PVL1004 Private Law: Systems and Context (PVL1004F)
Class notes
SYSCON Master Document: Detailed Lecture Notes, Case Summaries
36 views 1 purchase
Course
PVL1004 Private Law: Systems and Context (PVL1004F)
Institution
University Of Cape Town (UCT)
I cover comprehensive lecture notes, analysis, case summaries, and relevant precedents. I also combined theoretical discussions with practical examples to help you apply the notes to the relevant theory :)
PVL1004 Private Law: Systems and Context (PVL1004F)
All documents for this subject (7)
Seller
Follow
kyaadriaan
Content preview
PART 1: AN INTRODUCTION to the
HISTORY of SA PRIVATE LAW
WEEK 1
Lecture 1
What is Private Law?
● “Public law is what regards the welfare of the Roman state, private law what
regards the interests of the individual persons; because some things are of
public, others of private utility.”
➔ Ulpian- D.1.1.2
● Protects our freedom to pursue our own objectives; governs our horizontal
interactions in different social settings and private parties.
● Market, business, legal relationships between private businesses.
● Vertical interactions are private parties of the state.
● Body of rules that require or prohibit acts of one person for the benefit of
another; co-relative right of duty relationship between individuals.
Rights and Duties
● When a claim arises it is because A breached a duty owed to B.
● In other words A committed a wrong against B.
Example:
● I sell you my car. You agree to pay R30k and I agree to deliver it today at
12h00.
● You pay the money but I don’t give you the car.
● Contract= legally enforceable agreement
● You have a right to the car and a duty to pay the money
● I have a right to the money and a duty to pay for your car.
● Therefore, relational duties and rights.
● One party has gained while the other has lost.
● Must provide a legal remedy.
● Legal wrong= breach of contract.
What is the remedy?
1. Compel me to deliver the car
2. Get your money back
Some terms
, ● Plaintiff= you want a solution; bringing the case
➔ Must establish that she has been harmed and that she should be
compensated.
● Defendant= case is being brought against me
Private law theories
Approach 1
● Through the lens of social, political, economic or cultural meanings.
Approach 2
● Based on corrective justice.
➔ The idea that liability rectifies the injustice inflicted by one person
on another.
➔ Must be a connection between the wrong and the solution.
Problem Question
● D (defendant) steals P’s (Plaintiff) bike and sells it to a third Party (T).
➔ It is your bike.
● D= criminal law
● P= law of property (owning relationships)
● Sells it= law of obligations (owing relationships)
● Property law says I am the owner of the bike; cannot deprive you of what is
yours; you remain the owner.
● Invalidity in transfer of property
● Private law allows you to recover what is yours from T.
● T will have to give up the bike and hand it back to you as the law says.
● T has bought the bike from me and I delivered it to T
● Legal relationship between T and I= T bought the bike from me not knowing
any better; the law will protect T but not in the law of property but rather in the
law of obligations
● Contractual relationship=sale
● In order to protect T, even though there was invalidity in the law of property
there is validity in the law of obligations; valid sale and contract
● T has a claim to recover all of their losses since I am in breach of contract.
2. I sell you this plane for R100 000
● Legal relationship= I am the seller and you are the buyer (contractual
relationship)
● Valid contract since a contract is just an agreement; agreed to buy and
sell.
● Cannot make you the owner of something you don’t own= invalidity in
the transfer of ownership in the property of law
● When you are unable to possess what I have sold to you, you can sue
me for breach of contract; can claim all your losses from me.
,Law of Property Law of obligations
SAA owns the plane I have a valid contract with you
Law of property (owning) Law of obligations (owing)
● I steal your bike and sell it to a ● T bought the bike from me and I
third party (T) delivered it to T.
● It is your bike-can raise a claim in ● T will have to give up the bike
REM to get the bike back; raven and hand it back to you as the
de catio law says.
● Invalidity in transfer of
● Legal relationship between T and
property because property law
says I am the owner of the bike; I= T bought the bike from me not
cannot deprive you of what is knowing any better; the law will
yours-D is not the owner;have to protect T but not in the law of
be the owner to transfer property but rather in the law of
ownership. obligations since there was a
contractual relationship; valid
sale and contract.
● T has a claim to recover all of
their losses since I am in breach
of contract cause there was
validity in that contract.
● Full consequential loss.
● Validity in contract of sale.
, Lecture 2: Introduction to the history of S.A Private law-
Roman Roots
Roman History
● Monarchy (753 BCE-510 BCE)
● Republic (510 BCE-30 BCE)
● Empire Principate (278 CE-248 CE)
● Empire Dominate (248 CE onwards)
Roman Monarchy
● REX. (King)= Supreme, judge, priest of the people
● SENATE= their job is to propose a new king for the assembly
● POPULAR ASSEMBLY= their job is to accept or reject the king proposed to
them
● Patricians vs Plebians
Roman Republic
● Most of their wealth comes in the form of slaves.
● Julius Caesar (100 BCE-44 BCE)- populist leader
● The imperium had the right to command, however Roman law specified that
only elected persons could hold imperium within the borders of Italy itself.
● Period of time when there was martial law= temporary substitution of ordinary
civilian law with martial law- emergencies, state of exception.
● Idea of the augury= interpreting omens by looking at birds.
● After the assassination of Cesar, the Roman republic became the Roman
Empire.
● Roman (Buzatine) empire under Justinian
● Faith Mehmet II
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller kyaadriaan. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.64. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
