CLA1503 STUDY PACK.

CLA1503 STUDY PACK.

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COMMERCIALLAW-CLA1503
CHAPTER1THESOUTHAFRICANLEGALSYSTEM

HISTORYOFTHELAW

 SAlawisnotcodified(recordedinonecomprehensivepieceoflegislation)

 Drawnfromvariousothersources

 Principlesourcesarestatutesanddecidedcases

 RomanlawandRoman-Dutchlawarealsorecognizedsourcesofthelaw

 Roman-Dutchlaw:broughttoSAbyVanRiebeeck

 EnglishlawexertedinfluenceonRoman-Dutchlaw

RomanLaw

 753bc–568ad

 Mostofpopulationlivingonfarms

 Romedevelopedintovastempireandlawadaptedtohighlysophisticatedlegalsystem

 From291adattemptsmadetocodifyRomanlawandledtocodificationknownasCorpus
IurisCivilisinthesixthcentury.Thisworkistheprimaryauthoritativesourceonwhich
SAcourtsdrawwhenrevertingtoRomanlawtosolvealegalproblem.

Roman-DutchLaw

 Romanempirefellin476adbutformerRomancitizensstilltreatedaccordingtoRoman
law

 Churchexertedgreatinfluenceduringthisperiod

Englishlaw

 1910wasamilestonefordevelopmentofSAlaw–establishmentofunionparliament,
establishmentofappellatedivision

 Privycouncilabolishedin1950
SOURCESOFTHELAW

 Somesourcesareauthoritativeandothersarepersuasive

 Courtsareboundbyauthoritative

 Persuasiveauthoritymayleadacourttoapplyorinterpretalegalruleinaparticular
way

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Statutelaworlegislation

General

 Dutchlegislation1652–1806appliesonlyifithasbeenratifiedandacceptedbySAlaw.
Dutchlawafter1806doesn’tapplyhere

 Leaseofimmovableproperty(1658)stillapplieshere

 EnglishstatutesneverappliedhereunlessespeciallypromulgatedbyBritishparliament
toapplytoSA

Theconstitution

 MostimportantsouthoflawinSA–ConstitutionoftheRepublicofSouthAfrica1996

 Ifparliamentweretopassalawthatoffendedagainsttheprovisionsofconstitutionit
wouldbeinvalid

 Newandexistinglawinconsistentwithconstitutioncanbedeclaredinvalidbysuperior
court

 Billofrightsischapter2ofconstitution

 Billofrightsappliestoalllawandbindsall3branchesofgovernmentandallorgansof
state.Stateisrequiredtorespect,protect,promoteandfulfiltheserights

 Firstgenerationrights:equality,humandignity,life,freedomsofperson(religion,
expression,movement,trade)

 Secondgenerationrights:housing,healthcare,food,water,socialsecurity,education

 Rightscanbelimitedinspecialcircumstances

Customarylaw

 Doesnotconsistofwrittenlaws,butdevelopsfromhabitsofcommunityandcarried
downfromgenerationtogeneration

 Alsocalledtradeusages

 Requirementstobemetbeforecustomaryrulerecognizedaslegalrule:

o Mustbereasonable

o Musthaveexistedforalongtime

o Mustberecognizedandobservedbycommunity

o Contentsofrulemustbecertainandclear

 Alsoplaysanimportantroleinbusinessandcommercialworld.Itisallegedthatifa
tradeusageexistswithincertaintradeorbusinessthenpartiesarecontractedand

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boundtoit

Judgmentsofthecourts

 JudgementsofDutchcourtsbefore1652,judgmentsofCapeCouncilofJusticebefore
1827,judgmentsofthecourtsoffourprovincesbefore1910,andjudgmentsofSA
courtsafter1910formpartofimportantauthoritativesourceoflawknownascaselaw

 SuperiorcourtsareConstitutionalcourt,SupremecourtofAppealandHighcourt

 Lowercourtsarecourtslowerinstatusthanhighcourtandarerequiredtokeeprecord
oftheirproceedings.Theycanonlyadjudicateonspecificmattersandspecificpersons.
Examplesaremagistratescourt,smallclaimscourt,courtsofblackchiefsandheadman

Theoldauthorities

 Knownascommonlaw

 Corpusiuriscivilis–AncientRomanlawapplyinginSAcourts

Foreignlaw

 Ifnothingcanbefoundinoneormoreoftheabovesourcesjudgeswillturntothelaw
ofothermoderncountriesforguidance.Thishasapersuasiveauthorityonly.

 ForeignlawasasourceoflawhasbeenrecognisedintheConstitution.Ininterpreting
theBillofRightsacourtoflawmustconsiderinternationallawandmayconsider
foreignlaw.

Textbooksandlawjournals

 Maybeusedaspersuasiveinfluence

THECOURTSINTHEREPUBLIC

TheConstitutionalcourt

 Highestcourtinallmatters

 ConsistsoftheChiefJusticeofSA,theDeputyChiefJusticeandnineotherjudges

 InJHB

 Anymattermustbeheardbyatleast8judges

TheSupremecourtofAppeal

 Hasjurisdictiontohearappealsonmatterswithinthejurisdictionofthiscourt

 PresidentoftheSupremecourtofAppeal,theDeputyPresidentoftheSupremeCourtof
Appealandasmanyjudgesasnecessaryinaccordancewithprescribedcriteria

 InBloemfontein