2022
LJU 4801
ASSIGNMENT 1
, Give a concise summary of the author's viewpoint. Make sure you concentrate
on legal philosophy and not so much legislation. (Max word count 200.)
Tsele considers the link and apparent conflict between a Judge's obligation to
implement the law fairly and impartially and his or her own personal right to religious
freedom, as well as the degree to which religious beliefs could affect a Judge's
decision-making.1
This dicta, according to Tsele, shows that the prohibition on judges expressing their
social opinions is carefully defined and will, in most circumstances, be restricted to
situations involving case adjudication. 2
Certainly, what should be evident from a conspectus of all of the foregoing is that a
judge is a citizen with the right to have religious beliefs and to freely express himself
or herself as long as it does not jeopardize the performance of his or her judicial
responsibilities. As a result, a Judge's religious or other opinions do not, by
themselves, create bias, jeopardizing their capacity to adjudicate disputes or fulfil
their judicial tasks.3
What theory of interpretation that you have studied is addressed in the article?
Why do you say this? You need to identify the theory you have studied that is
most closely associated with the author's viewpoint
Legal positivism is a legal theory that stresses the law's customary character as a
social construction. The term positivism was very certainly coined to emphasize the
concept that law is positive or posited, rather than natural in the sense of deriving
from natural law or morality. According to legal positivism, law is equivalent with
positive standards, which are those established by legislators or accepted as
1
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences, 1-25
2
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences, page 9.
3
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences
LJU 4801
ASSIGNMENT 1
, Give a concise summary of the author's viewpoint. Make sure you concentrate
on legal philosophy and not so much legislation. (Max word count 200.)
Tsele considers the link and apparent conflict between a Judge's obligation to
implement the law fairly and impartially and his or her own personal right to religious
freedom, as well as the degree to which religious beliefs could affect a Judge's
decision-making.1
This dicta, according to Tsele, shows that the prohibition on judges expressing their
social opinions is carefully defined and will, in most circumstances, be restricted to
situations involving case adjudication. 2
Certainly, what should be evident from a conspectus of all of the foregoing is that a
judge is a citizen with the right to have religious beliefs and to freely express himself
or herself as long as it does not jeopardize the performance of his or her judicial
responsibilities. As a result, a Judge's religious or other opinions do not, by
themselves, create bias, jeopardizing their capacity to adjudicate disputes or fulfil
their judicial tasks.3
What theory of interpretation that you have studied is addressed in the article?
Why do you say this? You need to identify the theory you have studied that is
most closely associated with the author's viewpoint
Legal positivism is a legal theory that stresses the law's customary character as a
social construction. The term positivism was very certainly coined to emphasize the
concept that law is positive or posited, rather than natural in the sense of deriving
from natural law or morality. According to legal positivism, law is equivalent with
positive standards, which are those established by legislators or accepted as
1
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences, 1-25
2
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences, page 9.
3
Tsele M “Rights and religion; bias and beliefs: Can a judge speak God?” (2018) 43 (1) Journal for
Juridical Sciences
