Topic 1 Flashcards

1
Q

why is it important to understand the history of ACL

A
  • social problems have roots in the past

- can’t understand ACL without history of its recognition in SA and development

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what context must ACL be seen in

A

a political context

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What does a political context encompass

A

globalist events like colonialism, human rights movement and the law and development movement

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the socio economic and political context of colonialism

A
  • control of other people. conquering of territory. subjugation of people and theft of their resources
  • moral and cultural legitimacy with political power
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

why is Africa a product of Western Colonialism

A
  • Eu imposed own law and belief of Eurocentric superiority and educational systems
  • dispossessed people of land through terra/ lex nullius
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the law and development movement

A

State laws are eu laws imposed by colonial authorities but adapted to local situations

IAL is subordinated to state laws even tho the predate them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What did the Dutch apply in the Cape in 1652

A

Roman Dutch Law and non -recognition of IAL

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what legitimised british colonization in 1814

A

European superiority from the enlightenment , industrial revolution and a capitalist economic system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

How did britain attempt to deal with native laws at first

A

tried to implement direct rule that was in place from the dutch colony

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

was direct rule successful

A

nope

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is indirect rule

A

policy where natives could control their own affairs separately as long as it did not undermine the colonial administration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

how could native people control their customary law under indirect rule

A

British set up native administrations. courts and treasuries through which customary law was used to ensure native co-operation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what impression did the indirect rule create

A

group autonomy and independence of indigenous people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

To what extent did the British recognize customary law

A

recognized the customs of indigenous people as long as they were not repugnant to the public policy and natural justice

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the effect of the repugnancy clause

A

colonialists decided on the suitability of IAL based on their own imposed values and laws even though they were ignorant of indigenous laws

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

an example of customary law considered repugnant

A

customary marriages and lobolo were considered uncivilised and denied legal validity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

how did Brit/ European judges interpret the IAL

A

they used assessors and then imposed their own law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what effect did the british eu judges have on IAL

A

they ended up changing it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What was the repugnancy clause replaced by in modern times

A

BoR

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What laws were IAL subordinated to under British rule

A

RDL and ECL

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What happened to the indigenous khoisan people under british rule

A

they were systematically destroyed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What was the policy of recognition towards ACL in the cape

A
  • non -recognition
  • only RDL
  • no chief power
  • mag administer justice
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what was the policy towards ACL in Natal

A
  • initially non -recognition but lacked personnel to enforce
  • Shepstone introduced indirect rule
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

why was ACL recognised under british rule

A

for control purposes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what did colonialism ultimately do to IAL

A

altered it

26
Q

In what two ways did colonial rule revolutionise agrarian society

A
  • changed communal rights

- altered the rule of male primogeniture

27
Q

How did colonialism revolutionise rights

A
  • rights and obligations were communal
  • rights dependent on duties
  • colonialism emphasised individual rights
28
Q

what is the rule of male primogeniture

A

Oldest male child in charge of social organisation and economic and agrarian systems of the family group.

Inherited everything but had duty of care to rest of the family.

29
Q

What geographical changes occurred under british colonialism

A
  • railways built destroyed shrines, markets etc.

- brought together disparate cultural communities

30
Q

What was the result of british colonialism

A

new religion
new migrant labour system
decreasing close knit families
individualistic notions of ownership etc.

31
Q

what did colonial rules do to women

A

marginalised women and children by creating dissonance between rules and social settings in which the rules applied

32
Q

How did magistrates courts treat ACL under colonialism

A

ACL was a fact that had to be proved like foreign kaw

33
Q

what was the result of the codification of customary law under colonialism

A
  • EU claimed it provided certainty and uniformity
  • but ossified the law and distorted it
  • origin of OCL and LCL
34
Q

what is legal pluralism

A

the disruption of a legal order in a community or population but also in a social field
- the interaction between IAL and RDL

35
Q

what is IAL

A

precolonial norms that are still observed in their ancient forms

36
Q

what is ACL

A

adaptation of these norms to socio-economic changes brought by colonial rule

37
Q

What did the categorisation of OCL And LCL fail to recognise

A

the profound influence of legal pluralism on the normative behaviour of africans

38
Q

what was the union of SA in 1910

A

The period during which the four British colonies were united to form the Union of SA

39
Q

what approach did the Union take towards IAL

A
  • needed a uniform policy
  • people had lost interest in customary law and this made it easier to legislate
  • drafted key pieces of legislation
40
Q

What did the Union do to ensure white dominance

A

fragmented the African populations into tribe for easy control

41
Q

what is reverse urbanization

A

compel people who had moved to urban areas to return to rural lands

42
Q

what legislative measures provided for reverse urbanisation

A
  • natives land act
  • BAA
  • Black Authorities Act
43
Q

what did the Native land Act do

A
  • precluded black people from buying land except in certain areas
44
Q

what was a consequence of the Native Land Act

A

labour exploitation on white farms increased and facilitated cheap mine labour

45
Q

what did the black administration act give colonialists power to do

A

gave them power to control population, redefine boundaries and shuffle tribes

46
Q

what power did the governor general have under the black admin act

A

GG became the supreme chief with power to appoint and depose chiefs, legislate at will and change tribal boundaries

47
Q

who did the black admin act apply to

A

black africans with the proviso that it should not contradict public policy or natural justice

48
Q

what african concept did the black admin act accept

A

lobolo / bogadi (bridewealth)

49
Q

what did S11 of the black admin act do

A

Set up a separate court system for the application of customary law

50
Q

what was the native commissioners court and native appeal courts role under the black admin act

A

customary law was only applied in state courts when it was consistent with statute

51
Q

what was a chief’s court under the black admin act

A

chief’s were given extensive powers ofver people in their own jurisdictions

52
Q

what did black admin act mainly regulate

A

black estates
made all marriages OCOP
only men could inherit land
movable property disposed of according to ACL

53
Q

what did the black authorities act do

A
  1. conferred a wide range of discretionary powers on the state to manipulate the running of tribes
  2. gave wide powers to traditional leaders who administered the tribes for colonialists, collect taxes and approved land seizures.
54
Q

What did S1 of the LEAA do

A

changed how ACL is applied in ordinary courts

stipulated judicial notice of ACL

ACL still subject to repugnancy clause

55
Q

What is possible for ACL under S1 of the LEAA

A

any court can take judicial notice of foreign law and indigenous law so far as it can be ascertained readily and with certainty and provided it is compatible with public policy and natural justice

56
Q

what is the main reason for the difference between IAL and ACL

A

legal pluralism

57
Q

What is OCL

A

customary law codified in legislation, precedents and perceived by outsiders (state officials)

58
Q

What is LCL

A

laws observed by the communities

59
Q

what is customary law not confined to in Diala’s opinion

A

individuals interactions in the community –> it extends to interactions with outside actors such as state agents, religious agents

60
Q

what can the interplay between vertical and horizontal relationships of customary law interactions be defined as

A

legal pluralism

61
Q

how does legal pluralism inform customary law

A

informs customary law’s flexibility and mocks its main stream conceptualisation

62
Q

what are the main changes to normative behaviour of Africans from exploitation and distortion of ACL

A
  • wage labour
  • urbanisation
  • new religion
  • new food
  • individualistic world views

This is why scholars use OCL and LCL.