Laws In South Africa
A number of different legal traditions have been woven together to create South Africa’s “hybrid” or “mixed” legal system, including a common law system acquired from the British and a customary law system from the continent’s original inhabitants (often termed African Customary Law, of which there are many variations depending on the tribal origin). These traditions have interacted in a complex way, with the English impact being most pronounced in the legal system’s procedural elements and adjudication procedures, and the Roman-Dutch influence being most pronounced in its substantive private law.
South Africa And English Law
Generally speaking, South Africa follows Roman-Dutch common law for its contract law, law of delict (tort), law of persons, law of things, family law, and other areas of law while adhering to English law for its criminal and civil process, corporation law, constitutional law, and law of evidence. Another thread has been added to this weaving with the start of the interim Constitution in 1994 and its replacement, the final Constitution, in 1997.
The Southern Africa Law
Along with South African law itself, the colonial laws of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe are all based on South African law, particularly its civil law and common law components. The legislation of the Cape Colony was adopted by Basutoland (Lesotho) in 1884, Bechuanaland (Botswana), and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1891. Following its conquest by South Africa, South-West Africa (Namibia) gained the law of the Cape Province in 1920, and Swaziland (Eswatini) received the law of the Transvaal Colony in 1904.
The Court System In South Africa
Chapter 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, notably s166, establishes a defined hierarchy for the South African court system, which is made up of (from lowest to highest legal authority): To start, several Magistrates’ Courts (both smaller Regional and larger District). Second, the Superior Courts Act of 2013 established a single High Court with numerous divisions around the nation, both regional (having authority over the entire province) and smaller local division (having a geographically narrower jurisdiction, typically over a strongly populated regions). This is particularly evident in Gauteng, which is home to both the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg, which is located in Johannesburg, and the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Division, Pretoria, which is located in Pretoria.
What Is Common Law In South Africa
In the field of law, common law is the body of precedent established by judges and other quasi-judicial tribunals and is often referred to as judge-made law, judicial precedent, or case law. The fact that it develops as precedent is what distinguishes “common law.” When the parties cannot agree on the law, a common law court refers to earlier precedent decisions of pertinent courts and applies the lessons learned there as they apply to the current facts. The court is typically required to adopt the logic used in the earlier ruling if a comparable disagreement has been settled in the past (a principle known as stare decisis).Roman-Dutch law, which was brought to the Cape in the 17th and 18th centuries, made up the majority of South African common law. This serves as the framework for current South African legislation and has legal force. Common law crimes include things like rape, murder, and robbery.
