Law Fundamentals and Government Roles

LO1: Understanding the Term "Law"

• Law is a set of rules created by the state to govern societal behavior.
• It forms a social contract ensuring order within society.
• Rules dictate actions; what is required, prohibited, and what others can't do to you.
• Law clarifies duties/obligations and rights.
• Legal rules must be obeyed by all, with potential penalties (fines, imprisonment) for violations.
• Ethical/moral rules are personal, based on beliefs, often religious, and subjective.

LO3: Differentiating Roles of Government Arms

• Legislature/Parliament: The first arm, responsible for creating and overseeing ("holding accountable") government laws.
• The highest law-making body.
• Legislation (system of laws) is the most crucial source, overriding other sources except the constitution.
• Acts/statutes are laws passed by Parliament.
• Correct procedures are necessary for legislation to be enforceable.
• Executive (Cabinet): Implements and develops policies, proposing and enacting laws.
• Led by the country's president, deputy president and various ministers.
• Judiciary (Courts): Upholds the law, handles cases, and delivers justice.

LO4: Natural vs. Juristic Persons

• Natural persons: Human beings.
• Juristic persons: Artificial entities (companies, universities, municipalities, state) with legal rights and responsibilities.
• Juristic persons have legal standing despite their lack of physical existence.
• Companies have a separate legal existence from their directors and members.

LO6&8: Sources of South African Law

• Legislation: Laws made by Parliament, overriding most other sources (except Constitution)
• Constitution (1996): Highest law, supreme source.
• Common Law: A body of law developed over time, influenced by European cultures and South African court decisions. Includes methods of development and adaptation.
• Case Law (Judicial Precedent): Law based on court decisions, binding on lower courts. Developed through judgments, statutory interpretations and resolving ambiguity.
• Customary Law: Unwritten traditions, fixed practices; proof often required for legal standing, with criteria including its antiquity, reasonableness, continuation, and clarity.
• Foreign Law: Used by South African courts in cases with no specific South African precedent.
• International Law: Derived from treaties and international organizations.
• Trade Practices and Customs: Established methods that have become customary law over time.
• Academic Textbooks & Journals: Useful sources but not legally binding.

LO9: Civil vs. Criminal Cases

• Civil Cases: Disputes between individuals; aiming to determine liability.
• Criminal Cases: Person(s) accused of a crime against the state; aiming to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
• Civil cases (outcomes): Damages or costs orders.
• Criminal cases (outcomes): Punishment like imprisonment.

LO10: Superior vs. Inferior Courts

• Court Jurisdiction: Area of power over cases/geographical regions, types of cases, maximum sentences.
• Inferior Courts: Handle less serious cases, smaller jurisdictional areas. E.g., Small Claims (under R15,000), Chiefs'/Headmen's (customary law) , Magistrates (civil/criminal). Magistrates Courts have limitations. Superior courts have broader jurisdiction, and are legally binding.
• Superior Courts: Most significant courts, create binding precedents. E.g., High Courts, Supreme Court of Appeal, Constitutional Court (interpret, protect, enforce Constitution; and limited non-constitutional jurisdiction).

LO13: Ratio Decidendi

• Ratio decidendi: The legal principle behind a court's decision; the binding part of a judgment.
• Used by lawyers to support arguments in future similar cases.

LO15: Divisions of South African National Law

• Public Law: Governed relationships between the government and citizens (constitutional, administrative, criminal law).
• Private Law (Civil Law): Regulates relations among individuals, citizens.
• Procedural Law: Rules for enforcing legal rules, steps for resolving disputes.

LO16: Trial vs. Application Procedure

• Trial Procedure: Used when facts are disputed in court through formal questioning.
• Application Procedure: Used when facts aren't in dispute, arguments are made through sworn statements (affidavits).

LO17: Appeals vs. Reviews

• Appeal: Higher court revises a lower court's decision on legal errors.
• Review: Higher court examines the proceedings' fairness and legality, not the case's merits.

LO18: Statutory Interpretation

• Interpreting statutes: Determining a statute's purpose and application details.
• Literal Approach (Text-based): Emphasis on the ordinary/grammatical meaning of words; used when the law is clear.
• Functional Approach: Considering purpose and function within a broader context.
• Historic Approach: Historical situation from which a law was created.
• Purposive Approach (Contextual): Considering social/policy context to find the law's intent.

LO20: Impact of Constitution on Statutory Interpretation

• Statutory Interpretation Tools: Legal aids (internal/external) used to apply a statute to a situation, considering the statute's: title, date of enactment, purpose section, definitions, provisions.
• Using aids like the Constitution greatly impacts how statutes are understood and applied.