South Africa is a constitutional republic with a supreme Constitution and a Bill of Rights. All laws must be in accordance with the Constitution.
South Africa’s legal system is a mash-up of Roman Dutch civilian law, English common law, customary law, and religion personal law.
The influence of Roman Dutch civilian law and English common law reflects South Africa’s history of successive Dutch and English colonial governance. The Roman-Dutch law common law of South Africa is the uncodified law of Holland as it existed during the period of the early Dutch settlers in the mid-seventeenth century, and many legal theories and the overall arrangement of the law may be traced back to this civilian heritage. The English common law influence is most visible in procedural law, with adversarial trials, comprehensive case reporting, and deference to precedent. For further information on the history of South Africa’s legal system, visit Amanda Barratt and Pamela Snyman’s Researching South African Law on Globalex (2018 update by Salona Lutchman).
In South Africa’s mixed legal system, customary / indigenous law is equally important (sections 211(2) & (3) of the Constitution). See the following open access publication on SSRN for a more extensive analysis: Charles Maimela, ‘The Role and Importance of African Customary Law in Twenty-First Century South Africa’ (University of Milano-Bicocca School of Law Research Paper No 19-02, 2019)
The hybrid legal system includes religious personal and family legislation (sections 15(3)(a)(i) and (ii) of the Constitution). See the following open access paper on SSRN for more information: ‘Deep Legal Pluralism in South Africa: Judicial Accommodation of Non-State Law,’ Christa Rautenbach (2010) 60 Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 143-177
South Africa has not submitted a declaration of jurisdiction to the International Court of Justice. It recognizes the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction.
Legal Authorities
South African law is derived from the following sources:
The Constitution is the country’s supreme law (s 2 of the Constitution)
legislation (acts of the national and provincial legislatures, and governmental regulations) (acts of the national and provincial legislatures, and governmental regulations)
the rule of law
legal precedent
indigenous / customary law
The Constitutional Court of South Africa defined indigenous law as having three forms: law practiced in the community, law in legislation, case law, or textbooks on official customary law, and academic law used for teaching purposes (Bhe v Magistrate Khayelitsha [2005] 1 SA 580 (CC) at [152]).
Personal religious laws
international legal principles
the writings of authoritative legal publicists
What is the most important law in South Africa?
Common law usually applies when a certain topic is not covered by legislation. South African common law is mostly based on Roman-Dutch law that was transported to the Cape in the 17th and 18th centuries. This is the foundation of current South African law and has binding force.
What is South Africa’s most important law?
The supreme law is the Constitution.
South Africa is a constitutional democratic republic. That is, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Parliament cannot approve legislation that violates the Constitution. Nobody, not even the President, can oppose it.
What exactly is the rule of law?
According to the rule of law definition, government power must be exercised in conformity with the law rather than the arbitrary wills of officials. In other words, what does the rule of law imply? It indicates that no one, not even a society’s rulers, is above the law.
