HFL1501
Summary
Written by
Kholofelomohlala
Stuvia
WWW.STUVIA.COM
, HFL1501
Semester test questions summary
Study unit 1
1. Explain the difference between external and internal legal history.
The external history of the law traces the sources and factors that have contributed
directly or indirectly to the development of a legal system. These relate to the political,
constitutional, economic, sociological and religious factors that have influenced the
development of the legal system. The external legal history sheds light on the internal
history of the law
The internal history of the law covers the origins and development of the legal rules
and principles themselves, under the influence of external historical events
2. Discuss the different components of South African law
Components of South African law are legal pluralism and a mixed or hybrid legal
system
1.Legal pluralism- South Africa’s multi-cultural society consists of various communities
– such as the Hindu, Muslim, indigenous African and, broadly speaking, Western or
European communities. Therefore, various systems of law are applied in South Africa,
but not all of these systems are officially recognised. The official state law, which forms
the foundation of the South African legal system, is Roman-Dutch law as influenced by
English law. Until the 1990s this was officially the only law of South Africa. However,
indigenous law is now recognised in the Constitution as part of the South African legal
system. We will see more about the history of the recognition and application of
indigenous law in learning unit
2. The second important concept is a mixed or hybrid legal system. The South
African legal system originated in different legal traditions and therefore has
characteristic features of diverse other legal systems. The two main legal traditions on
1
Summary
Written by
Kholofelomohlala
Stuvia
WWW.STUVIA.COM
, HFL1501
Semester test questions summary
Study unit 1
1. Explain the difference between external and internal legal history.
The external history of the law traces the sources and factors that have contributed
directly or indirectly to the development of a legal system. These relate to the political,
constitutional, economic, sociological and religious factors that have influenced the
development of the legal system. The external legal history sheds light on the internal
history of the law
The internal history of the law covers the origins and development of the legal rules
and principles themselves, under the influence of external historical events
2. Discuss the different components of South African law
Components of South African law are legal pluralism and a mixed or hybrid legal
system
1.Legal pluralism- South Africa’s multi-cultural society consists of various communities
– such as the Hindu, Muslim, indigenous African and, broadly speaking, Western or
European communities. Therefore, various systems of law are applied in South Africa,
but not all of these systems are officially recognised. The official state law, which forms
the foundation of the South African legal system, is Roman-Dutch law as influenced by
English law. Until the 1990s this was officially the only law of South Africa. However,
indigenous law is now recognised in the Constitution as part of the South African legal
system. We will see more about the history of the recognition and application of
indigenous law in learning unit
2. The second important concept is a mixed or hybrid legal system. The South
African legal system originated in different legal traditions and therefore has
characteristic features of diverse other legal systems. The two main legal traditions on
1
