Countries (in pink) which share the mixed South African legal system
South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system,[1] formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans (often termed African Customary Law, of which there are many variations depending on the tribal origin). These traditions have had a complex interrelationship, with the English influence most apparent in procedural aspects of the legal system and methods of adjudication, and the Roman-Dutch influence most visible in its substantive private law.[2] As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in both criminal and civil procedure, company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman-Dutch common law is followed in the South African contract law, law of delict (tort), law of persons, law of things, family law, etc. With the commencement in 1994 of the interim Constitution, and in 1997 its replacement, the final Constitution, another strand has been added to this weave.
Besides South Africa itself, South African law, especially its civil law and common law elements, also forms the basis of the laws of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, which were introduced during the process of colonisation. Basutoland (Lesotho) received the law of the Cape Colony in 1884, and Bechuanaland (Botswana) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) received it in 1891.[3] Swaziland (Eswatini) received the law of the Transvaal Colony in 1904,[3] and South-West Africa (Namibia) received the law of the Cape Province in 1920, after its conquest by South Africa.[4]
^Thomas, PhJ; van der Merwe, CG; Stoop, BC (2000). Historical Foundations of South African Private Law. Durban, South Africa: Lexisnexis Butterworths. p. 7. ISBN 9780409058413.
^Du Bois, F (ed) "Wille's Principles of South African Law" 9th ed. Cape Town, Juta & Co, 2007.
^ abPain, JH (July 1978). "The reception of English and Roman-Dutch law in Africa with reference to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland". The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa. 11 (2): 137–167.
^Geraldo, Geraldine Mwanza; Nowases, Isabella (April 2010). "Researching Namibian Law and the Namibian Legal System". Retrieved 7 May 2013.
and 28 Related for: Law of South Africa information
SouthAfrica has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited...
SouthAfrican contract law is "essentially a modernized version of the Roman-Dutch lawof contract", and is rooted in canon and Roman laws. In the broadest...
SouthAfrican property law regulates the "rights of people in or over certain objects or things." It is concerned, in other words, with a person's ability...
The SouthAfricanlawof evidence forms part of the adjectival or procedural lawof that country. It is based on English common law. There is no all-embracing...
The SouthAfricanlawof delict engages primarily with 'the circumstances in which one person can claim compensation from another for harm that has been...
The lawof persons in SouthAfrica regulates the birth, private-law status and the death of a natural person. It determines the requirements and qualifications...
SouthAfrican nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national ofSouthAfrica. The primary law governing nationality requirements...
SouthAfrican customary law refers to a usually uncodified legal system developed and practised by the indigenous communities ofSouthAfrica. Customary...
SouthAfrican labour law regulates the relationship between employers, employees and trade unions in the Republic ofSouthAfrica. The Native Labour Regulations...
especially SouthAfrican English: /əˈpɑːrt(h)eɪt/ ə-PART-(h)ayt, Afrikaans: [aˈpartɦɛit] ; transl. "separateness", lit. 'aparthood') was a system of institutionalised...
The SouthAfricanlawof succession prescribes the rules which determine the devolution of a person's estate after his death, and all matters incidental...
The system of racial segregation and oppression in SouthAfrica known as apartheid was implemented and enforced by many acts and other laws. This legislation...
SouthAfrica is a Christian majority nation with Islam being a minority religion, practised by roughly 1.6% of the total population. Islam in South Africa...
SouthAfrican criminal law is the body of national law relating to crime in SouthAfrica. In the definition of Van der Walt et al., a crime is "conduct...
In SouthAfrica, the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 regulates the possession of firearms by civilians. Possession of a firearm is conditional on a competency...
SouthAfrican administrative law is the branch of public law which regulates the legal relations of public authorities, whether with private individuals...
The SouthAfricanlawof sale is an area of the legal system in that country that describes rules applicable to a contract of sale (or, to be more specific...
The Republic ofSouthAfrica is a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary...
SouthAfrican environmental law describes the legal rules in SouthAfrica relating to the social, economic, philosophical and jurisprudential issues raised...
speaking, the lawof insurance in SouthAfrica is concerned with the conclusion and consequences of insurance contracts; general aspects oflawof damages;...
The economy ofSouthAfrica is a mixed economy, emerging market, and upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa. The economy...
Insolvency in SouthAfricanlaw refers to a status of diminished legal capacity (capitis diminutio) imposed by the courts on persons who are unable to...
The Union ofSouthAfrica (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Afrika; Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrika; pronunciation) was the historical predecessor to the present-day...
Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries of the history ofSouthAfrica, dating back to the Dutch colonization of Southern Africa, which...
Global Information