textbooks and commentaries ANSWER d) The Constitution
13.What does "SAFLII" stand for? a) South African Free Legal Information
Institute ANSWER b) South African Federal Law Institution c) South
African Foreign Law Index d) South African Faculty of Legal
Information
14.When researching case law, which of the following is most important to
note? a) The name of the judge's assistant b) The citation of the case
ANSWER c) The colour of the judgment document d) The time of day
the judgment was delivered
15.A law report citation such as "2005 (3) SA 1 (CC)" means: a) The case
was decided in 2005, volume 3, page 1 of the South African Law Reports,
by the Constitutional Court ANSWER b) The case has 3 volumes and 1
appendix c) The case number is 2005/3/1 d) The judge retired in 2005
16.Which of the following best describes "jurisprudence"? a) The practice of
filing court documents b) The theory and philosophy of law ANSWER
c) A type of criminal offense d) The administration of a deceased estate
17.What is a "headnote" in a law report? a) The title of a statute b) A
summary of the legal issues and findings in a case ANSWER c) The
judge's personal opinion d) The name of the legal representative
18.Legal databases used in South Africa include: a) LexisNexis ANSWER
b) Wikipedia c) Facebook d) Google Maps
19.Which of the following is an unreported judgment? a) A judgment
published in law reports b) A judgment not published in official law
reports ANSWER c) A judgment that was appealed d) A judgment in a
criminal case
20."Ratio decidendi" refers to: a) The order of court b) The legal reasoning
upon which a judgment is based ANSWER c) The names of the parties
d) The costs order
SECTION C: READING AND UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION
21.An Act of Parliament begins with a: a) Schedule b) Long title ANSWER
c) Footnote d) Bibliography
VERIFIED EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS - LATEST
VERSION 2026 (MULTIPLE CHOICE)
1. What is the primary purpose of SCL1501? a) To teach accounting skills
b) To develop foundational legal skills for law students ANSWER c) To
prepare students for medical school d) To teach computer programming
2. Which of the following best describes "law"? a) A set of moral guidelines
b) A system of rules enforced by a governing authority ANSWER c)
Personal opinions of judges d) Religious teachings only
3. The South African legal system is best described as: a) A pure common
law system b) A pure civil law system c) A mixed legal system
ANSWER d) A customary law system only
4. Which document is the supreme law of South Africa? a) The Companies
Act b) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ANSWER
c) The Criminal Procedure Act d) The Bill of Exchange Act
5. What does "stare decisis" mean? a) To stand by decided cases ANSWER
b) To ignore previous decisions c) To create new laws d) To appeal a
decision
6. The Bill of Rights is found in which Chapter of the Constitution? a)
Chapter 1 b) Chapter 3 c) Chapter 2 ANSWER d) Chapter 4
7. Which of the following is a source of South African law? a) Legislation
ANSWER b) Social media posts c) News articles d) Personal opinions
8. Roman-Dutch law was brought to South Africa by: a) The British b) The
Dutch settlers ANSWER c) The Portuguese d) The French
9. What is "legislation" also known as? a) Case law b) Common law c)
Statute law ANSWER d) Customary law
10.Which court is the highest court in South Africa for constitutional
matters? a) Supreme Court of Appeal b) High Court c) Constitutional
Court ANSWER d) Magistrate's Court
, SECTION B: LEGAL RESEARCH SKILLS
11.Which of the following is a primary source of law? a) Legal textbooks b)
Journal articles c) Legislation ANSWER d) Law dictionaries
12.A secondary source of law includes: a) Case law b) Statutes c) Legal
textbooks and commentaries ANSWER d) The Constitution
13.What does "SAFLII" stand for? a) South African Free Legal Information
Institute ANSWER b) South African Federal Law Institution c) South
African Foreign Law Index d) South African Faculty of Legal
Information
14.When researching case law, which of the following is most important to
note? a) The name of the judge's assistant b) The citation of the case
ANSWER c) The colour of the judgment document d) The time of day
the judgment was delivered
15.A law report citation such as "2005 (3) SA 1 (CC)" means: a) The case
was decided in 2005, volume 3, page 1 of the South African Law Reports,
by the Constitutional Court ANSWER b) The case has 3 volumes and 1
appendix c) The case number is 2005/3/1 d) The judge retired in 2005
16.Which of the following best describes "jurisprudence"? a) The practice of
filing court documents b) The theory and philosophy of law ANSWER
c) A type of criminal offense d) The administration of a deceased estate
17.What is a "headnote" in a law report? a) The title of a statute b) A
summary of the legal issues and findings in a case ANSWER c) The
judge's personal opinion d) The name of the legal representative
18.Legal databases used in South Africa include: a) LexisNexis ANSWER
b) Wikipedia c) Facebook d) Google Maps
19.Which of the following is an unreported judgment? a) A judgment
published in law reports b) A judgment not published in official law
reports ANSWER c) A judgment that was appealed d) A judgment in a
criminal case
20."Ratio decidendi" refers to: a) The order of court b) The legal reasoning
upon which a judgment is based ANSWER c) The names of the parties
d) The costs order
SECTION C: READING AND UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION
21.An Act of Parliament begins with a: a) Schedule b) Long title ANSWER
c) Footnote d) Bibliography
