UNIT 1
History and sources of SA law
SA Legal history divides into 3 periods
1. Roman Law
2. Roman Dutch Law
3. SA law
Roman Law
forms the basis of most Western European legal systems
It developed over a period of approximately twelve centuries, from the primitive customs
of a rural community to the intricate legal system of a commercially active world-wide
empire
linked to the development of the roman empire
Peroid of the kings
Kings ruled the romans
Before Jesus was on Earth
underdeveloped community in rome
no set of rules
living based on culture
Customary law: the traditional way of doing things
Republican period
started to write things down
, Roman law was written down for the very first time in the form of the Twelve Tables
12 tables: wrote the law in 12 tables
Period of the emperors
law reached peak
commercial world
more sophisticated
Significant development: more sophisticated
Post-classsical period
divided into Western and Eastern empires
The legal system deteriorated systematically during this period
Decline of legal system: what we developed was going down
476 AD
Germanic tribes conquered the Western empire, which led to a social and economic
decline
Roman law was negatively influenced by the primitive Germanic legal system.
In the Eastern empire, the emperor Justinian (who was in power from 527 AD to 565 AD)
tried to maintain the former glory of the Roman Empire.
He was responsible for the codification of the entire Roman law.
This codification was called the Corpus Iuris Civilis and consisted of:
1. the Codex: a collection of legislation
2. the Digesta: selections from the works of Roman jurists
3. the Institutes: a textbook for students
4. the Novellae: a collection of the legislation promulgated after the completion of the
Codex
After the death of Justinian, what remained of the Roman empire deteriorated rapidly and
eventually disappeared completely because of invasions and the influence of other cultures.
Roman-Dutch Law
Roman law still formed mediaeval Eurpoe because its principles were adopted and
applied and because the canon (clerical) law, which was based on Roman law, played a
predominant role
Interest in classical Roman Law was revived in the twelfth century by the Glossators,
legal scholars who embarked on a critical analysis and study of this legal system.
The law of the Netherlands
mainly Germanic customary law
History and sources of SA law
SA Legal history divides into 3 periods
1. Roman Law
2. Roman Dutch Law
3. SA law
Roman Law
forms the basis of most Western European legal systems
It developed over a period of approximately twelve centuries, from the primitive customs
of a rural community to the intricate legal system of a commercially active world-wide
empire
linked to the development of the roman empire
Peroid of the kings
Kings ruled the romans
Before Jesus was on Earth
underdeveloped community in rome
no set of rules
living based on culture
Customary law: the traditional way of doing things
Republican period
started to write things down
, Roman law was written down for the very first time in the form of the Twelve Tables
12 tables: wrote the law in 12 tables
Period of the emperors
law reached peak
commercial world
more sophisticated
Significant development: more sophisticated
Post-classsical period
divided into Western and Eastern empires
The legal system deteriorated systematically during this period
Decline of legal system: what we developed was going down
476 AD
Germanic tribes conquered the Western empire, which led to a social and economic
decline
Roman law was negatively influenced by the primitive Germanic legal system.
In the Eastern empire, the emperor Justinian (who was in power from 527 AD to 565 AD)
tried to maintain the former glory of the Roman Empire.
He was responsible for the codification of the entire Roman law.
This codification was called the Corpus Iuris Civilis and consisted of:
1. the Codex: a collection of legislation
2. the Digesta: selections from the works of Roman jurists
3. the Institutes: a textbook for students
4. the Novellae: a collection of the legislation promulgated after the completion of the
Codex
After the death of Justinian, what remained of the Roman empire deteriorated rapidly and
eventually disappeared completely because of invasions and the influence of other cultures.
Roman-Dutch Law
Roman law still formed mediaeval Eurpoe because its principles were adopted and
applied and because the canon (clerical) law, which was based on Roman law, played a
predominant role
Interest in classical Roman Law was revived in the twelfth century by the Glossators,
legal scholars who embarked on a critical analysis and study of this legal system.
The law of the Netherlands
mainly Germanic customary law
