Exam Revision

All Leaning units will be examined

 Notes:
• All recordings can be found in the bottom right corner, just click on the
audio and it will start playing.
• Your exam will be 120 Marks, and might take a bit longer then what you
expect.
• All learning units will be assessed.
• Remember to reference and paraphrase all your work in the exam.
 What will be contained in your exam:
• Multiple Choice questions, true and false with justification;
• Match the column questions
• Short questions that contain:
• Definitions, explanations, comparisons, descriptions and differentiating;
• Short to medium paragraphs
• NO essay questions will be examined.
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• Attorneys are legal practitioners that form part of the legal
profession, which option best describes them?
• A) They are specialized litigators.
• B) They work with the public and are known as general legal practitioners
that deal with board areas of law.
• C) They must be over the age of 21 and often specialize in conveyancing.
Correct Answer:
B
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• South Africa has a unique legal system that has been developed over
various periods, it may best be described as?
• A) Uncodified and hybrid system.
• B) Criminal and civil law systems, which are uncodified.
• C) Hybrid system with customary law. Correct answer:
D
• D) Codified and Hybrid system.
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• Which is a sub-category of procedural law?
• A) The Law of Persons and Family
• B) Public Law
Correct answer:
• C) Interpretation of statues C

• D) All of the above

 Multiple Choice Questions:
• Who was the first jurist to use the terms Roman-Dutch in their work?
• A) Simone Van Leeuwen
• B) Johannes Voet
Correct Answer
• C) Hugo De Groot A

• D) Simon van der Merwe

 Multiple Choice Questions:
• What makes up South African Common law?
• A) Customary Law
• B) Roman Law Correct Answer
D
• C) Legislation
• D) Roman -Dutch Law and English Law
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• A Branch of private law includes?
• A) Constitutional Law
• B) The Law of Criminal Procedure Correct Answer
D
• C) The Law of Civil Procedure
• D) The Law of Intellectual Property
• E) The Law of Administration
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• "This Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy in South Africa. It
enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the
democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom'. Which
section of the Constitution is this provided in?
• A) Section 7(2) of the Constitution Correct answer
D
• B) Section 36 of the Constitution
• C) Section 8(1) of the Constitution
• D) Section 7(1) of the Constitution
 Multiple Choice Questions:
• The Law of Succession deals with which one of the following?
• A) Trade Marks and Patents
• B) Wills and deceased estates
Correct Answer
• C) Divorce cases B

• D) Human right violations

 Multiple Choice Questions:
• The words demos and kratos mean?
• A) The rule of the people
• B) Precedent case Correct Answer
A
• C) Legal reasoning
• D) At face value
 True or False:
• Presiding officer is a judge or magistrate hearing a particular case.

True, judges can be referred to as presiding

officers
 True or False:
• Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, 1996 states that the government must respect, protect,
promote and fulfil the rights contained in the Bill of Rights.

False, section 7(2) of the Constitution states this

 True or False:
• A person in South Africa can be admitted as an advocate at the age of
18.

False, according to Admission of Advocates Act a person must be over 21 years old to become
an advocate
 True or False:
• Roman Law was codified for the first time in the Law of the Twelve
Tables.

True, the first codification of Roman Law was found in the Twelve Tables
 Identify and explain Justinian’s
codification of law. (10 Marks)
• Justinian’s codification codified Roman law, as this was know as, the
Corpus Iuris Civilis, which was made up of the following:
• Institutiones – Textbooks provided to law students to simplify the law;
• Digesta – The codification of writings and opinions of jurists who wrote
on Roman Law;
• Codex – The collection of imperial legislation; and
• Novellae – New Legislation passed by Justinian.
 Explain the difference between
substantive and procedural law (8):
Substantive Law:
• Substantive law is the written and
unwritten law of a country that defines
the legal relationships between people,
as well as between people and the state.
• Substantive law in turn can be divided
into two main branches which is public
law and private law.
Procedural Law:
• Procedural law, which is sometimes also referred
to as adjectival law, deals broadly with the rules
according to which a court hears legal proceedings
and what happens in these proceedings.
• Sub-categories of procedural law: The law of
evidence
• The law of criminal procedure; the law of civil
procedure; and the law of interpretation of
statutes.
Explain what is meant by Mediation: (5)
• Mediation is a consensus-based approach where the parties to a
dispute involve a neutral or acceptable third party, the mediator, to
assist them in resolving the dispute.
• In doing so, the parties hope to arrive at a mutually acceptable and
binding solution. Mediation is also sometimes referred to as
conciliation.
• The mediator should be an independent, mutually accepted third party
who will listen to both sides of the case and then make proposals or
recommendations on how the dispute could be resolved.
 List the requirements to become an Advocate in South
Africa with reference to relevant authority (6):

• In terms of the Admission of Advocates Act 74 of 1964, a person could not

be admitted as an advocate unless:
• she is over the age of 21 years and is a fit and proper person
• she is duly qualified with an LLB degree or equivalent
• she is a South African citizen or a lawful permanent resident of South Africa
who is ordinarily resident in South Africa
• in the case of an attorney, her name has been removed from be roll of
attorneys on her own application.
 List the factors that determine
effectiveness of the law (10):
• Public awareness, understanding and acceptance of the law;
• Enforcement of the law;
• Consistency in the law;
• Clarity in the drafting of law; and
• Changes and stability in the law.
 Identify and Contrast the different types
of administrative law (10):
General Administrative law:
• This type of law applies to the whole of the
government administration in South Africa.
It sets out all the rules and principles that
must be followed by organs of state and their
administrators when they make a decision
that affects peoples rights. It also sets out the
remedies, or assistance and applicable
procedures for people whose rights have
been affected by administrative decisions.
Particular Administrative
Law:
• This kind of law governs a specific area of
the administration. For example, when you
apply for a passport or birth certificate, a
particular statute or law gives a specific
administrator or administration the power to
act. This specific law forms part of particular
administrative law and will give the official
in the Department of Home Affairs the
power to issue a passport or birth certificate.
 Explain what it means to be a fit and
proper person (8):
According to Magda Slabbert:
• The requirement of being considered a “fit and proper" person is neither
defined nor described in legislation, despite the fact that it is a stringent
requirement.
• Since the beginning of time, the law has been considered a noble
profession and only certain people have been allowed to practise.
• The “fit and proper" person test does not succeed in keeping unwanted
elements out of the legal profession. It is also no guarantee of moral
goodness...it is a means of screening prospective lawyers..." .
 Identify the categories of human rights
(6):
Human rights have been traditionally classified into the following three
categories:
1. first generation rights (also known as Civil and Political Rights)
2. second generation rights (also known as socio-economic rights)
3. third generation rights (also known as environmental rights).
 Identify and discuss the characteristics of
South African Law (8):
• Hybrid Legal System:
• South Africa has a plural legal system. Legal pluralism arises when there are many valid
legal systems operating in the same country.
• In South Africa, the customary law of the indigenous inhabitants continued to exist alongside
the hybrid common law legal system that was developing in South Africa.
• Codification:
• South Africa has an uncodified legal system.
• That means the laws that make up the South African legal system are not contained in a
single collection of laws, or a legal code.
• Lawyers use many different legal sources to find the rules that apply to a particular case.
 With reference to relevant authority
explain limitation of rights (8):
• All rights may be restricted or limited in terms of s36 of the Constitution, this
section is also referred to as the limitations clause.
• Section 36 of the Constitution states that all rights in the Bill of Rights may
be limited if the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open democratic
society that values are based off of human dignity, equality and freedom.
• An example is a person’s right to freedom may be limited when they are sent
to prison for committing a crime.
• The right to life cannot be limited because it is absolute.
 Contrast natural law and legal positivism
(6):
Natural Law:
• People see Natural law as being made
up of universal and eternal norms, or
acceptable standards of behavior, that
arise from humankind's reason.
• There are unchanging principles of law
that define what is right, just, and good
(these principles should govern our
actions).
Legal positivism:
• Positivists rely on the written law as the
only authority.
• Positivists also state that, in a legal dispute,
it does not matter if a certain act is right or
wrong. The issue in a legal dispute is
whether the law says it is right or wrong.
• Therefore, legal authority must come from
written law and not other sources such as
morality or religion.
 Explain jurisdiction with reference to the
choosing the right courts (10):
• South Africa only deal with cases of a specific or specialised nature, for example, appeal matters (the
Supreme Court of Appeal) or labour disputes (the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Courts).
• However, there are certain other courts that can deal with a variety, or different types, of matters,
such as the High Court of South and the Magistrates' Courts.
• These courts are not limited to certain types of matters but some courts are limited in their jurisdiction
either with regard to the value of the claim and the nature of the claim (in civil matters) or the type of
offence (in criminal maters).
• Identifying the correct court is one of the most important decisions a legal practitioner has to take
when dealing with a case.
• If the wrong court is chosen, the court will not have jurisdiction.
• The opponent can raise the court's lack of jurisdiction as part of a special plea, without having to deal
with the merits of the plaintiff's claim.
 With reference to relevant authority,
provide the values of the Constitution (10):
• Section 1 of the Constitution states that South Africa is a sovereign, or
independent democratic state established on the following values:
• human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human
rights and freedoms
• non-racialism and non-sexism
• supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law
• universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular elections and
a multi- party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability,
responsiveness and openness.
 Discuss the period of the Dominate in
terms of Roman Law (6):
• During this period, Rome became a military dictatorship.
• Emperor Diocletian replaced the Principate with a form of absolute monarchy called the
Dominate.
• The Roman Empire was challenged by barbarian invasions, civil war and economic
crises.
• The legal system suffered as the emperor became a dictatorship.
• The emperors created a new body of law in the form of leges (laws) and consitutiones
(regulations)
• Although there was a new body of law, it was of a poor quality.
 Explain the role of the Director of Public
Prosecution as a state legal representative (5):
• The office of the director of public prosecution is responsible for criminal
prosecutions by the state in each province.
• It is responsible for decisions as to whether or not the state will or will not
prosecute in a specific manner, and for carrying out any functions
connected to instituting and conducting criminal prosecutions.
• Section 179 of the Constitution establishes a single National Prosecuting
authority (NPA), as well as Directors of Public Prosecution.
 Discuss Germanic Law (5):
• During the Dark Middle Ages, most of Europe was populated by
Germanic tribes.
• The Germanic tribes were exposed to Roman law during the period of the
Roman Empire.
• In the personal lives, however, the Germanic tribes used their own
customary law – based on unwritten customs.
• To a large extent, Germanic customary law replaced Roman law in
Europe.
List the Hierarchy of courts in South Africa,
with reference to relevant authority (12):
Section 166 of the Constitution outlines and explains the court structure or judicial system in South
Africa, as follows:
1. Constitutional Court
2. Supreme Court of Appeal
3. High Court of South Africa and any High Court of Appeal that may be established by an Act of
Parliament to hear appeals from any court of a status similar to the High Court of South Africa
4. Magistrates' Courts
5. Other courts - any other court established or recognised in terms of an Act of Parliament,
including any court of a status similar to either the High Court of South Africa or the
Magistrates' Courts - recognised or established in terms of an Act of Parliament.
 Identify and discuss the principles of the
Constitution (10):
• Cooperative government:
Chapter 3 of our Constitution states that all spheres of government and organs of state within these spheres must
preserve peace and unity of South Africa.
• Separation of powers:
This principle does not imply that there should be a too rigid separation between the executive, judiciary and legislature.
• Checks and balances:
This ensures that governmental branches are held accountable for their actions.
• Rule of law:
When we talk about the rule of law we mean that the law is supreme and that the government must comply with, or obey,
the law, just as its subjects ought to do.
• Democracy:
This means that everyone is equal before the law of the country.
 Was apartheid’s democracy a real
democracy? (6):
• No, this is because during the apartheid era South Africa law was ruled
under parliamentary sovereignty, this means that parliament was supreme
and they made the law.
• The legislation that was implemented by parliament was discriminatory
and ensured that everyone was treated differently and the courts could not
change nor challenge these laws.
• There was no human rights in the apartheid era meaning that people were
not equal and human dignity and freedom was not respected.
 Explain what is meant by Transformative Constitutionalism
and how this led to the decolonisation of South Africa (10):

• A key feature of the Constitution is that it seeks to transform South Africa from its deeply
divided, unequal past into a society founded on equality, dignity, and freedom. In this sense
the Constitution, unlike many other constitutions, does not seek to maintain a status quo.
The Constitution is an ambitious legal document that aims to change the material
conditions of South African society.
• The Constitution, given its transformative nature, emphatically demands attention to history
and the existing socio-economic context when interpreting and applying its rules.
• Transformative constitutionalism demands that lawyers are aware of how the law does and
can play a role in affecting power relations, access to resources, and human dignity.
• It also demands that lawyers understand that legal reasoning is heavily influenced by a
lawyer’s political and moral convictions, especially when the law is ambiguous or vague.
Distinguish between law and morality (6):
Law:
• Law is a body/system of rules that
regulates conduct and behaviour of
people with in a country.
• Law can be found in legislation,
Constitution, common law, case law, ect.
• If the law is breached people are
punished according the law.
Morality:
• Morality is a natural feeling that
assists a person to distinguish
between right and wrong.
• Morality is often determined by
personal character such as religion,
culture and up bringing.
• Morality is not punishable by law.
 Discuss how Hugo De Groot influenced
modern South African Law (10):
• He made many important intellectual contributions to legal scholarship, political and theological
philosophy, and even wrote poetry.
• He started his studies at the age of 12 at the University of Leiden and was awarded his first
doctorate in law at age 15.
• The Dutch authorities did not approve of De Groot's theological writings and De Groot was
imprisoned.
• While in prison, De Groot wrote a foundational text of Roman-Dutch jurisprudence: Inleidinge tot
de Hollandsche Regsgeleerdbeid.
• The Inleidinge is considered to be the first authoritative, work on Roman-Dutch law.
• The work was enormously influential on the scholarship of other important Roman-Dutch
scholars including Simon van Leeuwen and Simon van Groenewegen van der Made.
 Discuss the concept of a social contract
(10):
• Thomas Hobbes and John Locke first actually formulated it as a formal theory by which people are said to
have abandoned the ‘state of nature’ to form a more organised and just society.
• They assumed that people at first lived in a state where there was no organisation or government.
• The social contract is the hypothesis that human beings, as they came together to live in communities and
society… must reach a common agreement regarding the relationships and responsibilities and rights of
that society’s members.
• It represents an implied contract, agreement or covenant by which individuals are said to have abandoned
their ‘natural state’ and its freedoms to form the more organised society in which they now live.
• The contract should provide room for diverse positions in society; it emerges from a joint decision of rational
individuals.
• The emergence of a social contract amongst individuals who widely differ from one another in terms of
background, religion, culture, customs and habits leads to a well-ordered society, to the well-being of all the
contracting parties and to social justice for all concerned.
 Distinguish between ratio decideni and
obiter dicta (8):
Ratio decideni:
• This is a Latin terms that means the
reason for the decision.
• This is the key factual point or
reasoning used to come to a
conclusion in a final judgement.
• This is often used as a precedent for
other cases and is legal binding.
Obiter dicta:
• This is a Latin term that means ‘which
is said in the passing’.
• This is a legal opinion provided by a
judge which is put into a written
judgement.
• This is usually provided by minority
of the judges and is not legal binding.
Discuss Roman-Dutch Law in the Cape of
Good Hope (5):
• In 1652, the VOC sent Jan van Riebeeck to the Cape to establish a
Dutch settlement.
• Van Riebeeck planted a vegetable garden to serve as a refreshment
station for Dutch ships sailing between Holland and the East. More
Dutch settlers followed.
• The VOC was registered in Holland and it favoured the use of Roman-
Dutch law to administer the territories that they controlled.
• As a result, Roman-Dutch law was adopted at the Cape of Good Hope.
With reference to relevant authority, explain
the interpretation of law in South Africa (8):
• Section 39(1) of the Constitution is the interpretation clause which provides:
• When interpreting and developing common law and customary law in South
Africa the courts, tribunal or forum must:
• (a) must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society
based on human dignity, equality and freedom;
• (b) must consider international law; and
• (c) may consider foreign law.
 Identify and discuss the elements of a
crime (10):
• unlawful voluntary conduct, which is conduct that lies within a person's control
and which the law regards as being unlawful in nature
• causation, which refers to the fact that the accused's conduct caused the unlawful
consequence, or made it happen
• criminal capacity, which is the accused's ability to understand the difference
between right and wrong and his commission of the act with full knowledge of this
difference
• fault, which refers to the fact that the accused must either have intended the
wrongful conduct, or must negligently have allowed the consequence to occur.
 Provide and discuss the ways in which
ownership may be acquired in South Africa (4):
• original acquisition, which means that you own your property legally,
even if your predecessor did not legally own the property or agree to
transfer the property, and
• derivative acquisition, which means that you may only own your
property legally if your predecessor owned the property legally.
Identify and Discuss the types of Democracy
recognised by the Constitution (9):
• Representative democracy: Citizens vote for individuals or political
parties to speak and act for them in government decisions.
• Participatory democracy: Citizens help government to make decisions,
not only by voting for their representatives, but also in other ways such as
participation in the legislative process.
• Direct democracy: Citizens take part directly in making public decisions
without elected or appointed officials acting as their representatives.
With reference to Authority, provide the categories
of legal practitioners in South Africa (6):
• The Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014 will retain has retained this
distinction.
• Section 34 of the Act refers to three categories of practitioners:
• attorneys
• advocates, who may only act upon receipt of a brief from an attorney
• advocates, who may accept briefs directly from a member of the public
provided that he or she is in possession of a Fidelity Fund certificate and has
notified the Legal Practice Council thereof.
 Discuss the concept of Rule of Law in
terms of the Constitution (5):
• The Constitution has much in common with the rule of law doctrine.
• The values found in section 1 of the Constitution, as well as the various human
rights included in the Bill of Rights (such as the right to equality and human dignity,
as well as access to the courts and a fair trial), all form part of the rule of law
doctrine.
• Also, the Constitution emphasises the importance of the judiciary (the courts) and
its independence from other organs of government, which is fundamental to the
rule of law.
• We can now see that the Constitution gives form to the rule of law doctrine in
several ways.
 Explain what is meant by ethical and
professional conduct (6):
• A practitioner's conduct must, at all times, be ethical and professional.
• As such, legal practitioners are required to maintain the highest standard
of honesty and integrity at all times.
• Legal practitioners are bound to comply with a strict code of ethics.
• If a practitioner does not follow these rules, he may be suspended or
struck of the roll.
 Discuss what happens when a case is
appealed (8):
• When a litigant is unsuccessful in a matter (loses the case) and feels
dissatisfied with the outcome or feels that the court has erred in its decision or
judgment, the litigant might decide to lodge an appeal against that decision.
• This applies to both civil and criminal matters.
• In the court of appeal, the dissatisfied litigant who lodges the appeal is called
the appellant.
• The party in whose favour the decision in the court a quo (from where') went,
and who is therefore the person against whom the appeal is made, is called
the respondent.
Thank you so much!!!