Customary Law in South Africa

Product Details:
Author(s):
Bennett, TW
Year Published:
2004
Edition
1st Edition
Type:
Print | Soft Cover
Language:
English
About this publication
The position of customary law in the South African legal system has been much improved since the enactment of the new Constitution. As a constitutionally protected cultural heritage, customary law now enjoys a status equal to that of Roman-Dutch law. By drawing on a range of materials, both legal and anthropological, from South Africa and elsewhere in Africa, this book provides a comprehensive account of the major branches of customary law: marriage, divorce, succession, children, courts and procedures, traditional leadership, land tenure and the conflict of laws. Constant reference is made to the tensions generated by conflict between the Bill of Rights and the African legal tradition.  The book also explores the complex nature of customary law, which exists in oral traditions, in codes, precedents and academic texts and, above all, in the system of living norms that regulate the everyday lives of the great majority of South Africans.
Content
Concepts and theory
Recognition, ascertainment and application
The right to culture and constitution
Traditional leaders
Courts
Procedure
The family
Marriage
Consequences of marriage
Children
Succession
Land tenure
Interest / Benefit to
Justice officials
Students
Academics
Legal practitioners
Libraries
Family law advisers