ILW103-6 1
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
STUDY UNIT 1- WHAT IS “LAW”?
o A norm is a standard of human conduct or rule of human behavior
o Domicile the legal home of each person
o Law deals with order and regularity
o Some of the laws are standards or rules that determine how we should behave and interact with one
another
o The law means a rule or norm governing human behaviour
o The law is concerned with norms which the whole community sees as binding, that is those norms of
conduct or rules of human behaviour that should be obeyed by all of society
o In the case of a legal norm, the whole community is involve and this is what separates the legal norm
from the moral norm (there are times when a moral norm can also be a legal norm)
o Characteristics of the law:
The law governs human behaviour
The law should be obey by all of society
The law is enforced by state organs
By ignoring or disobeying the law we may be prosecuted and punished
o Public law deals with the relationship between the state and the individual
o Private law deals with the relationship between individuals and other individuals
o The South African law can be divided into the 2 main divisions: formal and substantive (or material)
law.
o Formal or procedural law is that part of the law which deals with the procedure that must be followed
in legal proceedings
o Substantive or material law is that part of the law which determines the content and meaning of the
different legal rules
The law and other normative systems
, ILW103-6 2
The question of justice
Laws can be just or unjust. The fact that a rule becomes a legal rule is not of course enough to ensure
that justice will be done.
Justice is equality before the law
There is a distinction in South African law between justice and substantive law
Formal justice: formal law is that part of the law which deals with the procedures that must be
followed in legal proceedings
These are the basic requirements with which formal law has to comply in order to achieve formal
justice:
→ There must be explicit rules laid down to show how people must be treated in specific cases
→ The rules must apply generally i.e. to all people in the group in the same circumstance
→ The rule must be applied impartially by a legal institution- the judge may not be biased.
Substantive justice concerns the content of the rule, and not the way in which it is applied
Substantive or material law is that part of the law which determines the content and the meaning of
the different legal rules. To establish whether substantive justice has been done, the content of the
rule itself is looked at to determine whether it is just and fair.
Formal law regulates the enforcement of substantive law
STUDY UNIT 2- LAW AND RIGHTS
What is a right?
⇒ We are dealing with the relationship between the legal subject and the legal object, legal subjects
and other legal subjects and other legal subjects who have to respect your legal object
⇒ A legal subject is anyone who is subject to (or under the control of) the norms of the law and who
also may be the bearer or rights and duties
⇒ The object of a right may be anything that is of economic value to people (a particular person or
particular people)
⇒ 4 Class’s of rights:
1. Real rights- a thing, ownership, servitude
2. Personality rights- physical integrity, reputation
3. Intellectual property rights or immaterial property rights- creations of the human mind
4. Personal rights- a right to performance (doing or not doing something)
⇒ Other meanings of the word “right”: powers, capacity, human rights i.e. fundamental rights
⇒ The connection between law and right: the content of a right is limited. It is the rules of law that
decide on what the powers of the holder of the right are and on what the limits to the content of a
right are.
⇒ When a legal subject has a right, the other legal subjects have a duty
STUDY UNIT 3- THE STORY OF OUR LAW
The history of our law- 3 parts
- Roman-law came to form part of Europe, particularly Netherlands (became known as Roman-Dutch
law)
- Movement of Roman-Dutch law came from the Netherlands to the Cape
- The way the roman-Dutch law developed after it had been bought from the Netherlands to the cape
Roman law becomes Roman-Dutch law
“Classical Roman law” – during the 2nd half of the 1st Century BC and for the first two centuries AD
Roman law began to decline at the end of the forth century AD
Survives do the part played by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman law formed the foundation of church law (cannon law)
Cannon law had an important influence on the development of modern law
The emperor of the Eastern Roman empire in the 6th C was called Justinian- he decided to “codify”
Roman law as a whole. He decided hat all the earlier writings of the classical jurists and all the laws
which had been passed during the time of the emperors were to be collected and written down as a
code called the Corpus Iuris Civilis
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
STUDY UNIT 1- WHAT IS “LAW”?
o A norm is a standard of human conduct or rule of human behavior
o Domicile the legal home of each person
o Law deals with order and regularity
o Some of the laws are standards or rules that determine how we should behave and interact with one
another
o The law means a rule or norm governing human behaviour
o The law is concerned with norms which the whole community sees as binding, that is those norms of
conduct or rules of human behaviour that should be obeyed by all of society
o In the case of a legal norm, the whole community is involve and this is what separates the legal norm
from the moral norm (there are times when a moral norm can also be a legal norm)
o Characteristics of the law:
The law governs human behaviour
The law should be obey by all of society
The law is enforced by state organs
By ignoring or disobeying the law we may be prosecuted and punished
o Public law deals with the relationship between the state and the individual
o Private law deals with the relationship between individuals and other individuals
o The South African law can be divided into the 2 main divisions: formal and substantive (or material)
law.
o Formal or procedural law is that part of the law which deals with the procedure that must be followed
in legal proceedings
o Substantive or material law is that part of the law which determines the content and meaning of the
different legal rules
The law and other normative systems
, ILW103-6 2
The question of justice
Laws can be just or unjust. The fact that a rule becomes a legal rule is not of course enough to ensure
that justice will be done.
Justice is equality before the law
There is a distinction in South African law between justice and substantive law
Formal justice: formal law is that part of the law which deals with the procedures that must be
followed in legal proceedings
These are the basic requirements with which formal law has to comply in order to achieve formal
justice:
→ There must be explicit rules laid down to show how people must be treated in specific cases
→ The rules must apply generally i.e. to all people in the group in the same circumstance
→ The rule must be applied impartially by a legal institution- the judge may not be biased.
Substantive justice concerns the content of the rule, and not the way in which it is applied
Substantive or material law is that part of the law which determines the content and the meaning of
the different legal rules. To establish whether substantive justice has been done, the content of the
rule itself is looked at to determine whether it is just and fair.
Formal law regulates the enforcement of substantive law
STUDY UNIT 2- LAW AND RIGHTS
What is a right?
⇒ We are dealing with the relationship between the legal subject and the legal object, legal subjects
and other legal subjects and other legal subjects who have to respect your legal object
⇒ A legal subject is anyone who is subject to (or under the control of) the norms of the law and who
also may be the bearer or rights and duties
⇒ The object of a right may be anything that is of economic value to people (a particular person or
particular people)
⇒ 4 Class’s of rights:
1. Real rights- a thing, ownership, servitude
2. Personality rights- physical integrity, reputation
3. Intellectual property rights or immaterial property rights- creations of the human mind
4. Personal rights- a right to performance (doing or not doing something)
⇒ Other meanings of the word “right”: powers, capacity, human rights i.e. fundamental rights
⇒ The connection between law and right: the content of a right is limited. It is the rules of law that
decide on what the powers of the holder of the right are and on what the limits to the content of a
right are.
⇒ When a legal subject has a right, the other legal subjects have a duty
STUDY UNIT 3- THE STORY OF OUR LAW
The history of our law- 3 parts
- Roman-law came to form part of Europe, particularly Netherlands (became known as Roman-Dutch
law)
- Movement of Roman-Dutch law came from the Netherlands to the Cape
- The way the roman-Dutch law developed after it had been bought from the Netherlands to the cape
Roman law becomes Roman-Dutch law
“Classical Roman law” – during the 2nd half of the 1st Century BC and for the first two centuries AD
Roman law began to decline at the end of the forth century AD
Survives do the part played by the Roman Catholic Church
Roman law formed the foundation of church law (cannon law)
Cannon law had an important influence on the development of modern law
The emperor of the Eastern Roman empire in the 6th C was called Justinian- he decided to “codify”
Roman law as a whole. He decided hat all the earlier writings of the classical jurists and all the laws
which had been passed during the time of the emperors were to be collected and written down as a
code called the Corpus Iuris Civilis
