1. Coordinator & Lecturer Contact Details

Mr Gino Frantz    (Course coordinator: First Semester) Email:  Gino.Frantz@wits.ac.za

Dr Muriel Mushariwa    (Course coordinator: Second Semester) Email:  Muriel.mushariwa@wits.ac.za   Ms Sithuthukile Mkhize Email: Sithuthukile.mkhize@wits.ac.za

Tutor details: Dineo Matloga 

Email: 1445889@students.wits.ac.za

Tutorial times:

Monday 12:30 - 13:15

Wednesday 13:30 -14:15

Wednesday 14:30 - 15:15

Thursday 12:30 - 13:15

 

2. Class Allocation

The Introduction to Law (three-year LLB) class is tailored specifically for the three-year LLB student. Accordingly, all three-year LLB students in their first year of study must attend this particular Introduction to Law class. The Introduction to Law (three-year LLB) class is tailored specifically for the three-year LLB student. Accordingly, all three-year LLB students in their first year of study must attend the live sessions and engage with all the materials in this particular Introduction to Law class.

 

3. Lecture Times

Introduction to Law (Three-year LLB) lectures are scheduled at the following times:

• Mondays 14h15 to 16h00,
• Wednesdays 08h00 to 09h45

 

Consult the main timetable for any changes in lecture times.

 

4. Nature and Purpose of the Course

This course lays the foundation for a student’s LLB degree by introducing students to the South African legal system. Students will engage actively with the material (as set out in the prescribed textbook and on Ulwazi) to acquire a proper knowledge and understanding of the legal system as a whole.

Three major themes will be covered in this course: the classification and sources of South African law, the history of South African law, and the processes and practices of South African law.

 5. Objectives

It is important to note that the study of law requires far more than mere rote learning of the content of South African law and its practice. Rather, it requires one to think legally and critically when working with the law. This is an advanced skill that students will begin to cultivate in this course.

By the end of this course therefore, students must be able to:

1. Research the law generally by using the library and electronic resources.
2. Source, read, summarise and analyse cases (judgments of the courts).
3. Source, read and interpret legislation (laws written by law-making bodies such as Parliament).
4. Illustrate their knowledge of the applicable laws by applying it to solve legal problems.
5. Argue logically and coherently, ie students must be able to write a well-structured and carefully reasoned argument in clear and understandable language.

 

6. Resources

The prescribed textbook is

            Duard Kleyn, Frans Viljoen, Emile Zitzke, Palesa Madi  Beginner's Guide For Law     Students (2019) Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd.

Additional Recommended Texts

Tracy Humby, Louis Kotzé & Anél du Plessis (eds) Introduction to Law and Legal Skills in South Africa (2012) Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.

L Meintjies-Van der Walt, P Singh, M du Preez et al Introduction to South African Law: Fresh Perspectives 2 ed (2011) Pearson Education South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Heinemann.

 

Accessing the course and materials on Ulwazi

The course can be accessed on the Ulwazi (the Wits Learning Management System). This site is hosted at <https://Ulwazi.wits.ac.za/>. Every student registered for LAWS1014 will be enrolled automatically as a student for the Introduction to Law (three-year LLB) course on Ulwazi. To access the course, you need to go to <https://Ulwazi.wits.ac.za/> and log on using your student number as your ‘user id’ and the ‘password’ that you use to access your Wits e-mail account. Please check regularly for general announcements regarding the course, or communications from your lecturer, as well as additional required readings that must be read in preparation for class.  If you experience any problems, please contact the ICT helpdesk ((011) 717-1717 or mail to ITStudentHelp@wits.ac.za).

 

7. Teaching Methods

Lectures

This course lends itself to an interactive teaching style and active participation by students in class. It also promotes students’ critical thinking and legal reasoning skills.

Students are expected to prepare for each lecture in advance. This means that before the scheduled lecture, students must read through the relevant section/s of the prescribed textbook or other readings or exercises appearing in the weekly module page or as indicated by the lecturer. Apart from the textbook, readings and other materials will be found on Ulwazi in files.

In the online sessions , the lecturer will generally lead the discussion but will expect all students to contribute in online class discussions. It is especially important that students participate in the discussion of the answers to prepared exercises.

 

8. The Writing Centre

Introduction to Law (three-year LLB) introduces students to the principles and practices of legal research and writing. In this respect, the School of Law’s Writing Centre plays a critical role.

The Writing Centre creates space for law students to develop individual and collective capacity for clear written communication, as part of a community of practice of legal academics and practitioners. The Centre is run by two academic staff members, Professor Salim Nakhjavani and Ms Jean Moore, and a group of trained Writing Consultants.

 

Booking an appointment at the Writing Centre:

Wits School of Law has its own writing centre, staffed by two academics (Prof Salim Nakhjavani and Ms Jean Moore) and 11 writing consultants - senior LLB or LLM students who are trained to assist with legal and academic writing.

All bookings for appointments to see a writing consultant at the Writing Centre are made online: witslawwritingcentre.youcanbook.me

Choose the day and time that suits you, and fill in your details. Please note that, whilst we are online, bookings need to be made at least 24 hours in advance. Once you have booked, a consultant will contact you to discuss what platform you prefer to consult on (eg via email, MS Teams, Zoom or WhatsApp).

If you subsequently realise that you cannot attend the consultation at that time, please ensure that you cancel your appointment, so that another student can use that time instead.

If you experience any problems with the on-line booking system, please email Prof Salim Nakhjavani salim.nakhjavani@wits.ac.za.

The School of Law Writing Centre is open for consultations from the 15^th of March 2021. Please note that writing consultants are only available during term time and not during the breaks between blocks. If you require urgent writing assistance during the breaks, you may email Prof Nakhjavani (email above) or Ms Moore (jean.moore@wits.ac.za).

NB: Writing Centre staff are mandated to assist with writing matters only – such as structure, development of argument, coherence, style, language, understanding plagiarism and referencing. They will not advise on content.

 

9. The Road to Success Programme

The Road to Success Programme, or RSP, is the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management’s student success and support programme.  It provides non-academic support to first-year through fourth-year students in the faculty.  The RSP aims to guide CLM students on their path to personal and academic success from registration to graduation.  This is achieved through an integrated network of group tutorials and one-on-one consultations with RSP Success Tutors and/or Coordinators.  The RSP aims to help students succeed by helping them take responsibility for their own success, and can assist with:

• the development of excellence skills (for example, time management, study skills for university, note taking, and reflective practice);
• personal problems and concerns;
• food and clothing provisions;
• funding applications; and
• academic advising.

RSP Coordinators

Name:                        Danie de Klerk

Office:                        CLM Building, Room 52

Email address:          Danie.DeKlerk@wits.ac.za

Office phone:            (011) 717-8129

 

Name:                        Tshepiso Maleswena

Office:                        CLM Building, Room 50

Email address:          Tshepiso.Maleswena@wits.ac.za

Office phone:            (011) 717-8138

 

10. Student Assessment

The final mark for the course (representing 100%) is made up as follows:

• 15% for a class test to be written on 19 April 2021.
•  5% for a short written assignment (a case summary) due on  2 April 2021.
•  5% for a draft submission of the long written assignment (essay) due on 14 May 2021.
• 20% for the final version of the long written assignment (essay) due on 14 June 2021.
• 20% for a class test to be written on 13 September 2021.
• 35% for the November examination.

Total:  100%

 

Tests and exams

The class test and the exams will cover all of the work that has been done up to that time. In other words, students cannot expect work to be written off in this course. However, if the lecturers decide that a particular topic will not be examined in a test or in the exam, this will be announced both in lectures and on Ulwazi.

The class tests will be conducted and uploaded onto the Ulwazi platform. Details of the tests will posted and discussed in the live class sessions.

Note further that the class tests will not be deferred. In exceptional circumstances, if a student has a valid reason for missing a class test, (s)he will have to apply to the School for an excused concession, supported by relevant documentation such as a medical certificate. Unless such request is granted, the student will be recorded as absent for the relevant class test and will receive zero.

All applications must be made online at: https://www.wits.ac.za/zahrah/display/external/public/279/NEPDZVNJyc#section-intro

For any technical difficulties, kindly email Ms S Sugam at Shobhna.Sugam@wits.ac.za

Deferred Applications: A deferred assessment may be granted in limited circumstances should you be unable to complete an assessment for specified reasons, such as illness. Applications must be submitted within 3 days (72 hours) of the due date and time, and must comply with various requirements as set out in the following application forms:

For June & November exams: Submit your application with the CLM Faculty. Go to Student Self-Service --> Academic Information --> Application for Deferred Assessment.

For all other assessments counting towards your final mark (e.g. assignments, class tests, case notes, tutorials): Click here to submit your application with the School of Law. 

 

Sub-minimum rule

The sub-minimum rule (General Rule 7.10) does not apply to this course.

Marking criteria for tests and exams

Lecturers will take account of the following in marking tests and exams:

• Ability to understand the question asked and to address it.
• Ability to identify the relevant legal issues raised by the question.
• Knowledge of the relevant law and ability to set it out clearly.
• Ability to apply the relevant law to solve legal problems.
• Ability to construct a clear, logical and concise argument.
• Ability to give reasons to justify a conclusion.
• Use of understandable language and a coherent structure.
• Ability to complete answers within the allocated time.

 

Draft submission of essay

All students are required to submit a full draft of their essay, on Ulwazi, by no later than 11h00 on 14 May 2021. NB: Please submit your work as a Word document, not as a pdf, image file or in any other format. Please ensure that this draft represents your best effort – including footnoting and editing – so that the feedback you receive is relevant and facilitates your writing development. The feedback is designed to benefit writers at every level, so whether you find legal writing a challenge or whether you are a highly sophisticated legal writer, this should prove to be an invaluable exercise.

 

Please submit your draft well before the submission cut-off, to avoid problems with Ulwazi. You are able to resubmit your draft, if there are any problems with the first submission, as long as this is done before the submission cut-off (11h00 on 14 May 2021).

 

If you experience problems while submitting, you must report this to the ICT helpdesk ((011) 717-1717 or mail to ITStudentHelp@wits.ac.za) immediately and attempt to get help before the cut-off.

 

Please note that the due date for the draft submission is final. ABSOLUTELY NO EXTENSIONS WHATSOEVER WILL BE GRANTED AND NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

 

The Writing Centre will aim for a two-week turnaround time, so that you receive the feedback in time to consult, if necessary, and to incorporate the feedback into your final assignment.

This submission counts for 5% of your final mark in the course.

Marking criteria for the draft submission

Draft reviewers will not comment on the quality of your content. Rather, they will give feedback on these aspects of your writing:

• Ability to analyse and address the essay question.
• Ability to identify and use a range of legally relevant sources.
• Effective use of the essay structure, ie introduction, development of argument and conclusion.
• Use of sufficient signposting.
• Style, including paragraphing, sentence construction, grammar and register (‘level’ of language).
• Adequate and accurate referencing.

 

Essay (final)

All students are required to submit a final of their essay, on Ulwazi, by no later than 11h00 on 14 June 2021. NB: Please submit your work as a Word document, not as a pdf, image file or in any other format. Please ensure that you have incorporated all of the draft feedback in your final submission.  

Please note that the due date is final. A penalty of 5% will be imposed for every day that an assignment is late. In exceptional circumstances, if a student has a valid reason for late submission of the assignment, they will have to apply to the School for an extension concession, supported by relevant documentation such as a medical certificate. Unless such request is granted, the penalty will apply.

 

All applications must be made online at: https://www.wits.ac.za/zahrah/display/external/public/279/NEPDZVNJyc#section-intro

 

For any technical difficulties, kindly email Ms S Sugam at Shobhna.Sugam@wits.ac.za

 

Marking criteria for the essay

Lecturers will take account of the following main factors in marking the essay:

• Ability to analyse and address the essay question.
• Effective use of the essay structure, ie introduction, main body and conclusion.
• Use of sufficient signposting.
• Ability to research the relevant law and literature (commentary on the law).
• Ability to use legal authority.
• Ability to argue logically and persuasively and to sustain the argument.
• Style, including paragraphing, sentence construction and grammar.
• Adequate and accurate referencing.
• Ability to use draft feedback to improve the final essay.

 

Important Dates   The short written assignment (a case summary) is due on 2 April 2021. The class test is to be completed online on 19 April 2021 (timed test). The draft of the long written assignment (essay) is due on 14 May 2021. The final version of the long written assignment (essay) is due on 14 June 2021. The class test is to be written during the lecture period on 13 September 2021. The November exam will be written in the scheduled November examination session.

 

11. Plagiarism and its Consequences

An important skill that you will learn at University is how to undertake research. In law, research inevitably means collecting information about a topic, including other people’s ideas, and then writing about the topic in a way that reflects those ideas. Unfortunately, some students confuse research with plagiarism. This is a form of cheating or stealing, and is a serious disciplinary offence. It means using the words, ideas or information produced by another person (source) without properly acknowledging that the words, ideas or information come from that source. Whether you use material that you obtained from a textbook, a journal article, a reported case or an essay on the Internet, you must acknowledge your source. If you do not, you will be committing plagiarism.

 

Should you be guilty of plagiarism you will, at best, end up being penalised (losing marks) for that piece of work. At worst you will be prosecuted in a Student Discipline Court. In serious cases, for instance where a student copies an essay written by another student, the sentence could well be exclusion from the University. But whatever the sentence, any disciplinary conviction is reflected on your student record. This can have grave consequences for your future career.  Other universities will be reluctant to accept you, and employers will not want to employ you. The Law School will not issue a ‘fit and proper’ certificate to a graduate who wants to be articled if that graduate committed an offence involving dishonesty.

 

12. Course Content 

The following is an overview of the topics to be covered in this course, with an indication of the week/s in which each topic will be taught. Note that these time frames are provisional, and that your lecturer may deviate from them at her/his own discretion.

Students must prepare for each lecture in advance (see section on lectures and preparation above). Students should consult the course outline to see what must be read. In addition, your lecturer will often indicate the particular section of the prescribed textbook or other reading that must be prepared for the next class.

In relation to the prescribed textbook, the Beginners Guide, note that students are required to read only the text of the particular chapter, section or pages specified. Unless otherwise indicated, the skills exercises are not included in the reading and can be left out. Some of these skills exercises will be done in class, while others will be done for homework. Students are, however, encouraged to read the text boxes entitled ‘reframing’, ‘pause for reflection’, ‘thinking like a lawyer’, etc, as these will often be highlighted in class.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have prepared the correct work for every lecture.