| News and events
|
|
KOVSILEX
Newsletter of The Faculty of Law, University of he Free State
2009-2, 2009-1, 2008, 2007-2, 2007-1, 2006-2, 2006-1, 2005-3, 2005-2, 2005-1, 2004-2,2004-1, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000
|
|
| Faculty news |
- Congratulations from Sussex , IALS, Lonsdale, Old Mutual , Cyprus, Wolverhampton, Drake, Cambridge, Florida, Jayasuriya, NWU
- Dean lectures internationally , and again ; and receives international recognition
- "A Century of Jurisprudence"
- UFS students excel
- Judge Hefer now President of UFS Convocation
- Collegium Iurisprudentium
- Unique source published(Video)
- Inaugural lecture: Judge Fritz Brand
- The Department of Mercantile Law – 40 years
- Inaugural lecture of Judge Louis Harms - Whereunto Gehazi? A few trends in the field of intellectual property law - 14 August 2008
- More news at bottom of page
|
|
|
|
Op 9 Oktober 2009 het die bemarkingspan van die Fakulteit Regsgeleerdheid ‘n “brunch” vir die top derde- en vierdejaarstudente aangebied om die belangrikheid van navorsing en nagraadse studies te beklemtoon. Appèlregter Fritz Brand het ‘n baie interessante en insiggewende motiveringstoespraak gelewer oor navorsing.
|
Hierdie geleentheid het plaasgevind op “De Oude Kraal Country Estate” en is ook deur van die sentrum- en departementshoofde bygewoon. Dit word beplan om hierdie ‘n jaarlikse instelling te maak om die bemarking van die fakulteit se nagraadse programme te bevorder.
|
|
Hesma acknowledged for excellent service
Hesma van Tonder from our Division: Library and Information Services received the Pro Facultate Legum award from our Faculty of Law during May 2010. Hesma works as the information officer for our Faculty of Law. She was acknowledged for seven years of excellent service to this faculty. This is the first time the award was given and it was introduced to acknowledge excellent service to our Faculty of Law.
– Leana Coetzee
|
 |
| Prof. Johan Henning, Dekaan van ons Fakulteit Regsgeleerdheid oorhandig die toekenning aan Hesma. |
|
|
UFS law experts publish unique translation of neglected source of partnership law
|
 |
|
Attending the launch of the publication were from the left: Prof Boelie Wessels (senior lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law), Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS), Prof Johan Henning (Dean: UFS Faculty of Law) and Adv Jaco de Bruin (senior lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law). Prof Wessels translated the treatise from corrupted medieval lawyer Latin into English, Prof Henning is the leading author and initiator of the publication and Adv de Bruin assisted with the proofreading and editing. Photo: Stephen Collett.
|
|
The Centre for Business Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) has translated a unique long neglected Roman-Dutch source of the law of partnership law from Latin into English. This source dates back to 1666.
The book, called Tractatus de Societate (A Treatise on the Law of Partnership), by Felicius and Boxelius is published as Volume 40 in the research series Mededelings van die Sentrum vir Ondernemingsreg/Transactions of the Centre for Business Law. It is the first translation of this Roman-Dutch source into English and comprises of a comprehensive discussion of the South African common law of partnerships.
“Apart from various brief provisions dealing on a peace meal and an ad hoc basis with diverse matters such as insolvency, there is no comprehensive Partnership Act in South Africa. The law of partnership in South Africa consists of South African common-law, which is mainly derived from Roman-Dutch law,” said Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS. Prof Henning is also the leading author and initiator of this comprehensive publication.
“Countries such as America, England, Ireland and The Netherlands have drafted or are in the process of establishing new modern partnership laws in line with new international guidelines, practices and commercial usages,” said Prof Henning.
“However, in South Africa the most recent policy document released by the Department of Trade and Industry explicitly excludes partnership law from its present company law reform programme and clearly regards this as an issue for another day,” said Prof Henning.
“Unless there is a political will to allocate the necessary resources to a comprehensive partnership law revision program, it is a practical reality that South Africa will not have a modern Partnership Act in the foreseeable future,” said Prof Henning.
According to Prof Henning South African courts have been using the Roman-Dutch partnership law sources as authority. “The English Partnership Act of 1890 is not binding and the English text books should therefore be approached with caution,” said Prof Henning.
“A treatise on the law of partnership that has been regarded by South African courts as an important common law authority is that of a Frenchman by the name of Pothier. This treatise was translated into English and was regarded as an authority of significance in The Netherlands towards the end of the eighteenth century,” said Prof Henning.
“Pothier’s opinions are however not valid throughout in the Roman-Dutch partnership law as it did not apply to the Dutch province of The Netherlands and it sometimes also rely on local French customs for authority,” said Prof Henning.
For this reason the Centre for Business Law at the UFS decided to focus its attention again on the significance of the comprehensive treatise of Felicius and Boxelius on the Roman-Dutch partnership law. Felicius was an Italian lawyer and Boxelius a Dutch lawyer.
This long neglected source of partnership law was published in 1666 in Gorkum in The Netherlands. "A significant amount of Roman-Dutch sources of authoritive writers trusted this treatise and referred to it,” said Prof Henning.
The translation of the treatise from corrupted medieval lawyer Latin into English was done by Prof Boelie Wessels, a very well-known expert on Roman Law and senior lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law. Prof Wessels, who has 15 degrees, spent almost ten years translating the treatise. The proofreading and editing of the translation was done by Prof Henning and Adv Jaco de Bruin, a senior lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law.
“We want the South African courts to use Volume 40 in the research series Mededelings van die Sentrum vir Ondernemingsreg/Transactions of the Centre for Business Law as the primary source of reference when cases where Roman-Dutch Law partnership law principles are involved, are ruled on,” said Prof Henning.
The first part of the publication comprises of selected perspectives on the historical significance of the work as well as a translation of selected passages. “The intention is to follow this up expeditiously with the publication of a very limited edition of a complete translation of the work,” said Prof Henning.
A total of 400 copies of the publication will be distributed to all courts, the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court.
Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
21 June 2006
|
|
|
|
| Crimes of Violence Discussed |
| Symposium on serious crimes of violence |
 |
|
|
|
The Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted a symposium on serious violent crime in South Africa on Wednesday, 7 March 2007.
“The symposium aimed to provide stakeholders the opportunity to deliberate on and propose solutions to combat violent crime in South Africa ,” said Prof Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS.
Perspectives on violent crimes from a psychological, business, constitutional and agricultural perspective were given. The themes discussed were amongst others the nature and extent of serious and violent crime in South Africa and the effect thereof, the reasons for violent crime and the role of the Constitution.Possible solutions were put to the table to combat serious violent crime.
Appeal court judge Fritz Brand and Judge Faan Hancke, chairperson of the UFS Council, presided as chairpersons of the symposium.
Speakers who participated were:
Dr Matthews Phosa (Visiting Professor, School of Management, University of the Free State ) & Mr. Kiewiet Ferreira (Convenor: Law and Order, AGRISA) (Download document) - The effect of crime
Adv André du Toit SC (Acting director, Public Prosecutions, Free State) (Download dokument) - Nature, extent & gravity of crime
Prof Dap Louw (Senior professor, Psychology, University of the Free State) - Causes of crime
Mr Roelf Meyer (Former Minister of Constitutional Affairs, currently Business Person and Chairperson of the Civil Society Initiative) & Dr Leon Wessels (National commissioner, Human Rights Commission, South Africa) - The Constitution and crime
Deputy Commissioner André Pruis (Deputy National Commissioner: Operational Services of the South African Police Service) & Judge Nathan Erasmus (Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons) - Possible solutions
|
|
|
Visiting Professors
- Professor Fletcher Baldwin, Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law and Director, Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, University of Florida, USA, will be visiting our Faculty for two weeks from 16 to 29 July 2007.
- Prof BAK Rider, Honorary Professor in the Department of Mercantile Law of the Faculty of Law, will perform his annual lecturing visit to the faculty from Sunday 22 July to Friday 27 July 2007.
|
|
Conference on human trafficking
University of the Free State - Faculty of Law
Department of Criminal & Medical Law
Unit for Children’s Rights – Trafficking Initiative
Presents a National Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings
17 AUGUST 2007
CONFERENCE THEME:
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
ON
TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS
The Unit for Children’s Rights Trafficking Initiative hosted a conference on Trafficking in Human Beings: National and International Perspectives on August 17th at the CR Swart Auditorium.
Two hundred representatives from all relevant stakeholders, including academic institutions, the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Police Service/Scorpions, governmental organizations and departments, NGOs and others from around the country assembled for the all day conference. Representatives were also present from Lesotho , Mozambique , Zimbabwe and UNESCO.
The purpose of the conference was two-fold: to raise awareness among the public and the professionals working with these cases, as well as our law students, and; to encourage further research on this topic. Adv Beatri Kruger convened the conference and gave opening remarks, followed by presentations from Prof. Susan Kreston with the Unit for Children’s Rights on A Global Overview of Trafficking, and Wiesje Zikkenheiner with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, who spoke on the Role of Organized Crime in Trafficking. Other speakers included Marija Nikolovska, with the International Organization for Migration, discussing Identifying and Assisting Victims of Trafficking and Dawood Adams, from the South African Witness Protection Program, who addressed The Role of Witness Protection in Trafficking Prosecutions.
The topic of Prosecuting Trafficking Without Trafficking Laws was handled by Nolwandle Qaba, from the Sexual Offences & Community Affairs Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, followed by Lowesa Stuurman from the South African Law Reform Commission focusing on Recommendations for New Legislation in South Africa . The final two speakers represented NGOs who work with children who are victims of trafficking. Judith Mthombeni from Pretoria spoke on The Role of Terre Des Homes in Fighting Trafficking in Children and Patric Solomons with Molo Songololo in Cape Town presented on Trafficking in Children in South Africa – A Front Line Perspective. The closing remarks were made by Prof Hennie Oosthuizen, Head of the Department of Criminal & Medical Law.
The conference was funded through the US Department of State and held in conjunction with the Centre for Continuing Education. The conference was also a national precursor to a regional conference on Trafficking in Human Beings to be held in Mozambique later this year.
|
 |
Voor van links is: Marija Nikolovska (IOM), Judith Mthombeni (Terre Des Homes), Susan Kreston (Unit for Children’s Rights) and Prof. Hennie Oosthuizen (Head of the Department of Criminal & Medical Law).
Agter: Wiesje Zikkenheiner (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes), Dawood Adams ( (South African Witness Protection Program), Lowesa Stuurman (South African Law Reform Commission), Nolwandle Qaba (Sexual Offences & Community Affairs Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority), Adv. Beatri Kruger (Unit for Children’s Rights and Covener) and Patric Solomons (Molo Songololo).
|
|
|
The Department of Mercantile Law – 40 years
The Department of Mercantile Law, which was established on 1 January 1968, celebrate this year its 40th year of existence as separate department in the Faculty of Law.
In the 40 years there were four heads of department, namely Proff Stef Naudé, Wessie van der Westhuizen, Voet du Plessis and Johan Henning. Proff Henning and Du Plessis are currently still related to the Faculty – prof Henning as Dean and prof du Plessis as Head of the Department of Mercantile Law.
From a small beginning of one professor and one lecturer, assisted by part time advocate lecturers, the department have grown to three professors, one associate-professor, two senior-lecturers, five lecturers and three temporary/part time lecturers.
The envisaged celebrations will include the following:
(a) Two inaugural lectures
14 August 2008: Judge of Appeal Harms who has been appointed as Professor Extra-ordinarius in the department; and
9 September 2008: Prof Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer – the first woman to be appointed as professor in the Faculty of Law.
(b) Festival dinner on Wednesday 13 August 2008.
Attempts are made to gather all ex-lecturers who were involved in the department as guests of honour at the dinner. The first head of department, prof. Naudé, has already indicated that he will be attending the dinner and lectures.
(c) A celebration logo was designed and will be featured this year on all documents, programmmes, badges, jerseys and scarfs of the department.
|
| More news |
|
|
|
|
|
| Headlines |
|
|
 |
|
