This course explains the law of South Africa, not US law. Rules that look the same elsewhere may be different.
Course · Law by country · South Africa
South African Law
The law of South Africa for the people who deal with it: a mixed system of Roman-Dutch, English and customary law under the supreme Constitution of 1996, the three spheres of government, the courts and the Constitutional Court, the Bill of Rights and equality, contract, delict and land law, family law and customary marriage, business, employment and tax, and criminal justice, the environment and international law.
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South Africa has one of the most distinctive legal systems in the world. Its private law is Roman-Dutch, English law shaped its procedure and commerce, and African customary law has always governed the lives of many of its people. For most of the twentieth century the law was used to build segregation and apartheid, and in 1994 and 1996 the country replaced that order with a constitutional democracy founded on human dignity, equality and the rule of law. The Constitution of 1996 is the supreme law: every statute, every rule of the common law and every act of government must conform to it, and the Constitutional Court enforces it. This course gives a complete first map for the people who deal with South African law, from the point of view of the foreigner. It starts with the history, the Constitution, the sources and the mixed system; then the President, Parliament and the independent institutions; then the three spheres of government and customary law; then the courts and the legal professions; then the Bill of Rights, citizenship and administrative justice; then contract, delict, land, family and succession; then business, employment and tax; and finally criminal justice, the environment, digital law and international law. It uses invented people and businesses, and three working tools.
The Curriculum
Foundations of South African law: Roman-Dutch heritage, British influence, apartheid and constitutional transformation, the Constitution as supreme law, sources and hierarchy of law, and a mixed legal system→
History, apartheid and the transformation, constitutional supremacy, sources and hierarchy, and a mixed legal system. Practice: Which Source, Which Rule Prevails and Spot the Mistake.
The Constitution and national institutions: the President and the Cabinet, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, lawmaking, the separation of powers and elections→
The presidency, Parliament, lawmaking, the separation of powers and elections. Practice: Who Does What, Apply the Rule and Spot the Mistake.
Provinces, local government and customary law: the three spheres of government, provincial and municipal powers, traditional leadership, living customary law and the boundaries of legal pluralism→
The three spheres of government, provinces, municipalities, traditional leadership, customary law and legal pluralism. Practice: Which Sphere, Which Law and Spot the Mistake.
Courts and the legal professions: judicial independence, the court hierarchy, the Constitutional Court, specialised courts, attorneys and advocates, prosecutors, notaries and conveyancers, and the path to practise→
The judiciary, the court hierarchy, specialised courts and the legal professions. Practice: Which Court, Who May Act and Spot the Mistake.
The Bill of Rights, citizenship and administrative law: equality, expression, religion and privacy, citizenship and immigration, just administrative action and constitutional litigation→
The Bill of Rights, equality, expression and religion, citizenship and immigration, administrative justice and constitutional litigation. Practice: Person or Citizen, Which Route and Spot the Mistake.
Contract, delict, property, family and succession: the common law of contract and its remedies, the law of delict, land and land reform, marriage and divorce, and wills and estates→
Contract and remedies, delict, land and land reform, family law and succession. Practice: Which Law Governs, What Is the Advice and Spot the Mistake.
Business, employment and tax: the Companies Act, foreign investment and regulation, consumer and competition law, employment contracts, dismissal and the CCMA, and taxation→
Company forms and duties, foreign investment and exchange control, B-BBEE, competition, employment and dismissal, and taxation. Practice: Which Authority, What Is the Advice and Spot the Mistake.
Criminal justice, the environment, digital law and international law: criminal law and procedure, trials and sentencing, natural resources, intellectual property and data protection, arbitration, foreign judgments and treaties→
Criminal law and procedure, sentencing, the environment, intellectual property and data protection, and international law. Practice: Which Route, What Is the Advice and Spot the Mistake.
Capstone: Capstone: Samuel Osei and the Cape Town software studio→
A studio in Cape Town, a visa, a company form, a flat bought on an oral agreement, a dismissal, and a customary marriage and a will. Choose the route, the form, the forum and the remedy.
What It Covers
“You will be able to say, for any problem you may have in South Africa, which rule applies (including whether the common law, a statute or customary law governs it and how the Constitution changes it), which court or body decides it, which time limit runs and which professional you need.”
- Written for the foreigner and honest about South Africa’s mixed order: it explains Roman-Dutch, English and customary law, apartheid’s legacy and transformative constitutionalism instead of treating South Africa as a plain common-law country, and follows the questions a visitor, resident, employee, family or business actually has.
- Teaches the structure behind the rules, so that a student who knows how the Constitution, the common law, statutes and the courts fit together can read any new rule and compare South African law with other mixed and civil-law systems.
- Three tools with invented facts: a Residence Status Finder, an Entity Chooser and a Court and Forum Finder, each showing how the answer changes when a fact does.
- Honest about limits: it teaches durable provisions, flags where rules change quickly (visa categories, exchange control, B-BBEE, labour and tax rules, recent statutes) and does not state changing figures. It is general education, not advice.
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The Client Conversation$15 →Trust, the first meeting, fees and scope, updates in plain words, advice and decisions, bad news, boundaries and ethics, with practice meetings.Module 1 is free to try. Sign in, pass each module quiz and the course average, and your Certificate of Completion is emailed to you automatically. This course teaches method and technique with invented people and figures; it is general education, not legal advice, and professional rules differ from country to country.
Common questions
- Is South Africa a common-law or a civil-law country?
- Neither alone. Its private law is Roman-Dutch (a civilian tradition), its procedure and commercial law owe much to English law, it follows precedent, and customary law is a source of law in its own right. All of it sits under the supreme Constitution of 1996.
- Is South Africa a federation?
- No. It is a unitary state with three spheres of government, national, provincial and local, each with its own powers. The National Council of Provinces gives the provinces a voice in national lawmaking.
- Is it for people who want to practise South African law?
- No. It is a first course for the people who deal with South African law. Only a South African attorney or advocate can advise on South African law and act in court, and the course says when you need one.
- Are the tools real data?
- No. The tools apply well-known rules in simplified form to invented facts. They show the structure of the answer and cannot decide a case.
- Does it give the current rule on every point?
- It teaches the provisions that have lasted. Visa categories, exchange control, empowerment rules, labour and tax measures and recent statutes change, so check the current text for any real matter.
- How do I get the Certificate of Completion?
- Sign in, pass each module quiz and keep a course average of at least 75. The certificate is then issued and emailed to you automatically.
This course was written on 5 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of South Africa as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.
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