Legal Foundations
This is the name for a body of legal rules governing human conduct, enforced by the State.
Law
This is the supreme law of the land, which acts as a yardstick against which all other law and conduct is evaluated.
Constitution
This branch of public law determines what acts amount to criminal offences and how they should be punished.
Criminal Law
This is the highest court in South Africa for all constitutional and general matters.
Constitutional Court
These legal practitioners provide a broad range of services, interact directly with clients, and do the initial work in a case.
Attorneys
The concept meaning "humanness" that promotes forgiveness and nation-building, used in the TRC process.
Ubuntu
This primary source of law is also known as a "statute" or "Act" and is made by a recognized legislative authority.
Legislation
This field of law regulates the vertical relationship between the state and its subjects.
Public Law
These courts are the lowest in the hierarchy and have jurisdictional limits for civil claims (e.g., R200,000) and criminal sentences.
Magistrates' Courts
This is the period of practical vocational training for attorneys.
Articles of clerkship
The South African legal system is historically based on this European law, influenced by English law.
Roman-Dutch law
This type of law governs the relationship between different states and includes treaties and conventions.
International Law
This division of private law regulates relationships like marriage, divorce, and parent-child relationships.
Family Law
This is the Latin term meaning "the reason for the decision," which forms the binding precedent
Ratio decidendi
This type of privilege protects communications between a legal advisor and their client.
Legal professional privilege
This constitutional principle aims to address past inequalities through law, focusing on social justice and empowerment.
Transformative Constitutionalism
This Latin term for "stand by previous decisions" means courts must follow the judgments of higher courts in similar cases.
Stare Decisis
This field of law focuses on the content and meaning of legal rules, such as what constitutes a crime.
Substantive Law
This type of action in civil procedure is used when there are no material disputes of fact and relies on affidavits.
Application proceedings
This court official is responsible for administering estates of deceased persons and trusts.
Master of the High Court
This approach argues that law and morality are separate, and the law is simply that which is given positive content.
Positivist approach
The four requirements for a custom to be recognized as a legal rule were laid out in this case
Van Breda v Jacobs
The law of obligations (contract and delict) and the law of succession are part of this area of private law.
Law of Patrimony
This section of the Constitution states that the courts are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law.
Section 165
The body that now regulates all legal practitioners in South Africa.
Legal Practice Council