scholarly journals THE DISTINCTIVENESS AND INTERRELATEDNESS OF THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF PARLIAMENT: A COMPARISON OF THE NAMIBIAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN JURISDICTIONS

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbuzeni Johnson Mathenjwa ◽  
Lindelwa Mhlongo
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
The Law

The terms “privileges” and “immunities” in relation to parliament are used interchangeably in the literature. A comparison of the privileges and immunities of parliament in the Namibian and the South African jurisdictions has shown that these are distinctive but interrelated. Major dissimilarities in Namibian and South African law in this regard are discernible. In the Namibian system, certain weaknesses are identified in the legal framework for the privileges and immunities of parliament. Recommendations are made based on these identified gaps with a view to improving the law relating to the privileges and immunities of parliament.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Right of a Muslim Child Born Out of Wedlock to Inherit from His or Her Deceased Parent in terms of the Law of Succession: A South African Case Study

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-135
Author(s):  
Muneer Abduroaf
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
The Status ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Law Of Succession

This article analyses the right of a Muslim child born out of wedlock to inherit from his or her deceased parent in terms of the law of succession within the South African context. The status of the child in the South African and Islamic law of intestate succession is first investigated. Thereafter, the status of the child in the South African and Islamic law of testate succession is discussed. The article further looks at the possibility of applying the Islamic law of succession provisions concerning a Muslim child born out of wedlock to the distribution of a deceased estate within the South African legal framework. The article concludes with an analysis of the findings and makes recommendations.

scholarly journals The Danger for an Underestimation of Necessary Precautions for the Admissibility of Admissions in Section 219A of the South African Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-120
Author(s):  
’Mampolokeng ’Mathuso Mary-Elizabet Monyakane
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
The South ◽  
Simple View ◽  
The Law ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
Law Of Evidence

AbstractThe Prima facie view regarding the admissibility of admissions, as evidence, in criminal matters is that, to admit admissions as evidence, the court requires a single consideration as to whether the admission was made freely and voluntarily. Without too much ado, the simple view to this understanding presupposes that admission of an admission as evidence against its maker is of a lesser danger compared to the admission of a confession. The admissibility of confessions against their makers does not come as easily as that of admissions. There are many prescribed requirements to satisfy before confessions are admitted as evidence. This comparison has led to a questionable conclusion that requirements for the admissibility of admissions are of a less complexity equated to the requirements for the admission of confessions. This paper answers the question whether an inference that the requirements for the admissibility of admissions are of a less complexity compared to the requirements for the admission of confessions is rational? It equates this approach to the now done away with commonwealth states rigid differentiation perspective. In the 1800s the commonwealth states, especially those vowing on the Wigmorian perspective on the law of evidence, developed from a rigid interpretation of confessions and admissions and adopted a relaxed and wide definitions of the word, “confession.” To this extent there was a relaxed divide between confessions and admissions hence their common classification and application of similar cautionary rules. The article recounts admissibility requirement in section 219A of the South African Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (CPA) (Hereinafter CPA). It then analyses Section 219A of the CPA requirement in the light of the rationale encompassing precautions for the admission of confessions in terms of 217(1) of the CPA. It exposes the similarities of potential prejudices where confessions and admissions are admitted as evidence. It reckons that by the adherence to this rigid differentiation perspectives of confessions and admissions which used to be the practice in the commonwealth prior the 1800s developments, South African law of evidence remains prejudicial to accused persons. To do away with these prejudices this article, recommends that section 219A be amended to include additional admissibility requirements in section 217(1). In effect it recommends the merging of sections 217(1) and 219A of the CPA.

An analysis of the right of Muslim adopted children to inherit from their deceased parents in terms of the law of succession: A South African case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-73
Author(s):  
Muneer Abduroaf
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Adopted Children ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Muslim Children ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right ◽  
Law Of Succession

This paper analyses the right of Muslim adopted children to inherit from their deceased parents in terms of the laws of succession within the South African legal context. The status of adoption in South African and Islamic law is looked at first by way of an introduction. This is followed by looking at the rights of adopted Muslim children to inherit from their deceased parents (biological and adoptive) in terms of the South African and Islamic laws of intestate (compulsory) and then testate (optional) succession.1 The paper further looks at the possibility of applying relevant Islamic law of succession provisions applicable to enable adopted Muslim children to inherit from the estate of their deceased biological parents within the South African legal framework. The paper concludes with an analysis of the findings and makes a recommendation.

Liability of the State and Public Authorities in Israel and South Africa

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
Max Loubser ◽  
Tamar Gidron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Public Authority ◽  
The South ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Pure Economic Loss ◽  
The Law

Both the Israeli and the South African legal systems are classified as mixed legal systems, or mixed jurisdictions. In Israel, tort law was originally pure English common law, adopted by legislation and later developed judicially. In South Africa, the law of delict (tort) was originally Roman-Dutch but was later strongly influenced by the English common law. Under both systems, tort law is characterized by open-ended norms allowing extensive judicial development. This paper traces and compares the structural basis, methodology, policy, and trends of the judicial development of state and public-authority liability in the Israeli and South African jurisdictions. Specific factors that have impacted the development of state- and public-authority liability are: (1) constitutional values, (2) the courts’ recognition of the need for expanded protection of fundamental human rights and activism towards achieving such protection, (3) the multicultural nature of the societies, (4) problems of crime and security, and (5) worldwide trends, linked to consumerism, toward the widening of liability of the state and public authorities.Within essentially similar conceptual structures the South African courts have been much more conservative in their approach to state liability for pure economic loss than their Israeli counterparts. This can perhaps be attributed to a sense of priorities. In a developing country with huge disparities in wealth, the courts would naturally be inclined to prioritize safety and security of persons above pure economic loss. The South African courts have been similarly more conservative in cases involving administrative negligence and evidential loss.The development of the law on state and public-authority liability in Israel and South Africa is also the product of factors such as the levels of education, the effectiveness of the public service, and the history and pervasiveness of constitutional ordering. Despite important differences, the law in the two jurisdictions has developed from a broadly similar mixed background; the courts have adopted broadly similar methods and reasoning; and the outcomes show broadly similar trends.

Equality and Non-Discrimination in the South African Constitution

2000 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-71
Author(s):  
Joan Small ◽  
Evadne Grant
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
The Law ◽  
South African Constitution

Equality occupies the first place in most written constitutions, but in South Africa, its importance is magnified both in terms of the text of the Constitution and in terms of the context in which that Constitution operates. The Bill of Rights is expected, in South Africa, to help bring about the transformation of the society. These expectations of transformation through the operation of the Bill of Rights are informing the development of the law in relation to equality and non-discrimination by the Constitutional Court. The concept of discrimination is uniquely defined in the South African Bill of Rights. The Courts are struggling to give legal effect to the terminology. The test developed by the Court to interpret the equality clause, it is submitted, is comprehensive and informed. But the application of the test is sometimes problematic. This paper addresses the evolving concepts of equality and discrimination in South Africa and discusses some of the difficulties with certain aspects of the test for discrimination, including the concepts of unfairness and human dignity, which have caused division among the judiciary.

scholarly journals Unpacking the Law and Practice Relating to Parole in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Jamil D Mujuz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Early Release ◽  
Correctional Services ◽  
The Law ◽  
Parole System

The possibility of the early release of offenders on parole is meant to act inter alia as an incentive to ensure that prisoners behave meritoriously while serving their sentences. The South African Correctional Services Act No.111 of 1998 deals with the release of offenders on parole. This article discusses the jurisprudence emanating from South African courts dealing with various aspects of parole. In particular, the article deals with the following issues: parole as a privilege; the role of the executive and the legislature in the parole system; the period to be served before an offender is paroled; the stipulated non-parole period; and the courts’ intervention in releasing prisoners on parole.

scholarly journals “Ubuntu” I am because we are: COVID-19 and the legal framework for addressing communicable disease in the South African prison system

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Claire Van Hout ◽  
Jakkie Wessels
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
South African ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Prison System ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
System Response ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of the paper was to conduct a legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19. Severely congested and ill-resourced prison systems in Africa face unprecedented challenges amplified by COVID-19. South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in Africa and, on March 15th 2020, declared a national state of disaster. The first prison system case was notified on April 6th 2020. Design/methodology/approach A legal-realist assessment of the South African prison system response to COVID-19 in the 12 months following initial case notification focused on the minimum State obligations to comply with human rights norms, and the extent to which human, health and occupational health rights of prisoners and staff were upheld during disaster measures. Findings A legal-realist account was developed, which revealed the indeterminate nature of application of South African COVID-19 government directives, ill-resourced COVID-19 mitigation measures, alarming occupational health and prison conditions and inadequate standards of health care in prisons when evaluated against the rule of law during State declaration of disaster. Originality/value This legal-realist assessment is original by virtue of its unique evaluation of the South African prison system approach to tackling COVID-19. It acknowledged State efforts, policymaking processes and outcomes and how these operated within the prison system itself. By moving beyond the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the already precarious South African prison system, the authors argue for rights assurance for those who live and work in its prisons, improved infrastructure and greater substantive equality of all deprived of their liberty in South Africa.

scholarly journals Lessons from UNCITRAL for Reforming the South African Legal Framework Concerning Security Rights in Movable Property

2022 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Michel Marlize Koekemoer ◽  
Reghard Brits
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
The South ◽  
Secured Transactions

This article analyses the South African legal framework governing security rights in movable property with the view to inspire law reform. The analysis is based on a comparison of the current South African framework with the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions, a soft-law instrument containing international best practice. The problematic aspects of the South African framework benchmarked against the UNCITRAL Guide are: (1) not having a common legal framework that equally applies to all types of (including quasi-) real security transactions; (2) the scope of the current framework not being comprehensive (inclusive) enough; (3) not having an efficient enough method of creating the security right; (4) the current publicity method, particularly concerning special notarial bonds, being overly cumbersome and not providing effective public notice to third parties; and (5) the current enforcement measures potentially not being the most efficient. Regarding each of these problem areas, the article makes proposals on how the South African legislature could reform the current framework into one that is legally efficient and in step with international best practice.

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