The Supreme Court of Appeal and the handing over of the bride in customary marriages

While there is unanimity that the mere payment of ilobolo (or part thereof) does not conclude a customary marriage, recent decisions of the SCA indirectly reverse this. Ilobolo must be accompanied by the integration of the bride into her new family in order to conclude a customary marriage. The integration comprises many events - depending on the ethnic group. These events include the handing over of the bride, ukumekeza (Swati). In Moropane v Southon, the SCA held that the handing over of the bride was an indispensable aspect of the integration of the bride. In Mbungela v Mkabi and Tsambo v Sengadi the SCA backtracked on its earlier decision, arguably without any clear principles. This article argues that these decisions of the SCA on customary marriages create uncertainty regarding the conclusion of customary marriages.

The role of clinical legal education in developing ethical legal professionals

Training in legal professionalism and ethics is a vital part of any legal education. Teaching these aspects according to the Socratic method generally proves to be ineffective in producing the desired result. A lawyer's actual life experience, which include happiness and career satisfaction, is rarely included. This article will explore on what it means to be an ethical human being and consider the teaching of professionalism and ethics by way of the clinical legal education methodology. Clinics have particular riches to offer and discussing professionalism, values and ethics in a clinical setting can assist students to begin to identify their own professional sense. University law clinics serve as a role model in legal practice about how a legal practitioner should behave and what ethical decision-making means. The link between culture and ethics, which informs a person's sense of morality and ethics, is explored, with application to diversity and multiculturalism. In clinical context, students assume a high degree of responsibility by taking instructions from clients and they will benefit from cooperative learning where they will begin to develop a deep understanding of professionalism and ethical practice. Through tutorials and debriefing sessions and later in their reflection assignments, students discuss and reflect on aspects of the law, the legal system, their own interviewing skills and the experience of the client. In their reflection assignments, students readily identify areas for improvement but also refer to what they are able to achieve in their interview, building their motivation and sense of autonomy. Ongoing reflection and constructive feedback thereon will support a commitment to ethical and professionally competent, self-directed and autonomous lawyering. Clinical training affords students the opportunity to explore their legal professional and ethical behaviours and values, allowing them to develop in capable, self-directed and independent practitioners who will not only assume responsibility for their individual clients, but also contribute to their communities.

An analysis of spousal competence and non-compellability in terms of section 198 of the Criminal Procedure Act

Marital privilege is founded on the biblical principles of the union between man and wife. Thus wives were not competent or compellable witnesses against their husbands. Over the years the privilege developed in English common law. South Africa codified the privilege through Section 198 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 which states that spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other unless the crime for which the accused spouse is charged appears in the categories listed in Section 195 of the Act. There are many criticisms against affording a privilege to a particular class of persons - notably that the non-compellability exception given to spouses is unconstitutional as it violates the right to equality in terms of section 9 of the Constitution. Recent media coverage at the Zondo Commission highlighted this conundrum when the ex-minister's spouse was asked to testify. This article examines the merits of the unconstitutionality argument and concludes that spousal non-compellability fails to withstand the test against unfair discrimination on the basis of marital privilege. Finally, recommendations are proposed in this regard which examine the nature and evolution of spousal competence and non-compellability in South African law.

Relative poverty in female disability grant recipients in South Africa

It is a well-established fact that adequate social security measures are used as a tool to allow persons a measure of financial security and support in the event of certain contingencies. Historically, disability has been one of the "core" contingencies, which is covered by social security schemes. The purpose of social security in providing for this contingency is to compensate for income lost or reduced as a result of disability. The fact that more women in South Africa have disabilities than men leads to the conclusion that women with disabilities are more negatively affected by poverty than men with disabilities. This in turn makes a woman with a disability more likely to be dependent on the disability grant than a man with a disability. The link between gender, disability and poverty will be discussed to illustrate the socio-economic position of female disability grant recipients in comparison to male disability grant recipients. This article will address the relative poverty of female disability grant recipients and make recommendations to address this relative poverty.

Aquamation: legal nail in burial and cremation's coffin?

Respect for the dead defines a community. Burial of a corpse has for many years been the only way of disposing of a dead body. Land available for burial sites is limited. In the 1960s cremation became an acceptable alternative to burial. Recently a more environmentally friendly way of disposing of a corpse was introduced to South Africa. Alkaline Hydrolysis or aquamation is a chemical process dissolving a dead body. The wastewater can be disposed of in a sewage system. Legislation has not kept up with this new technology. A new set of regulations to the National Health Act 61 of 2003 is proposed.

The Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the principle of "equitable and reasonable utilisation"

The principle of "equitable and reasonable utilisation" has been proposed as a tool to resolve a conflict of uses since it advocates for fair and sustainable utilisation of shared water resources. This paper examines this proposition with a specific focus on the Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which regulates the use of the Orange River. To this end, it is my view that the principle of "vital human needs" as an incidence of the principle of "equitable and reasonable utilisation", proffers the most effective tool to resolve the anticipated conflict of uses in the Orange River basin.

Is English becoming a threat to the existence of indigenous languages in institutions of higher learning in South Africa?

This article provides a critique of the judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Gelyke Kanse v Chairperson of the Senate of the University of Stellenbosch1 with specific reference to the concept of transformative constitutionalism and the use of indigenous languages in tertiary education. The discussion further highlights the significant role played by one's own language in his or her day-to-day life encounters and argues that the wait has been too long to have one of the indigenous languages fully utilised in one of the tertiary institutions, amongst others. Finally, the paper recommends that the use of indigenous languages at institutions of higher learning needs to be given urgent attention by all stakeholders and can no longer remain at the mercy of those who are tasked with language policies at tertiary institutions.

Sexual autonomy and violence against women in Nigeria: Assessing the impact of Covid-19 pandemic

Sexual and reproductive rights are centred on an individual's autonomy. However, these rights are jeopardised when women and girls are faced with sexual violence. Recently, there was reported increase in violence against women and girls, constituting an infringement of their human rights. Relieving this burden has become a human rights commitment for most countries including Nigeria. Therefore, this article examines how these rights were impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. It examines reports from media sources, and conducted in-depth interviews with Forty-five (45) women in a bid to elicit their responses on their experiences during the pandemic. The research found that the pandemic had both positive and negative impacts on the women's sexual autonomy. This article recommends the creation of more awareness for women, the fostering of political will, and dedicated funding to ensure active implementation and better protection of women's rights in Nigeria.

On "Dumping" and the Competition Act of South Africa: No "double remedy"

In "'Dumping' and the Competition Act of South Africa", Vinti espouses that the Competition Commission has jurisdiction over the actions of extra-territorial parties insofar as such actions involve "prohibited price discrimination" or "price dumping". He finds that the Competition Act and the International Trade Administration Act both bestow jurisdiction over the matter and hence argues that this would constitute an unfair double remedy if both authorities were to take action. He therefore proposes, on the basis of a Memorandum of Agreement that has been concluded between the Competition Commission and the International Trade Administration Commission, that either of the Acts should be amended to ensure that no such double remedies are imposed. Although it is agreed that such "double remedy", if applied, would indeed be unfair for several reasons, this article argues that no such double remedy exists and that, despite the provisions of the Competition Act, the Competition Commission has no jurisdiction in matters related to dumping.