Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa 2015. Article: African Customary Law in South Africa. by Keith Gregory Logan | Feb 4, 2017 | Uncategorized. CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW Unwritten: Their law was not recorded in written legal sources (i.e. 11 of 2009: Reform of Customary Law of Succession and Regulation of Related Matters Act, 2009. See also Chuma Himonga “Taking Stock of changes to customary law in a New South Africa” in Dr G Glover (ed) Essays in Honour of AJ Kerr LexisNexis Butterworths (2006) 215. I drew some key conclusions on the meaning and relevance of African customary law. As a constitutionally protected cultural heritage, customary law now enjoys a status equal to that of Roman-Dutch law. 1-24. 1.3 Main features of customary law: chapter two of Customary Law and The New Millennium. 2019: Amendments to the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act are officially signed into law, giving women in monogamous or polygamous customary marriages in South Africa equal propriety rights over marital property. legal systems, including the South African civil law, which, until very recently, perceived domestic violence as a 'private' issue between spouses which did not merit legal intervention.12 The aim of this study is therefore to survey the rules of customary law13 in AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW: AN INTRODUCTION AFRICAN CUSTOMARY LAW: AN INTRODUCTION Dr. Peter Onyango (Dip, BA, BA, LIC, PHD) Published by LawAfrica Publishing (U) Ltd Office Suite No. The official version of customary law is found in statutes, law reports, the South African Law Reform Commission, Textbooks, University lectures and other public documents. On StuDocu you find all the study guides, past exams and lecture notes for this course Cases. South Africa 29 July 2019 - 12:49 By Unathi Nkanjeni A new law ends gender-based discrimination in monogamous and polygamous marriages entered into before 1998. 2012. South Africa. 33, No. The definition that was given to customary law by Western jurist is not the proper definition. With the advent of colonialism in Africa in the middle of the nineteenth century, customary law gradually lost its primacy to the European-style legal systems and laws brought by the colonizing nations. Note that, the imposed colonial laws generally in Africa – Roman Dutch law in South Africa, Civil law in French Africa and Common law in Common law Africa are considered to be part of the problems in African … It isn't subject to general legislation. 1.4 Place of customary law in our legal system (Mthembu, Alexkor and Bhe cases). South Africa's Constitution protects customary law. While common law usually refers to judge-made law, it is used in the article to refer to the body of law that draws its values from Roman law, Roman-Dutch law and English law in the form of both legislation and precedent. and laws of the customary law of intestate succession prevailing in the Kingdom of Swaziland. This was the first time a South African court had to consider the extinguishment of indigenous or customary rights. Customary law in South Africa does not emphasize on age as a primary requirement before the union, but RCMA needs the involved partners to have a minimum of 18 years. Categories of law. The According to customary law, no specific age requirement exists; however, the RCMA includes a minimum age requirement of 18. South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans (often termed African Customary Law, of which there are many variations depending on the tribal origin). South Africa's law is sourced from (1) statutory law made by the legislative body (the most important of which is of course the Constitution), (2) common law (this includes the Roman-Dutch 'old authorities' and judicial precedent gleaned from case law), (3) African customary law, and (4) foreign and international law. 3. Box 6198 Kampala, Uganda Phone: +256 41 255808 Fax: +256 41 347743 LawAfrica Publishing (K) Ltd Co-op Trust Plaza, 1st … Kenya’s section 2(5), on the other hand, is ambiguous as to whether customary international law applies and, if it does, whether it takes precedence over domestic statutes. Finally, chapter 6 brings the thesis to a meaningful end, by criticizing the approaches adopted by the countries of South Africa, Ghana and Swaziland in improving the rights of women as far as the customary law of intestate succession is concerned. Studying IND2601 African Customary Law at University of South Africa? The position of customary law in the South African legal system has been much improved since the enactment of the new Constitution. Tags: Customary law, South Africa--Transkei, South Africa. Customary law in post-apartheid South Africa: constitutional confrontations in culture, gender and ‘living law’. Legal pluralism is a key feature of African legal systems. South African Journal on Human Rights: Vol. Customary divorces in South Africa: what women need to know The South African Law Commission has begun to investigate customary laws to recommend changes to bring customary law in line with the Constitution. 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