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Answers to assignment 1 & 2

Skills Course for Law Students (University of South Africa)

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Dear student
This tutorial letter contains feedback or comments on Assignments 01 and 02 of the first semester.

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FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENT 01 (UNIQUE NUMBER: 857197

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PART A

Question 1

Here you were required to find the “Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014" and provide an
explanation on the following:

1.1 Long title:

 The Act acknowledges that the profession is fragmented and divided with different
laws applying in different parts of the Republic and that access to legal services and
opportunities within the profession are restricted. The Act’s stated purpose is to
create a single regulatory body, to ensure that legal services are accessible to the
public and entry into the profession is unrestricted in order to bring the legal
profession in line with the Constitution’s transformative ideal.

1.2 Legal Practitioner

 A person whose profession is to give legal advice to clients, to prepare legal

documents and to represent clients in a court of law or act for clients in other legal
matters.

1.3 Functions of the South African Legal Practice Council

 The South African Legal Practice Council’s task is to facilitate the realisation of the
goal of a transformed and restructured legal profession that is accountable, efficient
and independent. Further, to ensure that fees charged by legal practitioners for legal
services rendered are reasonable and promote access to legal services, thereby
enhancing access to justice.
It will also seek to promote and protect the public interest; regulate all legal
practitioners and all candidate legal practitioners and streamline the regulation of all
lawyers, either attorneys or advocates, under a single independent body, The South
African Legal Practice Council.
The Council will further ensure accessible and sustainable training of law graduates
aspiring to be admitted and enrolled as legal practitioners; promote access to the
legal profession in pursuit of a legal profession that broadly reflects the
demographics of the Republic and develop norms and standards to guide the
conduct of legal practitioners, candidate legal practitioners and the legal profession.

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SCL1501/201

Question 2
2.1 Civil case. A civil case is usually brought by a person (called the “plaintiff”) who feels
that he or she has been wronged by another (called the “defendant”). If the plaintiff
wins the case, the defendant will be ordered by the court to pay compensation. A civil
case (or a delict) is thus, a wrong against an individual for which the wrongdoer must
pay compensation to the wronged person. In this instance, DJ Letsatsi and Lonza will
be ordered to pay back the money they borrowed from Mr Black Koto. Mr Black Koto
will thus, be the “plaintiff” whereas DJ Letsatsi and Lonza will be the “defendants” in
this matter.

2.2 The competent court that Mr Black Koto can approach to institute an action will the
Small Claims Court. These courts were introduced in 1985. They allow people to go to
court without lawyers for civil claims of not more than R15 000. The amount borrowed
by DJ Letsatsi and Lonza is R14 999, as a result, it falls within the jurisdiction of the
Small Claims Court. Very few documents are needed. No lawyers are allowed. It is very
cheap to go to Small Claims Court because people can bring or defend the cases
themselves.

Question 3
3.1 The notion of “subjective being” is discussed in Learning 2 (page 17 of the Study
Guide). The concept, “subjective being” refers to the idea that learners are complete
human beings with a mind of their own, values and experiences. Their brains are thus
not empty vessels. In other words, as subjects, rather than objects, learners may
question information and relate that information to their lived experiences. Prince
Mashele emphasizes this point by stating that debating with people who do not
differentiate between themselves from animals would be total madness. In other words,
there must be a difference between humans and animals, in that humans must question
and reflect differently on life. Humans must have a mind to reason critically.

3.2 Paulo Freire is highly opposed to education that promotes a mere absorption of
knowledge, information or facts without critical engagement thereof, and application to
relevant lived realities. He argues that this kind of education makes the student nothing
more than a sponge or consumer of facts. He likens this education/learning approach to
“banking education” because, as in a bank situation, facts are deposited in the student’s
brain with the view to withdraw them at relevant times for use, such as during tests and
examinations. He champions the kind of education practice that integrates
theory/reflection and practice/action, which he refers to as “praxis”. There is no
meaningful learning without reflection. Prince Mashele emphasizes this point by stating
that debating with people who do not differentiate between themselves from animals
would be total madness. He argues that in the absence of reflection human beings lose
their personhood and thus become more like objects. See pages 16-17 of your Study
Guide.

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Question 4

Item/service Fees Costs/Expenses

Letters received R959.75

Letters written R949.50
Stamps/Postage R75.04
(R65.25 + vat @15%)
Affidavit R1327.50
1½ pages : 2xR88.50 =R177.00
2½ pages: 3xR88.50= R265.50
4½ pages: 5xR88.50= R442.50
4½ pages: 5xR88.50= R442.50
Telephonic consultation R1075.50
23 min: 3xR119.50= R358.50
11½ min: 2xR119.50= R239
36 min: 4x119.50= R478
Consultation R6839
33 min: 2xR977= R1954
2½ hrs: 5xR977=R4885
Advocate’s fees R2443.75
(R2125.00 + vat @15%)
Specialist fees R3734.63
(3247.50 + vat @15%)
Total=R11 151.25 Total=R6253.42

Vat @ 15% R1672.69

= R12 823.94
+ Expenses R6 253.42
TOTAL DUE R19 077.36

Question 5

Gardee: 15/100 x 281 000 = 42 150

Mabuza: 43/100 x 356 000 = 153 080
153 080 – 42 150 = 110 930
Mabuza must pay Gardee an amount of R110 930.

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SCL1501/201

PART B: COURT OBSERVATION

This part of your Assignment 01 required you to personally visit a court of law and observe a real
court case. The purpose of this part of the assignment is to expose you, as a law student, to a
real court environment. There is no single answer or response that was expected from you in
dealing with the set questions because individual students observed different matters in various
courts across the country, or even across the world! We will not mark this part of the
assignment if the last page of the observation sheet is not completed by the clerk of the
court (or the Registrar) as instructed: signature, date and the stamp.

However we want to make the following remarks in relation to the various questions:

5. Here, with reference to the court case you have observed, you have to give reasons why you
think the case is a criminal or civil matter (depending on your response for question 4).

6. Here you must indicate who were the parties the in dispute, state who was a plaintiff and
defendant or appellant and respondent or State/prosecutor and defendant.

7. Here we expected you to give a short description of what the matter or issue before the
court was. It will not be sufficient for you to merely say: “theft” or “bail”.

8. As regards this item, pay attention to the meaning of “legal actors” as discussed in Learning
Unit 5 of your study guide.

9. “Non-verbal communication” is discussed in Learning Unit 4 (see item 4.2 on pp 57-59) of

your study guide. In answering this question you could, for instance, have referred to how the
defence attorney used eye contact and facial expressions when emphasizing a point or trying
to persuade the presiding officer (judge/magistrate).

10. For explanations on the various aspects or stages of the litigation process, please refer to
item 4.6 (pp. 70-73) of your study guide. What is important here is what you have observed in
court especially with regard to how these aspects were conducted by different legal actors.

11. There are those cases that might have not been concluded on the day(s) you went for the
observation. Here, you have to state what the magistrate / judge decided on that particular
day. For example, “the magistrate postponed the matter to enable the state to gather more
evidence etc.”

12. Here we expected you to comment on the performance of the legal actors. We further
expected you to provide personal reflections/analysis on your experience (perhaps on
something that you found interesting or unexpected, or boring), including a commentary on
whether your expectations from the course readings were changed or confirmed.

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FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENT 02 (UNIQUE NUMBER: 623303

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Question 1. The correct statement is option 1. Read the introduction portion of your study guide.

Question 2. The incorrect statement is option 2. Read the “the concept of law” under item 1.2
(page 7) of your study guide.

Question 3. The correct statement is option 3. Read the “concept of studying” under item 2.2.2
(page 16) of your study guide.

Question 4. The correct statement is option 4. Read item 2.2.3 (pp 16-17) of the study guide.

Question 5. The correct statement is option 1. This question relates to item 4.4.2 (page 62) of
your study guide.

Question 6. The correct statement is option 2. Open question. See item 4.2.2 (page 58) of your
study guide.

Question 7. The correct statement is option 1. This question relates to item 4.6.1 (b) (pages 71-
72) of your study guide.

Question 8. The correct statement is option 3. Read under item 3.3.2 (a) (page 38) of your study
guide.

Question 9. The correct statement is option 2. Read under item 3.3.2 (b) and (c) (page 39) of
your study guide.

Question 10. The correct statement is option 2. Read item 3.4.2.1 (page 41) of your study guide.

Question 11. The correct statement is option 3. See item 3.4.3 ((iv) (page 47) your study guide.

Question 12. The correct statement is option 3. Again read the information under item 3.3.4 (x)
(page 51) of your study guide.

Question 13. The correct statement is option 4. See item 3.4.3 (viii) (page 49) your study guide.

Question 14. The correct answer is option 4. Again read the information under item 3.4.3 (viii)
(page 49) your study guide

Question 15. The correct statement is option 1. See item 3.4.3 (vii) (page 48) of your study
guide.

Question 16. The correct statement is option 2. Refer under item 6.11 (page 97) of your study
guide.

Question 17. The correct statement is option 4. Read under item 3.4.2.5 (page 47) of your study
guide for guidance.
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SCL1501/201

Question 18. The correct statement is option 1. See activity 3.4.2.1 (pages 41-42) of your study
guide.

Question 19. The correct statement is option 3. Read item 6.7, example 2 (page 95) of your
study guide.

Question 20. The correct statement is option 2. Read item 6.12 (page 98) of your study guide.

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FORMAT OF YOUR EXAMINATION PAPER

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As indicated in paragraph 8.1 of Tutorial Letter 101/3/2019, the total marks for the SCL1501
examination will be 100, which mark will be adapted to 80. The paper comprises five sections, to
cover all the learning units in this module. There are no so-called “multiple choice” questions.
However, the paper takes a fill-in format, in which sense you are expected to write your answers
on the spaces provided in the examination book. Thus, the examination book comprises the
question paper and the answer sheet. The mark allocation for the various sections is as follows:

 Section 1 (Law and study skills): 20 marks

 Section 2 (Numeric skills): 15 marks
 Section 3 (Communication/Litigation skills): 25 marks
 Section 4 (Legal actors): 15 marks
 Section 5 (Reading legal texts): 25 marks

Best wishes

FRANS MAHLOBOGWANE (Mr) PRETORIA

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