Postal address Private Bag x1 Matieland 7602 South Africa Physical address Corner of Rhyneveld and Victoria Street Stellenbosch Phone: +27 (0)21 808 4853 Fax: +27 (0)21 886 6235 E-mail: Ms Yolandi Sylvester - yolandi@sun.ac.za
Prof CS Human receives the Golden Key Lecturers Award for the Academic Year of 2006
Each year students in every Faculty on campus has the opportunity to nominate and vote for their favourite lecturer. Prof CS Human again received this award for the academic year of 2006.
Human Rights Day: Seminar on "Security of Tenure"
On 22 March 2006, the Faculty of Law hosted a half-day seminar focusing on the theme of security of tenure to mark Human Rights Day. The aim of this seminar was to highlight the extent and causes of insecure tenure in South Africa today, and to explore a range of responses from various institutional and civil society actors working in this field. In particular, the workshop aimed at highlighting the chasm that exists between our constitutional commitments to secure land and housing in sections 25 and 26 of the Constitution, and the reality of the precarious and insecure tenure of millions of poor people in South Africa, particularly in the rural areas. The workshop was attended by approximately 60 representatives of academic and research institutions, local governments, the SA Human Rights Commission, non-governmental organisations, and various trade union and community-based organisations. The seminar was chaired by Prof. Sandy Liebenberg, H.F. Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law at the Stellenbosch Law Faculty. Papers were presented by persons with expertise and experience on a range of topics pertaining to security of tenure. These included: an analysis of eviction trends in the pre- and post-apartheid era; forced evictions in a global context; the role of the SA Human Rights Commission in protecting and promoting security of tenure; the experiences of attorneys litigating cases under the Extension of Tenure Security Act (ESTA) and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE); and the role of the Stellenbosch Municipality in promoting the development of integrated human settlements. The presentations were followed by a discussion on how the courts' jurisprudence and the various legislative mechanisms dealing with security of tenure could be improved to provide better protection to those facing eviction from their homes. Debate also focused on the need to address the underlying socio-economic conditions fuelling evictions and insecure tenure, particularly in rural areas. The Faculty believes that the workshop served its purpose of promoting reflection and dialogue among a range of stakeholders on how the rights to land and housing entrenched in the Constitution can contribute to the transformation of conditions of poverty and insecure tenure in South Africa. The papers presented at the workshop as well as further papers on the theme will be published in a special edition of the journal, ESR Review (Economic & Social Rights Review) of the Community Law Centre (UWC) on the theme of security of tenure. This edition, guest-edited by Prof. Liebenberg, will be published in November 2006.
Prestige Lecture delivered by Chief Justice Pius Langa on transformative Constitutionalism
The first ever local conference to focus exclusively on the role of the law in South African sport was recently held at Stellenbosch University in a bid to tackle important and relevant legal issues that affect contemporary SA sport. The Sport Law Conference was organised by the Centre for International and Comparative Law / Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (CICLASS) at the Law Faculty of Stellenbosch University, in conjunction with the Sports Law Association of SA and the Institute for Development and Labour Law at the University of Cape Town. Participants included High Court judges, sports lawyers, academics, player representatives, national sports federations and trade unions. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Ali Bacher, one of South Africa ’s most respected sports administrators both locally and abroad, on the opening day on 14 September. According to Mr André Louw from CICLASS South African sport is currently experiencing major upheavals and uncertainty due to a number of factors. These include difficulties in adapting to professionalism and the demands and circumstances of the modern global sports market; grappling with the legacy of apartheid in respect of unequal development in different sports and between different groups within a sport; traditional discord and divisions in the governance of sport; the unique role of politics in the governance, regulation and development of sport in South Africa post 1994; and recent, far-reaching, developments in respect of the State’s regulatory scheme and role in sport. “With these difficulties in mind, delegates came together to analyse from a legal perspective the issues facing South African sport and its management; specifically examining the different problems experienced in recent times in respect of the governance and regulation of the major professional sporting codes,” said Mr Louw. The conference sessions focused on developments in the governance of SA sport, the demarcation of the role and interests of different stakeholders in professional sport and issues around transformation of sport with regard to the three major professional sports in South Africa (namely rugby, soccer and cricket, all of which were represented by members of the national federations and commercial entities involved in managing the professional arm of these codes). In addition, a session on the afternoon of 14 September was dedicated specifically to current issues in SA football. Topics discussed included labour relations between players, federations and clubs, as well as preparation for FIFA World Cup 2010. This session saw a panel comprised of various experts, including the CEO of the SA Football Association, the chief legal counsel of the Premier Soccer League and the General Secretary of the SA Football Players’ Union. “The goal was to identify and debate the role and place of the law in the context of the current South African sporting landscape. In addition, the event served to identify specific areas and issues of importance to be examined in future legal research,” said Mr Louw. A large group of delegates from the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport and provincial sports federations also attended the event, which was co-sponsored by the Department. A number of delegates expressed the sentiment that the conference was the best sports law event to date in South Africa; the only regret was that the limited time available over the two days had not allowed all issues to receive in-depth attention. This last highlights the need for future events of this nature, especially in the run-up to 2010.
African Human Rights Moot Court This Moot Court competition took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ms Nicole Singh and Lynne-Maree Matthysen represented the Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch University. About 60 other teams from across South Africa took part in this moot court competition. The Faculty of Law is proud to announce that our team was awarded eighth place. Not only did the team gain valuable experience during this competition but they also enjoyed the Ethiopia and surroundings.
Prof J Pienaar appointed as acting judge of the Land Claims Court Juanita Pienaar, prof in the department of Private and Roman Law, was recently appointed as acting judge of the Land Claims Court until the end of March 2007. For more information visit: http://www.sun.ac.za/news/kampusnuus/20060831/1.pdf
Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2005/2006 The Faculty's team, consisting of four members, experienced a successful year at the Moot Court Competition for 2005/2006. They were placed at number 82 of 160 teams with a final score of 1002 out of a possible maximum of 1200
