Can you please help me out,I am diong an...

Asked by hlengiwe on 09-10-2018 21:50:34
Question posted in the General Law category relating to Gauteng
Question value: R 300.00

Can you please help me out,I am diong an assigment for my management course.The question is.

LIST THE MAIN INFLUENCES OF SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL LAW AND GIVE TGE MAIN REASONS FOR THEIR OCCURRENCE.

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Answer to the Question

Posted by Att. Patrick on 12-10-2018 18:44:14

Hi there and thank you for your question,

South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, 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.

The first main influence of SA laws is the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the country. If there is any law which does not comply with the Constitution, that law is unconstitutional and will be struck down. The Constitution is therefore the benchmark of laws. The Constitution was originally negotiated in 1994 when we became a proper democratic State. SA has one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world!

The second influence of SA law is our common law. Our common law is influenced by English law and Roman Dutch law. That is because at various points in time SA was ruled by the Dutch or the British. The basics of our laws therefore stretch back to the old Dutch writers such as Voet and Grotius. If you want to read some of the first laws in the world, read some of the works by Voet and Grotius. 

Another influence of SA law is our laws of precedent. Those are the court cases that happen over the years which influence and change our laws, that strike down laws and make new laws; that help interpret our laws; give meaning to our laws.

Another influence of SA law (which has been formally recognised and applied in our courts) is customary law. This is the laws that custom dictates and which has developed and changed from time to time, and from people to people, from tribe to tribe.

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Att. Patrick

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Answer Accepted

This answer was accepted on 13-10-2018 07:43:10

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