ADMINISTRATIVE LAW PBL4001W

COURSE OUTLINE 2024

CONVENER, LECTURERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

• Mitchell De Beer: course convener, lecturer in term 1 and term 2

mitchell.debeer@capebar.co.za; 021 879 2477.

• Nurina Ally: lecturer in term 3 and term 4

nurina.ally@uct.ac.za; 021 650 3070.

• Lauren Kohn: lecturer in term 3 and term 4

lm.kohn@uct.ac.za.

• Rene Francke : administrative assistant for PBL4001W

rene.francke@uct.ac.za.

• Teaching assistants: Wilson Fongong & Zahra Naqvi (emails to be provided soon)

TEACHING & LEARNING

This is a whole final-year course (36 NQF credits at NQF level 8).

Lectures will be conducted in-person, with the possibility of remote teaching in exceptional
circumstances. It is crucial that you follow class announcements on VULA on a regular basis.

There are three lectures a week, currently scheduled on Mondays between 09h00 and 11h45
in the first semester. Lecture times for the second semester will be announced in due course.

There will be 5 small-group tutorial sessions during the year. See the LLB Final Level Plan
2024 and announcements from your tutor for further information.

Lecturers have discretion regarding the availability of lecture recordings. Consistent

attendance and active participation in lectures and tutorials, as well as engagement with
teaching and learning materials, is crucial for this course.

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COURSE MATERIALS

There are two categories of reading material for this course:

• Prescribed readings must be read;

• Recommended readings may be referred to in order to supplement the prescribed
materials should you have capacity and/or interest therein.

Note that where a lecturer refers to either of the above (and/or additional material) in
lectures, you are expected to understand the principle as taught for examination purposes.

PLEASE NOTE: You will be provided with a detailed “Course Outline: Reading List” for
each term. These serve to guide your study of the course. Lecturers may, however, deviate
from them where necessary for pedagogical reasons (for example, if an important new
Constitutional Court judgment is handed down). Therefore, you should focus on what each
lecturer indicates is necessary for the purposes of her/his module when she/he teaches it.

In general, the following materials will be used throughout the course—

Prescribed

• The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

• The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 3 of 2000.

• Cora Hoexter and Glenn Penfold Administrative Law in South Africa 3rd ed (Juta,
2021) copies of which are available for short loan in the library and in ebook format
through the library’s online resources.

• Additional materials as indicated under each heading on the relevant Reading Lists,
as supplemented and/or amended by each lecturer when she/he teaches the module.

Recommended

• Geo Quinot (ed) Administrative Justice in South Africa An Introduction (OUP, 2021)
available in ebook format through the library’s online resources.

CONSULTATIONS

Questions on logistics or administrative aspects of the course can be directed to the course
convener or the course administrator.

Any questions on the substantive issues taught in the course should be directed to the relevant
lecturer as soon as possible after the topic / module has been presented. Lecturers and teaching
assistants will inform students of their consultation times once the relevant teaching term has
started.

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ASSESSMENT – WEIGHTING & EXPECTATIONS

All assessments are compulsory:

• Completing tutorials 10% of year mark

(2% per tutorial)

• Mid-Year Test (MCQs) 15% of year mark

• Term 3 Assessment 15% of year mark

• Final Exam 60% of year mark

Further information on the content and structure of assessments will be provided by the
lecturers, affording you sufficient time to prepare.

ABOUT THE COURSE

Administrative law is concerned with the exercise of public power. The reach of
administrative law is vast and of everyday importance for us all. Examples of the exercise of
public power include decisions on the award of government tenders, whether a soccer player
may play in the National Soccer League, the rights of people to use their land for particular
purposes, the issuing of liquor licenses permitting the sale of alcohol at certain premises, and
decisions to develop and implement public policy.

This course deals primarily with the role of the courts in regulating the exercise of public
powers or functions, whether performed by public or private bodies. After a general
introduction and an overview of administrative law, the course focuses on the sources, types
and extent of administrative power, and the scope of judicial review (both in theory and
practice) in South Africa. The remainder of the course focuses mainly on the grounds of
review which have been developed by the courts, most of which are found in s 6 of the
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.

The overall objectives of the course are to:

• critically reflect on the role and development of administrative law in South Africa,
including the impact of the Constitution and the PAJA;

• investigate the role of judicial review via the various “pathways” in holding public
power to account;

• explore the scope of reviewable conduct, whether public or private;

• explore the available grounds of review under the PAJA and as developed by the
courts;

• examine the public/private interface in administrative law; and

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 • investigate the procedure for judicial review and remedies that may be granted.

To this end, the course seeks to equip you with:

• the relevant legal knowledge in this field; and

• skills development (critical-thinking, problem-solving, legal analysis, research and

writing).

This is a conceptually stimulating and practically oriented course. By the end of it, you will
have a working understanding of the key concepts in administrative law and have developed
problem-solving skills in this important field! Be mindful of the fact that this is a “scaffolded
course” in the sense that the different parts of the course build on each other – so do not be
overwhelmed – the pieces will eventually fit together!