ILW1501

• In an effort to make the law relevant to your everyday life, we have used real-life situations as a starting point for our discussions and in the activities.
• After you have completed this module, you will appreciate the place of the law within society and you will be able to find the law with full knowledge of the hierarchy of sources and authority.
• Learning units in the study guide

  • Learning unit 1: What is "law"?
  • Learning unit 2: Law and rights
  • Learning unit 3: The story of our law
  • Learning unit 4: Families of law or legal cultures
  • Learning unit 5: Divisions of law
  • Learning unit 6: Where to find the law
  • Learning unit 7: The Constitution and you
  • Learning unit 8: The Bill of Rights: What are fundamental rights?
  • Learning unit 9: Limitation of your fundamental rights
  • Learning unit 10: The influence of the Constitution on South African law
  • Learning unit 11: The legal profession
  • Learning unit 12: Different legal disputes and the courts
• The module ILW1501 is a semester module. The study material for the module is made up of 12 learning units. Therefore, you will have to divide your study time in such a way that you complete these learning units in one semester, which consists of approximately 15 weeks of study time, if you register early.
• This module consists of 120 notional hours, which you should divide into time for working through the learning units, completing the assignments, participating in the discussions on myUnisa, doing revision and preparing for the examination.
• To assist you in consistently working through the study guide in a structured manner, the lecturers and/or e-tutors will have a weekly discussion on selected issues in each learning unit on the ILW1501 myUnisa module site.
• These content-related discussions are regarded as an important teaching tool in addition to your study guide. We therefore cannot stress enough the importance of active participation in these discussions.
• Law


  A rule or norm governing human behaviour
• The law governs human behaviour/conduct
• All of society should obey the law
• State organs enforce the law
• By ignoring or disobeying the law, we may be prosecuted and punished or we may be ordered to compensate the party we have injured
• Main divisions of South African law

  • Public law
  • Private law
• Public law


  Deals with the relationship between the state and the individual

  
• Private law


  Deals with the relationship between individuals and other individuals

  
• Main divisions of South African law

  • Formal (procedural) law
  • Substantive (material) law
• Formal (procedural) law


  Deals with the procedures that must be followed in legal proceedings
• Substantive (material) law


  Determines the content and meaning of the different legal rules
• Formal justice


  Achieved when formal law meets certain basic requirements and is always applied in exactly the same way
• Basic requirements for formal justice

  • There must be explicit rules laid down to show how people must be treated in specific cases
  • The rules must apply generally (to all people in the same circumstances)
  • The rules must be applied impartially by a legal institution
• Substantive justice


  Achieved when the content and meaning of the legal rules are fair and just
• A legal rule is not necessarily "just"
• The strict application of the law can sometimes lead to injustice rather than justice
• Justice


  Equality before the law
• Formal law


  Rules that govern the way we act in courts, the kinds of evidence that are allowed, and so on. The procedures that must be followed in legal proceedings.
• Formal justice


  • Formal law meets certain basic requirements and is always applied in exactly the same way
• Requirements for formal justice

  • There must be explicit rules laid down to show how people must be treated in specific cases
  • The rules must apply generally to all people in the same circumstances
  • The rules must be applied impartially by a legal institution
• Law


  Governs behaviour/conduct, should be obeyed by all of society, and is enforced by state organs
• By ignoring or disobeying the law we may be prosecuted and punished or ordered to pay compensation for damage or injury
• Two methods used to divide SA law into two main divisions

  • Public law (deals with the relationship between the state and individuals)
  • Private law (deals with the relationship between individuals and other individuals)
• Two main divisions of SA law

  • Formal/Procedural law (deals with the procedures that must be followed in legal proceedings)
  • Substantive/Material law (determines the content & meaning of the different legal rules)
• Normative systems that rule/govern human behaviour

  • The Law (norms which the whole community regards as binding and must be obeyed)
  • Religion (a set of rules in accordance with the people who practice that religion)
  • Individual morality (norms/standards that every individual sets for himself)
  • Community mores (collective morals - norms of a whole community or group within that community)
• Formal Justice


  Deals with the procedures that must be followed in legal proceedings (rules, conduct, evidence)
• Substantive Justice


  Concerns the content of the rule and not the way in which it is applied
• Legal subject


  Anyone who is subject to the norms of the law and who also may be the bearer of rights and duties
• Legal object


  Anything that is of economic value to people (cost, usefulness, scarcity)
• 4 types of rights

  • Real Rights (rights of ownership, rights of pledge, rights of servitude)
  • Personality Rights (rights to parts of one's personality)
  • Intellectual Property Rights (rights related to creations of the human mind)
  • Personal Rights (rights to performance, also called claims)
• The content of a right is limited by the rules of the law
• When a legal subject has a right, the other legal subjects have a duty
• Roman law


  The legal system of the Roman Empire, which became the foundation for Roman-Dutch law