The parent-child relationship in South Africa has recently undergone revolutionary changes. These changes are especially evident in relation to guardianship, care and contact. <p.The parent-child relationship has been revolutionised from one where the paterfamilias had the right of life or death (ius vitae necisque) over members of the family who fell under his power, to one where children have rights and parents have responsibilities. In Roman law the original power of the paterfamilias was later limited and duties were placed on the paterfamilias. In Roman Dutch law parents had not only parental powers or rights over their children, but also parental duties which they had to perform. In both Roman law as well as Roman Dutch law the father of a child born out of wedlock had no parental authority whatsoever. This meant that such father did not even have a right of access to his child. Roman Dutch law was received into South Africa. The South African Children’s Act 38 of 2005 does not refer to parental power or parental authority, instead the term “parental responsibilities and rights” is used. Guardianship is defined similarly in South African law prior to the Children’s Act as well as in the Children’s Act itself. The Children’s Act replaces the term “custody” with the term “care”. The Act also replaces the term “access” with the term “contact”. The definitions of these terms in the South African Children’s Act are similar to the definitions found in South African law prior to the Children’s Act. However, the Children’s Act has revolutionised the concepts of guardianship, care and contact in a number of ways. Firstly, the father of a child born out of wedlock acquires automatic parental responsibility and rights in certain instances. Secondly, the mother of a child may enter into a parental responsibility and rights agreement with the father of a child born out of wedlock, who does not acquire automatic parental responsibility and rights, or with any other person. Thirdly, any person having an interest in the care and welfare of the child, this includes the father of a child born out of wedlock and grandparents, may approach the court for an order granting them guardianship, care of or contact with a child. In South African law the best interests of the child standard has been applied for a number of years in matters concerning children. The best interests of the child standard is enshrined in section 28(2) of the South African Constitution, 1996 and in the Children’s Act. The rights of children in South Africa are protected in the South African Constitution, as well as in the Children’s Act. The trends evident in the Children’s Act, such as the emphasis of parental responsibility, and the protection of the rights of the child, are in line with trends in both international law (found in international conventions) as well as foreign law (for example, in the Children’s Acts of Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and the United Kingdom) and enhances the evolution of children’s rights. / Thesis (LLD (Private Law))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Private Law / unrestricted

Mozambique is a least developed country (LDC), and is among the five lowest on the Human Development Index and is known to have no specific protection of people with disabilities (PWDs) with as up to specific legislation has been adopted but g but general laws on social welfare. Although the 2004 Constitution has a generic protection norm nothing much can be found in the whole system. Unfortunately, the 1990 Constitution was more protective and more specifics; the former roughly reduced the extent of protection that existed before. It can be said that Mozambique does not have any protection of PWDs at all. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The bulk of the matrimonial property regimes operating in Botswana were inherited from the country's colonial past. Since independence there ha'> not been any realistic attempt to reform them. The thesis set out to appraisal the legal regimes governing the determination of matrimonial property on divorce to ascertain their efficacy in realising the legitimate aspiration of married couples. Comparisons were made with similar countries to determine how these have tackled problems relating to determination of matrimonial property on divorce. The study found that where there is a dispute about matrimonial property in marriages out of community, the courts have no discretion to readjust the rights of the parties. This situation adversely affect nonworking wives who spent most of their time looking after their husbands and children without being able to acquire capital assets. Recognition is not given to such domestic contribution to the welfare of the family. It was also found that the exercise of the marital power by husbands of marriages in community of property deprives wives of those marriages the right to administer the joint estate. The patriarchal nature of customary law, which governs the majority of disputes about matrimonial property, discriminates against women. Consequently, the following, inter alia, are suggested as reform measures. (a) The courts should be g1ven a wide discretionary power, circumscribed by statutory guidelines, to reallocate matrimonial property on divorce irrespective of the matrimonial property regime that governs the marriage. TI1e underlying principle should be equality of sharing but this may be departed from where the circumstances of the particular case warrant it (b) A spouse's domestic contribution towards the welfare of the family should be recognised. (c) The marital power of husbands should be abolished. (d) The provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act should be made applicable to customary marriages. / Private Law / LL.D.

The bulk of the matrimonial property regimes operating in Botswana were inherited from the country's colonial past. Since independence there ha'> not been any realistic attempt to reform them. The thesis set out to appraisal the legal regimes governing the determination of matrimonial property on divorce to ascertain their efficacy in realising the legitimate aspiration of married couples. Comparisons were made with similar countries to determine how these have tackled problems relating to determination of matrimonial property on divorce. The study found that where there is a dispute about matrimonial property in marriages out of community, the courts have no discretion to readjust the rights of the parties. This situation adversely affect nonworking wives who spent most of their time looking after their husbands and children without being able to acquire capital assets. Recognition is not given to such domestic contribution to the welfare of the family. It was also found that the exercise of the marital power by husbands of marriages in community of property deprives wives of those marriages the right to administer the joint estate. The patriarchal nature of customary law, which governs the majority of disputes about matrimonial property, discriminates against women. Consequently, the following, inter alia, are suggested as reform measures. (a) The courts should be g1ven a wide discretionary power, circumscribed by statutory guidelines, to reallocate matrimonial property on divorce irrespective of the matrimonial property regime that governs the marriage. TI1e underlying principle should be equality of sharing but this may be departed from where the circumstances of the particular case warrant it (b) A spouse's domestic contribution towards the welfare of the family should be recognised. (c) The marital power of husbands should be abolished. (d) The provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act should be made applicable to customary marriages. / Private Law / LL.D.

Cette recherche vise à ressortir et à étudier les idées innovatrices (innovation cognitive) au niveau des peines et de leurs justifications (normes de sanction) que le système de droit criminel moderne possède déjà et qu’il a développé lui-même, dans l’une de ses organisations. Sur le plan théorique, cette thèse mobilise la théorie de la Rationalité pénale moderne d’Alvaro P. Pires. Cette dernière problématise l’immobilisme du système de droit criminel et la cristallisation des normes de sanction. Pour comprendre cette non évolution qui touche le système social qu’est le système de droit criminel, cette recherche mobilise également certains éléments de la théorie des systèmes de Niklas Luhmann. Au niveau méthodologique, elle a recours à l’analyse qualitative de rapports et de documents de travail de la Commission de réforme du droit du Canada. Ces derniers agissent en tant que champ d’« observation » pour permettre la revalorisation et la mise au jour des idées innovatrices développées par le système de droit criminel dans le but de stimuler la créativité institutionnelle en matière de normes de sanction.

A patent is an intellectual property right granted as a reward for the labours of the inventor so as to commercially exploit the invention in return for disclosure of the invention. The benefits of the patent system find perfect expression in the employment situation since the employer is better equipped to exploit the invention through provision of resources and capital whereas the employee is provided with an opportunity to develop his technical know-how. A comparative study of the laws pertaining to employee inventions in the United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America reveals a variety of approaches to the subject of employee inventions. The approach of the South African law on the subject is inadequate and legal reform is a necessity. The recommendations for such reform encapsulates a blend of the best features of each of the three national approaches to employee inventions. / Mercentile Law / LL. M. (Law)

The purpose of this thesis is to defend Athenian democracy against a long-established suspicion that the Athenian government, with its radical form of popular participation, was not only incompetent but also dangerous. There are two serious misunderstandings in this traditional view; one is the myth of the decline of Athens after the death of Pericles, the other being the outright denial of Athenian democracy by its philosophers, Xenophon and Plato. These two common presumptions about Athenian history and philosophy are therefore examined. The historical examination focuses on three important events: the law reform, the reconciliation and the trial of Socrates. All of them were conducted by Athenian democracy at the end of the fifth century B.C., a period of time that is often cited for the failure of democracy. However, it is found that the democracy demonstrated its excellent ability to manage political conflicts through the laws and the reconciliation. As to the infamous trial of Socrates, there were reasons for the popular suspicion of the Philosopher’s way of life. Following what we have learnt in the historical survey, we search for responses to the three events in the works of Xenophon and Plato. There are passages, though often dismissed by scholars, which indicate remarkable recognition of the democratic achievements in domestic politics. As regards the trial of Socrates, there are also signs of second thoughts in their works that reveal understandings of the democracy’s condemnation of philosophy. The works of Socrates’ pupils show mixed evaluation rather than outright denial of Athenian democracy. The traditional suspicion of Athenian democracy is therefore problematic due to its misconception of Athenian history and philosophy.

L’étude du renouvellement normatif du droit des contrats conduit à présenter le phénomène avant d’envisager sa portée. En premier lieu, ce phénomène est aisément observable et met en évidence deux crises : une « crise de croissance » et une « crise de normativité ». Toutes deux confirment une tendance à l’instrumentalisation des normes qui se veulent désormais harmonisatrices, protectrices, modèles ou encore persuasives. La part de nouveauté réside dans leur texture, leur élaboration ou encore leur mise en œuvre. Et les difficultés engendrées par ce renouvellement concernent l’articulation des diverses normes qui régissent le droit des contrats, ainsi que leur intégration au sein de l’ordre juridique interne.En second lieu, il s’agit de se questionner sur l’intérêt et l’influence de ce renouvellement à travers sa capacité à produire des effets sur le modèle contractuel. Au regard de la récente réforme, le renouvellement normatif a vraisemblablement participé à la modernisation du Code civil puisque des mouvements convergents vers la souplesse contractuelle et la sécurité juridique sont observés. Cependant, la limite des effets de ce renouvellement apparaît car il ne provoque pas une modélisation du droit des contrats qui permettrait de maintenir une cohérence malgré les transformations majeures à l’œuvre en la matière. / The study of the normative renewal of contract law requires a general presentation of the phenomenon before taking an in-depth look at its impact. Firstly, this phenomenon is easily noticeable and calls attention to two crisis : a “growth crisis” and a “normative crisis”. Both highlight a tendency to exploit norms by making them instruments of harmonization, protection, standardization or persuasion. The innovation comes from their substance, their elaboration or their enforcement, however, the articulation of the various contract law norms and their integration within the domestic legal order raise many issues that need to be addressed. Secondly, this renewal’s potentiality to influence and impact contractual models needs to be questioned. Taking the recent reform into account, it seems that the normative renewal has taken a major role in the modernization of the Civil code. Indeed, converging movements towards both contractual flexibility and legal security are visible. However, this normative renewal movement is still unable to promote a modelling of contract law that would allow it to maintain its coherence in spite of the major transformations taking place. As such, the normative renewal of contract law shows its limits.

This research presents a regional study of the implementation of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act (commonly known as the New Poor Law) and its operation in Hertfordshire up to 1847. It examines the economic costs of poor relief across the whole of this rural southern county but it also adopts a microhistory approach to examine in detail how the New Poor Law was implemented and administered in four poor law unions: Hatfield, Hitchin, St Albans and Watford. This study makes national and intra-county comparisons of poor relief data, policy and practice. This research focuses on people as well as place and examines how different groups influenced poor law policy and practice. It makes an important finding about the role played by the second Marquis of Salisbury (a prominent Hertfordshire resident) in the review of the poor laws and the legislation that followed. At the local level this thesis explores the process of implementation and gives new emphasis to the contribution made by the assistant poor law commissioners to both process and policy in the initial years of the New Poor Law. This study is unusual in the attention given to the middlemen of the poor law machinery - the poor law guardians and poor law officers including: medical officers, workhouse masters, relieving officers and schoolmasters and mistresses. This detailed examination of the local guardians challenges the existing historiography on the social demography of this body of men, demonstrates that the influence of elite personnel persisted and adds new data to support the argument that the operation of the poor laws was not just regionally but locally diverse. The workhouse, so symbolic of the New Poor Law and an essential component of the deterrent ideology, is considered in the context of attitudes around its construction and capacity as well as its everyday operation. This thesis adds to the poor law historiography with new data on a previously under-researched area of the country; it provides new information on the development of poor law policy, but more importantly it draws attention to the role of the middlemen and how their individual contributions influenced poor law policy and practice.

A patent is an intellectual property right granted as a reward for the labours of the inventor so as to commercially exploit the invention in return for disclosure of the invention. The benefits of the patent system find perfect expression in the employment situation since the employer is better equipped to exploit the invention through provision of resources and capital whereas the employee is provided with an opportunity to develop his technical know-how. A comparative study of the laws pertaining to employee inventions in the United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America reveals a variety of approaches to the subject of employee inventions. The approach of the South African law on the subject is inadequate and legal reform is a necessity. The recommendations for such reform encapsulates a blend of the best features of each of the three national approaches to employee inventions. / Mercentile Law / LL. M. (Law)