The Union of South Africa was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River colonies. It included the territories that were formerly a part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
Jozua François "Tom" Naudé served as acting state president of South Africa from 1967 to 1968.
Marlene van Niekerk is a South African poet, writer, and academic. She is best known for her novels, the satirical tragicomedy Triomf (1994) and the Hertzog-winning Agaat (2004), which explore themes including the family, the change in power dynamics occasioned by the end of Apartheid, and inequalities of race, gender, and class. Van Niekerk is also an award-winning poet. She writes in her native tongue, Afrikaans, and teaches at Stellenbosch University.
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. These traditions have had a complex interrelationship, with the English influence most apparent in procedural aspects of the legal system and methods of adjudication, and the Roman-Dutch influence most visible in its substantive private law. As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in both criminal and civil procedure, company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman-Dutch common law is followed in the South African contract law, law of delict (tort), law of persons, law of things, family law, etc. With the commencement in 1994 of the interim Constitution, and in 1997 its replacement, the final Constitution, another strand has been added to this weave.
The Law Quarterly Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering common law throughout the world. It was established in 1885 and is published by Sweet & Maxwell. It is one of the leading law journals in the United Kingdom.
Rowland Edmund Prothero, 1st Baron Ernle, was a British agricultural expert, administrator, journalist, author and Conservative politician. He played first-class cricket between 1875 and 1883.
The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the Western Cape province of South Africa. The division, which sits at Cape Town, consists of 31 judges led by Acting Judge President Patricia Goliath, former Acting Constitutional Court Justice.
The Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science (S2A3 or S2A3) is a learned society, originally known as the South African Association for the Advancement of Science (SAAAS). Established in 1902, its principal aim is to increase the public awareness and understanding of science, engineering and technology, and their role in society, by means of various awards and by communicating the nature, processes, ethics, and excitement of science. Membership is open to all.
Professor Barend van Niekerk was a South African acclaimed jurist, a campaigning legal academic and a prominent human rights and anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1970s and early 1980s. This "maverick law professor" was prosecuted twice by the South African state prosecutor and privately sued once, all such actions being based on his supposed contempt of court. He was indeed a fearless critic of the apartheid legal system, in particular of the judiciary's racial bias in setting death penalties, but also of imprisonment, torture and solitary confinement; freedom of speech; and the role of the judiciary.
The Academy was a review of literature and general topics published in London from 1869 to 1915, with a period from 1902 to 1905 when it was retitled The Academy and Literature. It was founded by Charles Appleton.
Graham Glover is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Rhodes University and the youngest-ever editor of the South African Law Journal. He teaches courses in the law of contract, sale, insurance, unjustified enrichment and also part of a course on Legal Skills.
Barclays Western Bank Ltd v Pretorius is an important case in South African law, particularly in the area of civil procedure; it was an appeal of Western Bank Ltd v Pretorius.
In Carelse v Estate De Vries, an important case in South African succession law, Carelse was seduced, on the promise of marriage, by the deceased. Carelse and the deceased continued their relationship, which produced seven children, before the deceased died intestate.
In Ex Parte Estate Davies, an important case in South African succession law, the testator bequeathed £2000 in his will to a person who was not named in the will itself, but on a document which was in a sealed envelope given to his attorney. This document was not signed by witnesses.
The Groote Kerk is a Dutch Reformed church in Cape Town, South Africa. The church is South Africa's oldest place of Christian worship. The first church on this land was built in 1678. Willem Adriaan van der Stel laid the cornerstone for the church. It was replaced by the present building in 1841 built by Herman Schuette and the original tower was retained. The pulpit is the work of Anton Anreith and the carpenter Jacob Graaff, and was inaugurated on 29 November 1789. The Groote Kerk lays claim to housing South Africa's largest church organ, which was installed in 1954
Oliver Deneys Schreiner MC KC, was a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa. One of the most renowned South African judges, he was passed over twice for the position of Chief Justice of South Africa for political reasons. He was later described as "the greatest Chief Justice South Africa never had".
James Weston Leonard was an influential politician of South Africa and Attorney-General of the Cape Colony.
Sir Ebenezer John Buchanan was a journalist, politician and judge of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. He was knighted in 1901.
Reginald Percy Basil Davis KC was a South African judge and Judge President of the Cape Provincial Division of the Supreme Court.
R v Smith is a case decided by the Special Court created by the Indemnity and Special Tribunals Act, 1900, sitting in the buildings of the Supreme Court of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. It relates to whether superior orders are an excuse or justification. It has been called a leading case.
