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 abolition of corporal punishment in S v Williams and Others 1995 (3) SA 632 (CC) provided the state with the impetus to consider alternative sentencing options. Unsystematic efforts by the government to reform the juvenile justice system have failed abysmally. The government was forced to review its policies on juvenile sentencing. An examination of international trends reveals the imposition of stricter measures of punishment for serious and violent juvenile offenders. Community-based sentencing options are used mainly for first-time offenders. The focus has also shifted from punishment and retribution to prevention and treatment. It is advocated that serious and violent juvenile offenders be incarcerated in secure-care facilities and/or juvenile prisons and that community-based sentencing options be utilised for first-time offenders. The government should also design programmes that deal with situations that lead to crime and delinquency / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M. (Law)

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)

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls are denied their right to inherit from their husbands and fathers as a result of the operation of the indigenous law rule of male primogeniture, in terms of which an heir must be male. This violates prohibitions on gender discrimination, as well as other, more specific provisions found in international human rights treaties. However, courts in both South Africa and Zimbabwe have in recent years upheld the rule. States Parties to relevant treaties have an obligation to ensure equal inheritance rights for women and girls. In the case of South Africa, provisions of the Constitution are also relevant. After discussing the operation of the indigenous law of inheritance, the international human rights provisions violated by it, as well as the recommendations of the South African Law Commission and legislative proposals on this issue, the writer suggests that legislation should be adopted to ensure equality for women and girls, while retaining the positive aspects of indigenous law and culture. / Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law / LL. M. (Law)

Law / LL.M.

World-wide, the nature, purpose and existence of private education has evoked intense interest and controversial debate. For many, private education presents a legal-moral dilemma. On the one hand, it is recognised as a fundamental right in terms of freedom of association, religion and culture. On the other, it raises perplexing moral and philosophical issues about social exclusivity, selectivity and elitism. Notwithstanding the equally compelling legal, social, economic, educational and political arguments for and against private education, private schools in South Africa, which are increasing in number, continue to form an essential and permanent part of the education system. Private education is a complex subject which can be researched from a myriad of perspectives. This study is essentially a legal enquiry into the legal status of private schools in South Africa within the new democratic constitutional dispensation and how the law affects the organisation, governance and management of private schools. To this end, the study is confined to a discussion on legal aspects relating to private school governance, public funding of private schools, teachers' appointments and discipline, student admission and discipline and religious freedom. In discussing the legal context of such topics, a number of issues emerged concerning the complex nature and diversity of private schools, the relationship between the State and the private school sector, the right of private schools to exist and the implications of the bill of rights for private schools. Furthermore, the study raises challenging questions about the issues of choice, autonomy, religious freedom and diversity, which lie at the heart of the establishment and maintenance of private schools in a democratic society. Finally, one of the difficulties of conducting such a study is that South African law is complex and changing, and it is still in a state of evolution, given the recentness of the Constitution and the bill of rights. This means that while some legal issues pertaining to private schools are fairly well settled, for the most part it is not possible to provide a comprehensive or definitive statement about complex and often highly sensitive issues but merely to pose various legal-education questions and problems for consideration. In time, many of the issues raised will no doubt be settled by the courts / Educational Leadership and Management / D.Ed. (Educational Management

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie ondersoek is navorsing gedoen oor die Romeinse huweliksverhouding ten einde vas te stel of die klassieke Romeinse reg die Romeinse vrou se huweliksverhouding beskerm het indien dit deur haar man se wangedrag geskend is. Die navorsing het getoon dat, soos in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg, die Romeinse huweliksverhouding teen die klassieke tydperk 'n consortium omnis vitae met veral morele huwelikspligte was en dat die nie-nakoming van hierdie pligte op wangedrag en skending van die huweliksverhouding neergekom het. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat, soos in die moderne reg, ook die Romeinse man die huweliksverhouding kon skend deur wangedrag, beperkte vorme van seksuele wangedrag, iniuria en bigamie. Die klassieke Romeinse reg het egter nie aan die Romeinse vrou direkte regsbeskerming verleen by die man se skending van die huweliksverhouding deur wangedrag nie. Sy het egter wel indirekte regsbeskerming in die vorm van toevlugof afskrikmiddels (soos egskeiding en die dos) geniet. / In this study research has been done on the Roman marital relationship in order to determine whether classical Roman law protected the Roman wife's marital relationship if it had been breached by her husband's misconduct. Research has shown that by the classical period, as in South African law, the Roman marital relationship was a consortium omnis vitae with primarily moral marital duties. Non-compliance with these duties amounted to misconduct and breach of the marital relationship. It was concluded that, as in modern law, the Roman husband too could be in breach of his marital relationship through misconduct, limited forms of sexual misconduct, iniuria and bigamy. However, classical Roman law did not grant the Roman wife any direct legal protection where her husband was in breach of the marital relationship because of misconduct. She nevertheless enjoyed indirect legal protection in the form of deterrents (such as divorce and the dos). / Law / LL.M.

This study compares the legal principles applicable in both South Africa and Kenya in the creation of security by means of movables. It identifies the forms of security that can be created in the two jurisdictions. The main focus will be on the creation, publicity, priority of security interest and enforcement of the said interests. The research will in addition establish the challenges (if any) that are encountered when creating security by means of movables in Kenya and identify practical solutions that can be adopted in order to improve the creation of security by means of movables in Kenya. / Private Law / LL. M. (Property Law)

Law / LL.M.

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls are denied their right to inherit from their husbands and fathers as a result of the operation of the indigenous law rule of male primogeniture, in terms of which an heir must be male. This violates prohibitions on gender discrimination, as well as other, more specific provisions found in international human rights treaties. However, courts in both South Africa and Zimbabwe have in recent years upheld the rule. States Parties to relevant treaties have an obligation to ensure equal inheritance rights for women and girls. In the case of South Africa, provisions of the Constitution are also relevant. After discussing the operation of the indigenous law of inheritance, the international human rights provisions violated by it, as well as the recommendations of the South African Law Commission and legislative proposals on this issue, the writer suggests that legislation should be adopted to ensure equality for women and girls, while retaining the positive aspects of indigenous law and culture. / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LL. M. (Law)