Before the European settlers arrived at the Cape, the people of South Africa had their own laws and rulers. Today these laws are called ‘indigenous law’ or ‘customary law’.

When Jan Van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape in 1652, the Dutch Settlers brought their law from the Netherlands. This is called ‘Roman Dutch Law’. For the next 150 years this Roman-Dutch law was the official law of the Cape.

In the early 1800s the British took over the rule of the Cape from the Dutch. They brought English law with them.

Customary law which is a dynamic system, was recorded and distorted by officials of colonialism and apartheid.

In 1910, the four colonies of South Africa joined together to become the Union of South Africa. This created one central government with the power to make all the laws of the country. But most people were not allowed to vote for this government. So laws were made by a government which was not elected in a democratic way. For the majority of the people of South Africa, many of these laws were very wrong.

In April 1994 one central government was elected democratically for the first time in South Africa. So today’s law comes mainly from these cultures:

• The culture of the people who were here in the beginning
• The culture of the settlers from the Netherlands
• The culture of the British settlers
• The culture of the liberation movements

The South African common law is made up of the Roman Dutch and English law, and since 1994 customary law. A law passed by parliament overrides common law. The Constitution is supreme to all law. All law must be in line with the Constitution, and if it cannot be developed or interpreted to this effect, then is must be found to be unconstitutional. If a law is unconstitutional the Constitutional Court can say so and ask the parliament to fix it within a certain time. It will also say what applies in the meantime.