Masters Degrees (Private Law)

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 30
  • Item
    Mediation and rule 41A : developing an appropriate court-annexed mediation framework
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Opperman, Emile Willem; Broodryk, Theo; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This dissertation is concerned with Rule 41A of the Rules Regulating the Conduct of the Proceedings of the Several Provincial and Local Divisions of the High Court of South Africa (“High Court Rules”) which recently introduced mediation as a preliminary step in the high court litigation process. Specifically, the focus is on critiquing Rule 41A, as it does not provide a proper framework for court-annexed mediation in its current form.
  • Item
    A child’s right to basic education during the Covid-19 pandemic : a comparative analysis and evaluation of the impact of Covid-19 on the South African education system, and the effectiveness of the nation’s legal response in protecting a child’s right to education
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Padachey, Denisha; Human, Sonia; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : It has long been accepted that a child’s right to education is of vital importance as it not only enables them to participate and function in society but enables the realisation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the education sector faced numerous disruptions and learners were prevented from physically accessing their schools. The Covid-19 pandemic and the ways in which jurisdictions were forced to respond had and continues to have severe impacts in terms of the existing and new forms of inequalities in relation to children and their right to education. The focus of this thesis is therefore a child’s right to basic education in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with specific reference to the South African situation. This research thus aims to identify whether the legal responses in terms of the legislation, policies, regulations and mechanisms which have been introduced and implemented in South Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic, protected a child’s right to education or hindered the realisation a child’s right to education. It is argued that a one-size fits all solution cannot apply in situations of emergency such as the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis therefore unpacks each respective nations obligations in respect of the right to education, as well as the status of education and educational attainment in each jurisdiction prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, in order to determine how a child’s right to education has been impacted and whether the legal responses introduced were effective and protected a child’s right to education, this thesis shall make use of a comparative analysis approach wherein the situation in South Africa shall be compared to that of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Italy and Nigeria. This will be done by analysing the legal responses of each jurisdiction utilising the 4 ‘A’ approach, and taking into consideration their national, regional and international obligations in respect of a child’s right to education. This research further explores whether the legal responses and mechanisms implemented in other jurisdictions are flexible and whether they can be successfully implemented in South Africa. Finally this thesis sets out recommendations in order to respond to the challenges which arose and continue to arise in education due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent legal responses.
  • Item
    Determining the consequences of illegal contracts
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Botha, Ferdinand Marthinus; Du Plessis, Jacques; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the consequences of illegal contracts from a comparative perspective. Illegality usually raises two questions: to what extent may the contract still be enforced and under what circumstances may a plaintiff recover a performance rendered under the contract. When confronted with these questions, South African courts typically resort to constructs such as the maxims ex turpi causa non oritur actio and in pari delicto potior est conditio defendentis. These maxims respectively express the propositions that an illegal contract may not be enforced and that a plaintiff who is tainted by illegality may not obtain restitution of any performance rendered under the contract. The problem with these maxims is that they tend to divert attention away from other policy considerations that may also be important. In addition, it is not clear why South African courts find illegal contracts to be void in some cases and valid but unenforceable in others. In search of a more convincing approach to illegal contracts, the thesis therefore investigates how foreign jurisdictions determine the consequences of illegality. The comparative overview reveals that foreign jurisdictions generally aim to give effect to the same kind of policies when determining the consequences of illegality, although they employ different methods. Some apply strict rules with a limited number of exceptions while others give courts a discretion to determine the consequences in a particular case with reference to a list of policy considerations. These policy considerations are studied in more detail by analysing three particularly challenging scenarios from a comparative perspective – illegal consumer loans, illegal employment contracts and illegal work performed by contractors in the construction industry. From these analyses the thesis concludes by developing several claims. The first claim is that the solution to any illegality problem ultimately amounts to a balancing of various factors, irrespective of whether the illegality derives from legislation or public policy. Second, it is argued that the most satisfactory method for determining the consequences of illegal contracts is to give courts a discretion that must be exercised with reference to a range of policy considerations. And finally, it is concluded that South Africa should discard references to the ex turpi and par delictum maxims and adopt a more flexible approach to determining the consequences of illegality.
  • Item
    Realising children’s right to participation during the divorce proceedings of parents
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Prinsloo, Marli; Human, Sonia; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: To a child, the divorce of his or her parents is a traumatic and life-altering event. The divorce of parents and the proceedings related thereto have the potential to determine how various aspects of a child’s life, such as where they will live and go to school or how often they will have contact with the parent with whom they do not live, will develop. Based hereupon it is safe to say that a child’s parents’ divorce and related proceedings can greatly affect a child. In terms of article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 4(2) of the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as sections 10 and 31(1) of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, a child, who is capable to do so, has the right to participate in matters that affect him or her by sharing his or her views and having these views considered. Despite having a clear and well-established right to participate in a matter that so deeply affects them, a child’s right to participate in their parents’ divorce related proceedings is often not realised. This thesis will evaluate the various methods of representation and direct participation employed to give effect to the child’s right to participation to determine to what extent the child’s right to participation is being realised or not realised. It is generally accepted that litigation is not the ideal way in which to resolve divorce and related proceedings, especially when children are involved. This thesis attempts to determine whether family mediation as model is better suited to realise a child’s right to participation in this particular context. It does so be placing family mediation as a model in contrast with the traditional legal processes that go hand in hand with divorce related litigation. To achieve the abovementioned, a model of measuring children’s participation is proposed. The proposed model highlights the shortcomings as well as the positive aspects of the various methods of children’s participation in South Africa. This exercise is repeated in the context of Australian divorce related proceedings in an attempt to compare and contrast the two jurisdictions. Finally, the model is also employed to measure mediation as a model to realise a child’s right to participation, in aid of determining whether mediation as a model is better suited to realise a child’s right to participation in his or her parents’ divorce related matters.
  • Item
    A comparative analysis of the content of parental responsibilities and rights during the "sex alteration decisionmaking process" of intersexed infants
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Thompson, Sabrina; Mills, L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Dept. of Private Law.
    Thesis (LLM)--Stellenbosch University, 2021.