scholarly journals The curious case of legal translation

Literator ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Legal Competence ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Legislative Language

This article explores the nature and scope of legal translation which is an under-researched area in South Africa. In this article the author predicts that the demand for competent legal translators will increase in the future, evidenced by a recent call by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development(DoJ&CD), inviting applications for ten positions for “legislative language practitioners”. However, legal translation differs substantially from general translation in the sense that legal translation is subject to heavy restrictions at all levels and legal considerations are of paramount importance in a country such as South Africa, which provides for eleven official languages. Legal translation involves different legal languages, different legal systems and different cultural systems that require specialised knowledge and skills of the translator. The aim of this article is to investigate the core competencies and skills the legal translator must have; to consider the balance between legal competence and translation or linguistic competence; and to propose a discourse-analytical method of source text analysis, developed by Bhatia as a simplification strategy, as this may be a powerful tool in the training of legal translators in South Africa. Recent developments in South Africa relating to the Department of Arts and Culture’s obligation to translate legislation into all official languages, have important consequences for legal translation in general and the training of legal translators in particular.

scholarly journals A critical analysis of the inefficacy of Court-Annexed Mediation (CAM) in South Africa – lessons from Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-54
Author(s):  
EC Muller ◽  
◽  
CL Nel
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
South African ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Optimal Functioning ◽  
Civil Justice System

As a result of defects in the South African civil justice system, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development introduced voluntary court-annexed mediation (CAM) in the magistrates’ courts in 2014. CAM was chosen under the broader need for greater access to justice because it has the potential to make dispute resolution efficient, amicable, and affordable. It can, therefore, contribute to access to justice for all members of society. Since the amendment of the Magistrates’ Court Rules to provide for CAM, the uptake of mediation in terms of the CAM system has unfortunately been inadequate. The aim of this article is to identify reasons for the inefficacy of CAM since its implementation. We use normative research to critically analyse existing court rules and authority. We conclude that there are several reasons for CAM’s inefficacy which are elucidated in the main text. It is important to understand these reasons, as the legislature presents CAM as a mechanism to improve access to justice. From this platform, we evaluate the mechanisms for court-connected alternative dispute resolutions provided by the Nigerian Multi-Door Courthouse (MDC) system. This reveals policies and practices that could potentially improve the efficacy of CAM in South Africa, as these relate to the factors identified as impediments to the optimal functioning of CAM in our civil justice system. As such, we identify valuable lessons that can be learned from this comparison. Building hereon, and on the conclusions reached elsewhere in the article, we postulate that the mediation scheme, as contemplated by Rule 41A of the Uniform Rules of Court (as applied in the superior courts), should also be implemented in the magistrates’ courts. The article concludes that improving CAM in South Africa is of critical importance to advancing access to justice and departing from a culture of conventional adversarial dispute resolution.

scholarly journals The provision of interpreting services in isiZulu and South African Sign Language in selected courts in KwaZulu-Natal

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nontobeko Lynette Mnyandu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
South African ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Sign Language Interpreters ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Judicial Assistance

IsiZulu is a previously marginalized language and is spoken by 78% of people in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa.info 2012). Signed language on the other hand, is not an official language in South Africa, although it is recognised despite the profession having undergone major transformation since democracy. This study hypothesizes that isiZulu and South African Sign Language interpreters both face challenges when given interpreting assignments. This study aims to create an awareness of the needs of the isiZulu speakers and deaf people when seeking judicial assistance and also to contribute towards the provision of quality interpreting services in some of the courts in KwaZulu-Natal. With this study it is hoped to assist the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to be able to see where they can still improve on their system. This study was conducted only in four courts, therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to be the same in all the courts in South Africa. IsiZulu kusewulimi obelucindezelwe, kanti lusetshenziswa abantu abangamaphesenti angama-78 KwaZulu-Natali (SouthAfrica.info 2012). Ulimi lwezandla ngakolunye uhlangothi, akulona ulimi olusemthethweni eNingizimu Afrika nangale koshintsho oluningi olwenziwe kusukela kwaqala intando yabantu. Lolu cwaningo lucabangela ukuthi otolika besiZulu kanye naboLimi Lwezandla babhekana nezingqinamba uma benikwe umsebenzi wokutolika. Lolu cwaningo Iuhlose ukwazisa ngezidingo zabantu abakhuluma isiZulu kanye nabangezwa uma bedinga usizo lwezomthetho kanye nokuxhasa ekunikezeleni ukutolika okusezingeni elifanele kwezinye zezinkantolo KwaZulu-Natali. Ngalolu cwaningo kuthenjwa ukuthi luzosiza uMnyango Wobulungiswa kanye nokuThuthukiswa koMthethosisekelo ukuba ubone ukuthi yikuphi la okungalungiswa khona inqubo yokwenza yawo. Lolu cwaningo lwenziwe ezinkantolo ezine kuphela, ngakho-ke okutholakele ngeke kuze kuthathwe ngokuthi kuyafana ezinkantolo zonke zaseNingizimu Afrika.

scholarly journals Recent Developments Regarding South African Common and Customary Law of Succession

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
MC Schoeman Malan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Law Of Succession ◽  
Made In

This article will concentrate on the development in the common law of succession and administration of estates versus the customary law of succession and inheritance as well as the winding up of estates pursuant to constitutional tendencies, case law, and statutory reform over the last ten years. The principles of customary law of succession and inheritance have become a contentious issue since the commencement of the Constitution and Bill of Rights which provide for a human rights dispensation in South Africa. As a pluralistic legal system was retained, the inevitable conflict between the principles of customary law of succession and the Constitution soon came to the fore. Although the South African Law Reform Commission reported on this issue and submitted their recommendations to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the report was never formally published. Aspects of intestate succession and the administration of estates of deceased blacks were challenged in court on constitutional grounds. This eventually lead to a number of principles of customary law being declared unconstitutional, and consequently invalid, by the Courts who had no choice but to provide relief until such time as the legislature enacted a lasting solution. As far as the intestate succession is concerned, the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 was extended to all persons in South Africa, including those adhering to a system of customary law. No distinction will, for purposes of succession, be made in future between legitimate and illegitimate children, between a first born son and other siblings or between men and women. Notwithstanding several court judgments in this regard, the Intestate Succession Act has not been amended by the Legislature as yet. As far as the historical discrepancy in the winding up and administration of estates is concerned, all estates, including intestate estates of black persons that have to devolve under customary law, in the future will be administered by the Master. Magistrates no longer will be responsible for supervising and administering customary estates.

Pay Equity in Review

1986 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil E. Reichenberg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Congress ◽  
Pay Equity ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
State Legislative

This article provides an overview of pay equity as well as an update of recent developments concerning this issue. The article summarizes the arguments advanced by pay equity advocates and opponents. There is a discussion of the leading court decisions which is organized as cases brought before and after the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in the case of County of Washington v. Gunther, 452 U.S. 161 (1981). The position of the Reagan Administration, as set forth by the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also is summarized. The article includes a description of the legislation pending before the 99th United States Congress along with state legislative developments. The final section of the article is a pay equity bibliography.

scholarly journals Sentencing Reform in Canada: Recent Developments

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian V. Roberts ◽  
Andrew von Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Sentencing Reform ◽  
Solicitor General ◽  
The Future ◽  
Recent Developments

Changes to the sentencing process in Canada are finally imminent. A number of reports in recent years have called for reforms in the area of sentencing and parole. In 1987, the Canadian Sentencing Commission released its final report Sentencing Reform: A Canadian Approach. This was followed in 1988 by the report of the Daubney Committee following its investigation into sentencing and parole. In addition to these proposals, the now-defunct Law Reform Commission of Canada, the Department of Justice and the Ministry of the Solicitor General all published reports containing reform proposals. In this article, the authors review recent events in the area of sentencing since the publication of the report of the Canadian Sentencing Commission. After a brief introduction, four principal policy issues are examined: (i) statutory statements of sentencing purpose; (ii) sentencing guidelines; (iii) the future of release on parole; (iv) the creation of a permanent sentencing commission for Canada. For each issue, the article critically examines the position taken by major players in the area of criminal law reform. The article concludes with a brief examination of Bill C-90, which recently received first reading, and which will be the object of further parliamentary scrutiny in the fall of 1992. In a subsequent article, the authors offer their own proposals to reform the sentencing of offenders in Canada.

scholarly journals Core competencies acquired in indigenous training of traditional health practitioners in Kwazulu-Natal

1970 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 3100-3106
Author(s):  
Mbatha Nompumelelo ◽  
Exnevia Gomo ◽  
Nceba Gqaleni ◽  
Mlungisi Ngcobo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Sequential Data ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
Traditional Health Practitioners ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Health Practitioners

Introduction: Despite the recognition of Traditional Medicine systems as a critical component of health care by the WHO and the African Union, its integration into the health care mainstream remains very subdued in South Africa. This is partly due to the lack of empirical data pertinent to traditional healer training that could inform the accreditation process. Objective: To determine core competencies acquired by Traditional Health Practitioners (THP) of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa during their apprenticeship. Materials and methods: Purposeful, convenient and snowballing sampling and the sequential data collection methods of questionnaires, journaling and focus groups was used to collect data from the THP tutors and their trainees in rural, peri-urban and urban areas of eThekwini and uThungulu Districts of Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN). Results: Eleven core competencies were identified: consultation, diagnoses, holistic patient care and treatment, integrative and holistic healing, application of healing procedures and cultural rituals, spiritual development, ethical competencies, problem solving, herbalism, ancestral knowledge and end of life care. Conclusion: The apprenticeship of THPs in KZN is based on eleven core competencies. These competencies are fundamental pillars for critical health care provided by THPs and are crucial for setting standards for the accreditation of traditional training in South Africa if the THP Act 22 of 2007 is to achieve its purpose of providing for the management of and control over the registration, training and conduct of the practitioners. Hence, the appointed interim THP Council should include the identified competencies when articulating bases for accreditation of the training and assessments.Keywords: Indigenous training, traditional health practitioners, Kwazulu-Natal.

scholarly journals Langage et système des lois suisses

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 579-597
Author(s):  
François Dessemontet
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Number Fields ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Federal Department ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Swiss Experience

This paper addresses the issue of a systematic approach to the drafting of legislation, in the light of Swiss experience. Starting from a brief survey of inflationary tends in the production of Legislative material, the author brings out the mutually reinforcing interplay between these tends and a widening lack of consensus about the contents and enforceability of legislation. While such factors hardly favour systematic lawmaking, a number of institutional features in the Swiss federal legislative process help maintain the quality of legislative instruments — namely the very length of the process, the bicameralism, the plurality of official languages, and the subjection of laws to the referendum procedure. Further, the practice of Swiss Legislators shows concern for the preservation of systematic unity. Thus, the federal department of Justice has devised a set of Principles of legislative drafting, supplemented by a checklist that can be applied to any draft legislative instrument. In a number fields where lawmaking authority vests in the cantons rather than in the Confederation, federal authorities have drafted model laws in the hope of promoting uniformity between cantonal legislation. In.other fields, where law-making authority has been given to the Confederation, federal legislation has sometimes been limited to a basic law, containing broad provisious only leaving details to be filled in by each of the cantons. The technique of codification, by contrast, has not been resorted to since the major achievements in civil and criminal law during the first half of this century. Finally, Swiss legislative draftsmen, both federal and cantonal, have been concerned lately with the improvement of drafting and style, as is shown by the recent spread of guidelines, instructions and even laws on the subject.

scholarly journals The multilingual jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and the idea of uniformity in European Union Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-138
Author(s):  
Joana Sousa Domingues
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Language Version ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
Binding Force ◽  
Legal Translation ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Official Languages

It is generally accepted that the development of a Union of law is largely due to the judicial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter, CJEU). With its judicial pronouncements, the CEJEU aims to achieve the same legal effects in every language version of its judgments and, through them, to ensure the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law. Nevertheless, such judicial pronouncements, with normative and binding force, are the result of collegial decisions and drafted by jurists in a language that is usually nottheir mother tongue. In addition, they are also the result of various permutations associated with the necessary legal translation from and to (and vice versa) the working language of the Court and the official languages of the European Union. The published judgments presented as authentic are, in most cases, translations. To understand the construction of decisions of the CJEU is to understand the construction of the European Union law, and by consequence, the European project itself.

Evolution of South Africa's Racist Constitutions and the 1983 Constitution

1987 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Xia Jisheng
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
State Law ◽  
The South ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
The Third ◽  
Fundamental State ◽  
History Of ◽  
South African Constitution

Since the enforcement of 1983 constitution, several years have passed. The 1983 constitution is the third constitution since the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910. By observing the history of the constitutional development in more than seventy years in South Africa and the content of the current South African constitution, it is not difficult to find out that the constitution, as a fundamental state law, is an important weapon of racism. South Africa's white regime consistandy upholds and consolidates its racist rule by adopting and implementing constitutions. The aim of this article is to analyze and expose the essence of the South African racist system in mis aspect.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document