Namibian Legal System

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  About Globalex  Search Hauser Home / Global Research Tools / Globalex / Researching Namibian Law and the Namibian Legal System   By Geraldine Mwanza Geraldo and Isabella Skeffers  Geraldine Mwanza Geraldo is an LL.M candidate at the University of Pretoria in Human Rights and Democratisation. She was previously a conference organiser with the Human Rights and Documentation Centre at the University of Namibia. Geraldine holds a B. Juris and an LL.B from the University of Namibia. Isabella Skeffers is a researcher at the Human Rights and Documentation Centre at the University of Namibia. She is an LL.M candidate at the University of Namibia. Isabella holds the B. Juris and the LL.B degrees from the University of Namibia.  Published December 2007 Read the Update!  TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Historical Note Constitution of the Republic of Namibia Organs of State  The Executive  The Legislature  The National Assembly  The National Council  The Judiciary  The Supreme Court  The High Court  The Lower Courts  Decisions Prior to Independence Legal Professions  Legal Practitioners   Attorneys   Advocates   Attorney General  Prosecutor General  Ombudsman  Conveyancing and Notarial Practice Legal Education  The University of Namibia  Polytechnic of Namibia References  Law Journals   Websites þÿ

Transcript of Namibian Legal System

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  About Globalex

 Search

Hauser Home / Global Research Tools / Globalex /

Researching Namibian Law and the Namibian Legal System 

 By Geraldine Mwanza Geraldo and Isabella Skeffers 

Geraldine Mwanza Geraldo is an LL.M candidate at the University of Pretoria in Human Rights andDemocratisation. She was previously a conference organiser with the Human Rights and DocumentationCentre at the University of Namibia. Geraldine holds a B. Juris and an LL.B from the University of 

Namibia.Isabella Skeffers is a researcher at the Human Rights and Documentation Centre at the University of Namibia. She is an LL.M candidate at the University of Namibia. Isabella holds the B. Juris and the LL.Bdegrees from the University of Namibia. 

Published December 2007 Read the Update!

 

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionHistorical NoteConstitution of the Republic of Namibia

Organs of State  The Executive  The Legislature  The National Assembly   The National Council  The Judiciary   The Supreme Court  The High Court  The Lower Courts  Decisions Prior to IndependenceLegal Professions  Legal Practitioners   Attorneys   Advocates

   Attorney General  Prosecutor General  Ombudsman  Conveyancing and Notarial PracticeLegal Education  The University of Namibia  Polytechnic of NamibiaReferences  Law Journals   Websites

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  Institutions 

INTRODUCTIONThe Namibian legal system is characterized by legal pluralism. It is an amalgamation of Westminster-styleConstitutional law, Roman-Dutch common law, customary law and international law. Most of whatconstitutes the corpus of Namibian law is not codified and must be distilled from the evolving body of 

 jurisprudence. HISTORICAL NOTEPre-colonialism, customary law was applicable to the various communities. Namibia was colonised twice;first by the Germans from 1884 to 1915 and then by the South Africans from 1915 to 1989. The period of German colonial rule did not leave significant traces in the legal system. The territory was mostly administered by means of regulations which were the prerogative of the Governor duly advised by the Landesrat , the Governor’s advisory council. The country was divided by an imaginary line, the policezone. North of the police zone was not heavily administered by the Germans in comparison to the South. The legal transition from German to South African administration was bridged by Martial law. By virtueof Proclamation Martial Law 15 of 1915 and its successive amendments, German law remained enforcedunless specifically repealed. Proclamation 1 of 1921 confirmed this.

 The legitimacy of South African occupation can be traced to article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. South Africa was mandated to promote to the utmost the material and moral well being, and thesocial progress of the inhabitants of the territory. South West Africa (pre-independence Namibia) as aclass C mandate was subject to consummate legislative, administrative and judicial regulation by theUnion of South Africa. An important feature of the South African administration was the creation of astable legislative framework. An important milestone in the history of South African colonial rule is the

 Administration of Justice Proclamation (SWA) 21 of 1919. It made Roman Dutch law, as existing andapplied in the Cape Province as at 1 January 1920, the common law of South West Africa. Therefore,

 jurisprudence in South Africa was authoritative in South West Africa. This is still applicable to date asdecisions of the Cape Provincial Division and the Appellate Court of South Africa before 1990 areapplicable in Namibia. Roman Dutch law in the Cape, which is known as common law, was based on theRoman-Dutch law of the original Dutch settlers, in other words the interpretations of Roman law by authors such as Hugo Grotius and Johannes Voet. In addition, the legislative authority of South West

  Africa was the South African administration. Legislation which was applicable to South West Africaexplicitly made mention of this extension. South African procedural law was also extended to South West

 Africa. An adversarial system of litigation still subsists. English law which later took hold in the CapeProvince was also transferred to South West Africa. An area of law where there are traces of English law ismaritime law. At this juncture it should be noted that three areas; the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel, Walvis Bay and the Rehoboth Gebiet had pecurliar legal developments because of their somewhat obscure history.Therefore, if South African laws were to be applicable to these territories, this was expressly stated. In 1989 after a liberation war and international pressure South Africa withdrew its administration fromNamibia. A Constituent Assembly was formed. This body was tasked with drawing up a Constitution andorganising an election to select a Namibian administration. The Constituent Assembly was given a set of principles by the international community, the 1982 principles, to include in the Constitution. Most of these principles are contained in the Bill of Rights. On the 9 February 1990 the Namibian Constitution

 was adopted. The Constitution has become the template against which the validity of all laws is tested.The constitutional order eradicated the era of Parliamentary supremacy and substituted it withconstitutional supremacy and the rule of law. Chapter three of the Constitution imports a human rightsculture into the Namibian legal order. Civil and political rights are expressed as positive rights which giverise to obligations for the State, whilst the socio-economic rights are obligations which are progressive,meaning that the obligation of the State is not immediate but conditional. Sources: 

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• P.H. Katjivivi  A History of Resistance in Namibia 1988 James Curry Publishers, London

• K. Derks Chronology of Namibian History – From Pre-Historical Timesto Independent Namibia 1999 Namibia Scientific Society, Windhoek 

• Hayes et al (Eds) Namibia under South African Rule – Mobility and Containment 1915 -46 1998 James Currey & Ohio University Press, Athens

 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIAThe Constitution of the Republic of Namibia enjoys hierarchical primacy amongst the sources of law by 

 virtue of its article 1(6). It is thematically organized into chapters which contain articles that relate to thechapter title. It has 21 chapters and 148 articles which mainly organize the state and outline the rights andfreedoms of people in Namibia. 

 According to article 1(3) of the Constitution, there are three main organs of state, namely the Executive,the Legislature and the Judiciary. The relationship between these three organs is directed by the doctrinesof the separation of powers and the rule of law. Another important feature of the Constitution is the Bill of Rights which is embodied in chapter 3 of the Constitution. The Bill of rights outlines the 16 fundamentalrights and freedoms which voice the carpet values and spirit of the independent Namibian nation. Most

 jurisprudence post-independence revolves around the application and interpretation of chapter 3 of theConstitution. The Bill of Rights, it is understood, has occasioned a paradigm shift in the legal landscape

from a culture of Parliamentary sovereignty to a rights-based philosophy. Its importance is evidenced by the fact that the rights and freedoms in Chapter 3 are entrenched. Sources:The Constitution of the Republic of NamibiaThe Namibian ConstitutionGRN PortalLibrary of Congress Other sources: 

•  Amoo SK & Hinz MO 10 Years of Namibian Nationhood 2002, VerLoren vanThemaat Centre, Pretoria

•  Diescho J The Namibian Constitution in Perspective 1994 Gamsberg Macmillan,Windhoek

•  Naldi GJ Constitutional Rights in Namibia 1995 Juta & Co., Kenwyn Citation:The constitution is cited as the Namibian Constitution. It is usually cited with reference to its articles,paragraphs and sub-paragraphs. A common abbreviation for article is art. ORGANS OF STATEThe Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary all execute law-making functions. Their mandates as sourcesof law are set out in the Constitution. The Executive

Chapters 5 and 6 of the Constitution indicate that the Executive comprises of the President and Cabinet.Their working relationship is consultative and their paramount function is policy-making. Cabinetmembers are required to attend sessions of the National Assembly to answer questions pertaining tothe legitimacy, wisdom, effectiveness and direction of Government policies. Government policies arepublished in Government Gazettes which are distributed by the Ministry of Justice at a fee. GovernmentGazettes are referred to according to their number and dates, for example Gazette number 32 of 1996. Inthis particular example, this gazette is the 32nd of the year 1996. This is the same for all other gazettes

 when one considers the number and the year in its title. 

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Besides policy, the Executive is responsible for negotiating and signing international agreements, whichaccording to art 144 of the Constitution form part of the law of Namibia. Namibia is a signatory to severalinternational treaties and a member of various international organisations. It has submitted severalreports to several treaty bodies and there have been five cases before three international tribunals againstit. These are: 

•  the two  South West Africa opinions(International Court of Justice -ICJ); Preliminary Observations in 1962 ICJ Reports 318 and Second Phase in1966 ICJ Reports 6;

•    Muller v President of the Republic of Namibia(Human RightsCommittee) (2002) AHRLR (African Human Rights Law Report) 8 (HRC 2002);

•  the  Kasikili/Sedudu Island communication(International Court of Justice)available on www.icj-cij.org/docket/index;

•    Diergaardt of Rehoboth Baster Community et al. v. Namibia; (Human RightsCommittee), Communication No 760/1997, views of 25 July 2000, and;

•   Sikunda v President of the Republic of Namibia (African Commission on Humanand Peoples’ Rights) 2002 AHRLR 21 (ACHPR 2002).

 By virtue of art 144 Namibia is monist, therefore with the exception of treaties that are in conflict with theConstitution, legislation and those that enter into force through mere signature, all treaties duly ratifiedare automatically incorporated. Other legislative functions of the Executive include the president’s power to declare martial law by meansof a Proclamation. Since independence a state of emergency was only declared once, in two separateoccasions, in 1999 when there was an uprising in the north-eastern part of the country. The incident iscommonly referred to as the Caprivi secession. The martial law is gazetted as the Proclamation No. 27 of 10 September 1999, which repealed Proclamations No. 23 of 2 August 1999 and No. 24 of 3 August 1999.In addition, the president has the power to promulgate Proclamations (in addition to those relating tomartial law) and to initiate bills for consideration by the National Assembly. These functions are allsubject to review, reversal or correction by the National Assembly. The presidential signature andpublication in a gazette certify a bill and authenticate its validity. The President is compelled to assent to a

  bill if it is passed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly and confirmed by the NationalCouncil.

   An example of government policy is the National Policy on HIV/AIDS – Approved by the National  Assembly on the 14th March 2007. This particular policy addresses the issue of HIV/AIDS in Namibia. The foreword is undersigned by thePresident of the Republic. The national policy aims to  provide an overall reference framework for all 

 HIV/AIDS related policies and to guide the national HIV/AIDS responses of al sectors in society. Thepolicy contains its strategies, goals and objectives. In addition, the policy lays out the different areas of interest which should be concentrated on by the different role players in the implementation of HIV/AIDSpolicies and programmes. Finally, government undertakes certain obligations in terms of the policy,known as ‘policy statements’, which are included under each chapter of the policy. Source:GRN Portal The Legislature

 The National Assembly The Legislature as outline in chapter 7 and 8 of the Constitution is made up of the National Assembly andthe National Council. In Namibia Parliament refers to the National Assembly acting in terms of theConstitution and subject to review by the National Council. The Legislative power of Namibia is vested inthe National Assembly subject to assent of the President or the National Council where applicable. As theprincipal legislative authority in Namibia the National Assembly has the power to make and repeal laws.

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Laws passed by the National Assembly are referred to as Acts of Parliaments and published in theGovernment Gazette with reference to their numbers and year of promulgation. Unless the Constitutionprovides otherwise, a simple majority of votes cast in the National Assembly shall be sufficient for thepassage of any bill or resolution of the National Assembly. The sessions of the National Assembly are open to the public unless a two-thirds majority decidesotherwise. The Assembly also has to agree to the treaties negotiated and signed by the Executive. TheNational Assembly after independence was taxed with the task of deciding which laws and internationaltreaties, promulgated and entered into prior to independence, would be retained or succeeded to. Inaddition to the Acts of Parliament and international treaties, the debates of the National Assembly areavailable to the public in publications known as the Hansards. Hard copies of the Hansards are availableat the National Assembly resource centre. The National Council National Council buttresses the work of the National Assembly. Its functions include amongst others;considering bills passed by the National Assembly, considering subordinate legislation andrecommending legislation on matters of regional concern. Source:Namlex - The Namlex is a compilation of the Legal Assistance Centre and the Ministry of Justice. It serves

as an index to all Acts of Parliament, international treaties and cases. Other sources:Parliament of NamibiaThe World Law Guide

 World LIICommon LIILaw Library of CongressMinistry of Environment and TourismParliament of Namibia Citations:

 Acts of Parliament are cited as follows: Criminal Procedure Act, no 25 of 2004. The name of the Act(which is usually the subject matter of the Act) precedes the number of the Act and the year it waspublished. The JudiciaryThe Administration of Justice as the Constitution refers to it comprises of the Supreme Court, the HighCourt and the Lower Courts. The administration of justice is independent from the other organs of state.The sacrosanct nature of this value was expressed by the Supreme Court in Ex-Parte Attorney General,

  Namibia: In re the Constitutional Relationship between the Attorney General and the Prosecutor General 1995 (8) BCLR 1070 (NmSC ). The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the highest national forum of appeal. It has inherent jurisdiction over all legalmatters in Namibia. It adjudicates, according to art 79 of the Constitution, appeals emanating from theHigh Court, including appeals which involve the interpretation, implementation and upholding of the

Constitution and the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed therein. It also hears matters referredto it by the Attorney General or authorised by an Act of Parliament. To date, only two cases have beenreferred to the Supreme Court by the Attorney General, namely;  Ex-Parte Attorney General: In ReCorporalPunishment by Organs of State 1991 (3) SA 76 and Ex-Parte Attorney General, Namibia: In rethe Constitutional Relationship between the Attorney General and the Prosecutor General 1995 (8)

 BCLR 1070 (NmSC ). As Namibia has a system of stare decisis, all decisions emanating from the SupremeCourt are binding on all other courts unless they are reversed by an Act of Parliament or the SupremeCourt itself. 

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Decisions of the Supreme are all recorded in the Namibian Law reports and some in South African law reports. The Namibian law reports is a series of reports published according to years. They record thedecisions of the Supreme Court and High Court. For every ten year period there is an index to the reports,

 which has both a thematic and alphabetical listing. Each report has an introductory index guiding readers.In addition each case is summarised on the first page of the case record. The flynote or headnote as thesummary is called indicates the theme and key words of the case. Generally cases are summarised usingthe following key points: 

•  Name: if it is a civil dispute the plaintiff is cited first and then the respondent’sname. Criminal matters are cited as State versus the accused. This is commonly abbreviated as S v The Accused.

•  Issue: it is also referred to as the legal question.

•  Judgment: this pertains to the findings of the Court and the Court order.

•  Ratio Decidendi: this refers to the reasoning of the court in reaching theconclusion it came to.

 Other publications that record cases of the Supreme Court are the criminal justice compilation, known asthe Republic of Namibia Criminal Law Precedents and the Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports,

 which is a South African publication but includes noteworthy Namibian decisions from the SupremeCourt. Decisions of Namibian courts which have human rights content are also reported in the AfricanHuman Rights Law Review. These publications are available from the website of the Centre for HumanRights at the University of Pretoria. The High Court Unlike the Supreme Court, the High Court exercises original jurisdiction. The High Court can act both as acourt of appeal and a court of first instance over civil and criminal prosecutions and in cases concerningthe interpretation, implementation and preservation of the Constitution. The High Court is presided over

 by the Judge-President. A full sitting of the High Court consists of the Judge-President and 6 other judges.The jurisdiction of the High Court with regard to appeals shall be determined by Acts of Parliament. Decisions of the High Court, which bind lower courts, are recorded both in Namibian and South Africanlaw reports. The decisions are recorded and summarised in the same way as Supreme Court decisions. Inorder to distinguish a Supreme Court decision from a High Court decision the abbreviation SC is placed at

the end of the citation as opposed to HC. An example of a High Court citation would read as follows:  S v Mushwena and twelve others 20004 (11) NCLP 24 (HC). The Lower CourtsThere are several lower courts in Namibia. They are the magistrate courts, the labour courts and thecustomary courts. The lower courts are creatures of statute, in other words, they are created by Acts of Parliament and are bound by the four corners of legislation. Magistrate courts deal with the most cases in the entire legal system. They are manned by magistrates

  who are employed by the Ministry of Justice. The decisions of magistrate courts are written down;however, they are not recorded in any law report. The decisions have to be written in case either party tothe proceedings feel prejudiced by the outcome and wants to go on appeal or review to the High Court.They are created by the Magistrates Court Act no. 32 of 1944. The magistrates are governed by theMagistrates Act 3 of 2003. The Labour courts have gained prominence over the past few years. They too are manned by magistrates.They deal with labour disputes, mainly arising from alleged contraventions of the Labour Act No. 6 of 1992. The courts are still applying the 1992 Act, although the 2004(no.15) labour act has already beengazetted. There is already an amendment to the 2004 act, the Labour Bill of 2007. Decisions of the labourcourts are recorded. They are recorded in the Namibian Labour Court Reports. An example of a casereported in these reports is  Municipality of Walvis Bay v Du Preez NLLP (Namibia Labour Law

 Publication) 2002 (1) 14 NLC. In terms of the Labour Act, ‘competent court’ means the Labour Court or

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any magistrates’ court established in terms of the Magistrates’ Courts Act No. 32 of 1944. In addition,Labour Courts are established by section 15 of the Labour Act No. 6 of 1992. Community courts, which apply customary law, were created by the Community Courts Act 10 of 2003.Prior to this date these courts operated without recognition as part of legal system. These developmentsare extension of art 66 of the Constitution which holds that both the customary law and the common law of Namibia in force on the date of Independence shall remain valid to the extent to which such customary or common law does not conflict with this Constitution or any other statutory law. The courts have noreporting system, as the laws that they apply are very dynamic and may not be applied the same in any number of cases heard before them. The regional courts are the least used lower courts. They are actually in a phase of extinction. Decisions prior to independence

 Art 140 of the Constitution is dedicated to laws in force at the date of independence. The Namibianadministration at independence was guarding against creating a lacuna in the law when it decided thatalllaws which were in force immediately before the date of Independence shall remain in force untilrepealed or amended by Act of Parliament or until they are declared unconstitutional by a competentCourt. This applied to both legislation and case law prior to independence. Case law prior toindependence captured Roman-Dutch common law. This is the written source of this form of law.

Common law in Namibia is not written and is only as recorded in case law and writing of jurists such asHugo de Groot. Researching the Namibian legal system prior to independence overlaps with researching the South

 African legal system before 1989. The only way to tell which cases have been overturned is by reference tothe case in which it is overturned, unless it directly affects (by amendment or repeal) a particular piece of legislation. In addition, laws which were not repealed at independence by the Constitution, as outlined inthe constitutional schedule, are repealed in Government Gazettes. In the absence of an official method of legal citation for both cases and legislation, citations are according to the preference of the publisher. Sources:SAFLIIThe Namibian Connection (Records recent unreported judgments)Southern Africa Litigation CentreJUTA (Available on CD-Rom and online)Centre for Human Rights Other sources:Superior Courts (Records judgments of the High Court and Supreme Court, as well as all applicablelegislation relevant to the respective courts)The different law reports: 

•  The Republic of Namibia Criminal Law Precedents

•  The Namibian Law Reports

•  Labour Court Reports (Namibian Labour Law Publications)

•  Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports Citations:

 S v Forbes and Others 2005 NR 384 (HC) is an example of how cases are cited in the Namibian law reports. The common abbreviation for the Namibian Law reports is NR. Cases are usually cited by reference to: Names of the Parties; the year the report was published; the

  volume number of the report (if the report uses volumes, which is not the case with Namibian Law Reports); the page number on which the case begins; and an abbreviation indicating the court whichdelivered the judgment. 

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LEGAL PROFESSIONS Legal PractitionersLegal Practitioners are defined and governed by the Legal Practitioner’s Act no 15 of 1995. Before thepromulgation of the Act, the profession was divided into advocates and attorneys, with advocates beingspecialists at law. The situation has changed to a certain degree. 

 Attorneys An attorney is a general legal practitioner, with which a person has his/her first interaction when he/shehas a legal problem. An attorney is the most accessible legal practitioner, as he/she deals with a widespectrum of the legal field. Attorneys are expected, in terms of the Legal Practitioner’s Act, to practice

 with a Fidelity Fund Certificate, without which they cannot represent clients in a court of law. 

 Advocates An advocate is a person which specializes in a specific field of law. Although the division betweenattorneys and advocates is not recognized anymore as it was before, the Legal Practitioners Act makesprovision for legal practitioners who practice without a Fidelity Fund Certificate (advocates). Advocates inNamibia belong to what is known as the ‘Society of Advocates of Namibia’, which serves as a membershipand disciplinary body. 

Sources:The Law Society of NamibiaThe Namibian Connection Attorney-GeneralThis political appointment is the government’s legal adviser. He has final responsibility over the office of the Prosecutor General. The meaning of final responsibility was settled by the Supreme Court in  Ex Parte

  Attorney General: In Re: The Constitutional Relationship between the Attorney General and the Prosecutor General 1995 (8) BCLR 1070 (NmSC). It means that the Prosecutor-General has to keep the Attorney-General informed in respect of all prosecutions initiated or to be initiated which might arousepublic interest or involve important aspects of legal or prosecutorial authority. Prosecutor General

The chief of staff of the prosecutorial team is the Prosecutor General, an individual of integrity,conscientiousness and experience according to the Constitution. The powers and functions of theProsecutor-General are to prosecute and defend appeals in criminal proceedings in the High Court andthe Supreme Court. OmbudsmanThe Ombudsman is the public protector. The Ombudsman protects the public in, inter alia, mattersconcerning violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, abuse of power, unfair, harsh, insensitive ordiscourteous treatment, manifest injustice, or corruption by an official in the employ of any organ of Government. Other issues within its jurisdiction include the functioning of the Public ServiceCommission, administrative organs of the State, the defence force, the police force and the prison servicein so far as such complaints relate to the failure to achieve a balanced structuring of such services or equalaccess by all to the recruitment of such services or fair administration in relation to such services, as wellas issues pertaining to the over-utilization of living natural resources, the irrational exploitation of non-

renewable resources, the degradation and destruction of ecosystems and failure to protect the beauty andcharacter of Namibia. Source:Office of the Ombudsman Conveyancing and Notarial PracticeConveyancers and Notaries are legal practitioners who have written special exams with the JusticeTraining Centre, allowing them to effect the legal transfer of immovable property. The primary legislation

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 which conveyancers use is the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937, which deals with the registration of titledeeds for immovable property. Sundry Acts which are also of application include the  Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965, Stamp Duties Act 15 of 1993 and the Transfer Duties Act 14 of 1993. Source:L@W (Provides an electronic link between banks and conveyancers in Namibia; go to Around the Globeand Namibia.) LEGAL EDUCATIONThe University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia are the two major institutions which offercourses on the Namibian legal system. The University of NamibiaThe University of Namibia has a degree program. It offers a Baccalaureus Juris (B.Juris) whichcompromises of 45 modules over a period of three full-time or 4 years part-time. The B.Juris is aprerequisite for enrolling for the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B). The LL.B compromises of 24 modules over aperiod of two years full-time or three years part-time. Students who successfully complete the Bachelor of Laws are eligible to register at the Justice Training Centre (JTC) for classes and exams that will enable

them to sit for the Namibian Bar examination. The University of Namibia also has a master’s program. The program is styled in such a way thatcandidates are allowed to write a Thesis of any relevant legal subject. The thesis may be completed withina maximum period of three years, after which the thesis is scrutinized by the Post Graduate Committee of the University for approval. B.JURIS

1st YEAR 2nd YEAR 3rd YEAR 

Introduction to law Statutory interpretation Criminal procedure

Criminal law Customary law I Law of evidence

Law of contract Human rights law Administrative law I

Sociology Roman law Law of delict

Communication and study skills Constitutional law Law of associationsCommercial law Civil procedure

Law of property Labour law  

Law of persons and family law Practical legal studies I

Gender law 

Customary law II

LL.B

1st YEAR 2nd YEAR 

Credit agreement Comparative law  

Customary law III Accountancy for lawyers

Insurance law Criminology and crime prevention

Maritime law LL.B dissertation Administrative law II International economic law  

Company law Jurisprudence

Environmental law Practical legal studies II/Legal aid studies

Private international law Law of succession

Public international law Tax law  

Conveyancing and notarial practice

Law of insolvency 

Negotiable instruments

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 Source:The University of Namibia Polytechnic of NamibiaThe Polytechnic does not have a law program; it only offers law subjects in various fields which may be of relevance to the students. Source:Polytechnic of Namibia REFERENCES Law JournalsThe only journal which includes comprehensive discussions on the Namibian legal system is the De RebusJournal. WebsitesDe RebusCentre for Human Rights (Provides a bibliography of written material on the Namibian legal system).

University of Pretoria (Has a collection of Namibian law reports and legislation).University of Namibia Library  (Provides an online search engine for all publications available at theUniversity of Namibia)

Superior Courts of Namibia (Provides both reported and unreported cases, as well as schedule forpending cases and legislation applicable to the High Court and Supreme Court of Namibia) InstitutionsThere are several institutions with a legal component in Namibia. Given the fact that there are very few academic writings on the Namibian legal system, most recent developments are recorded in journalarticles and publications of various institutions. The following is a non-exhaustive list of some of theseinstitutions:

(a)  University of Namibia Information Learning and Resource Centre (ILRC)(b)  Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI)

(c)  Legal Assistance Centre (LAC)(d)  Ministry of Justice:

•  Directorate: Law Reform and Development – (email)

•  Directorate: Legal Advice

•  Directorate: Legal Services and International Co-operation

•  Directorate: Legal Aid(e)  Namibian Institute for Democracy (NID)(f)  Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU)(g)  National Society for Human Rights (NSHR)(h)  Supreme Court of Namibia library (i)  National Library of Namibia(j)  Polytechnic of Namibia Library Services

 

Hauser Global Law School Program, New York University School of Law

40 Washington Square South, New York, New York 10012-1099Telephone: (212) 998-6691, Facsimile: (212) 995-4656, Email:[email protected]