Every year millions of children worldwide are forced into the labour pool. More than half of these children are involved in some of the worst forms of child labour, which include slavery, work under hazardous conditions and illegal activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution. Children involved in child labour are usually deprived of access to basics such as proper nutrition, adequate shelter, education, basic hygiene and healthcare, and recreation. Due to the increase in poverty across the world, the vulnerability of children in child labour, and their need for income to survive in a poverty-stricken environment, these children simply cannot escape from the exploitative practices and worst forms of labour. Despite the dangers associated with child labour, not all forms of work done by children are hazardous to them. The income earned by children in this way contributes substantially to their own survival and that of their families. Work can also help children acquire certain skills, which can contribute to their development. This dissertation investigates, in the light of the current socio-economic circumstances of South Africa, the possibility to allow children to work for their survival and simultaneously to protect them through regulatory measures from exploitative labour practices and the worst forms of child labour. The dissertation starts with a general overview of child labour, including the historical development of the regulation of child labour, problems encountered in defining child labour, advantages and disadvantages of child labour as well as the various current perspectives and approaches to child labour. Special attention is given to the importance of education and the current problems experienced in the education system (which needs to be adjusted for child labourers) as well as the situation regarding girls in the labour market. An exploration of the international legal framework applicable to child labour is coupled with a description of the current international conventions as well as international initiatives, which mainly seek to eliminate child labour. Emphasis is placed on the most important conventions that have a direct impact on child labour: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Labour Organisation's conventions and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Subsequently, the dissertation canvasses the approach to child labour in South Africa with an overview of the nature and extent of child labour in South Africa and an exploration of the nexus between international law and South African national law. The author expounds in detail on the current South African national legal framework applicable to children and child labour, as well as the variety of South-African programmes that seek to effectively regulate child labour. By way of comparison, the author investigates the approach to child labour in India, exploring the socio-economic and political circumstances as well as the extent of child labour in India, as also the federal law and child labour programmes that regulate child labour in India. India’s approach to child labour is compared with that of South Africa to gauge how the two differ and what South-Africa can adopt from India. The dissertation critically evaluates the South African approach to child labour and offers proposals to address the challenges in limiting, if not eradicating, the worst forms of child labour and its exploitative practices in South Africa. The author reviews and evaluates the measures and programmes implemented in India, with a view to improve the position of children involved in child labour in South Africa. The author closes by critically analysing the hypothesis posed at the outset of this study: that a judicious acceptance of child labour (excluding its worst forms), when considered in the context of its proper and effective regulation through legislation and enforcement, is the best approach to combat the perils associated with child labour in South Africa. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Private Law / unrestricted