Includes bibliographic references / In comparison with other European and international countries, Switzerland has long had a relatively high proportion of tenants, and thus in the public consciousness been considered as the 'land of tenants'. In South Africa, on the other hand, data estimate that around 20 per cent of all households do in rent. However, this does not mean that nowadays the rental housing market in South Africa does not play as important a role as in Switzerland. Indeed, the case is precisely the opposite. Therefore, in order to make a considerable contribution towards the social well - being of the population for the rental housing market of both countries, a functioning rent legislation that enables the accessibility to rental housing in general, and guarantees the protection of the tenants without neglecting the legitimate interest of the landlords in particular, is crucial. Indeed, both countries, although having two different legal systems, can fall back on rent legislation that has been developed over several decades. To what extent the two rental legislations can currently be considered as progressive and practical will be examined with the help of this thesis by performing a comparative analysis of the principal rights and obligations of the landlords an d tenants , which are granted and imposed by each jurisdiction. Thereby, in order to gain a better understanding of these rights and obligations, not only is a minimum amount of knowledge about the essence of contracts between landlord and tenant required, but if necessary certain procedural aspects in connection therewith need to be considered. Accordingly, before looking concretely at the specific rights and duties of the renting parties in both countries alongside the determination of the applicable law, a brief introduction to the nature and formation of the contract between the landlord and tenant of each jurisdiction will be provided. With regard to the granted rights, particular attention will also be paid to the several solutions which are available to one contracting party in case of non - performance of the contractual and legal obligations by the other party. Finally, an assessment will be made on whet her the Swiss rent legislation can serve as a role model or basis for an improvement and further development of the South African rent legislation, and vice versa, by pointing out their similarities and differences, and strengths and weaknesses.

Includes bibliographical references. / Nigeria’s Constitution does not provide for the interaction of the received English law, statutory law, and customary law. Bride wealth, an important aspect of customary law in southeast Nigeria, symbolises the bride’s worth to her family, as well as a bond between the bride and groom’s families. The changes introduced by colonial rule distorted its meaning to the extent that people disobeyed legislation enacted to curb excessive bride wealth. This disobedience is traceable to socio-economic and cultural factors founded on people’s survival needs. This disobedience has great significance for the evolution of living customary law, legal pluralism, and success of development projects in Nigeria. It signifies that development policies should take into consideration the living customary laws of people at the receiving end of development projects. At a broader level, it also signifies participation of local communities indecision-making that affects them. The thesis suggests that implementation of wide ranging consultations during the law-making process will strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria.

In the context of a perceived globalisation of human rights, this thesis considers whether constitutional rights to equality and non-discrimination apply to polygynous customary marriages in Commonwealth Africa from a legislative perspective. In other words, I examine whether there is a correlation between constitutional protection of rights and legislation, sensitive to the human rights of women in polygynous customary marriages. It is shown that at a constitutional level, there is often a strong indication that human rights to equality and non-discrimination apply to customary laws, including customary institutions of marriage. This, however, often does not translate to a statutory level, resulting in marriage laws that largely side-line and ignore the possibility of polygyny in a customary marriage and the potential for human rights violations therein. I analyze the discursive mechanisms that facilitate the contradiction that arises when constitutional commitments to protect the rights of women in polygynous marriages are not met at a legislative level. I argue that practices of 'silence' and 'omission' are used to perpetuate the myth that monogamy is the default position of all marriages governed by statute. This effectively constructs polygynous marriages as an aberration to the norm, and further renders invisible the parties in polygynous customary marriages. In failing to provide statutory guidance for the complexities that may arise in polygynous marriages, I argue that women in polygynous marriages are discriminated against in comparison to women in monogamous relationships.