Professor Rian Cloete

Position, academic & professional qualifications

Professor Rian Cloete joined the Department in January 1993 after completing his articles of clerkship at the law firm of Couzyn Hertzog & Horak Inc. The University of South Africa (UNISA) conferred the LLD degree on him in 2001. The title of his doctoral dissertation was “Incorporeal things in the new South African law of things”.  In July 2012 he was promoted to Head of the Department Procedural Law.

He holds the degrees BLC LLB (Pret) LLM (DMU) PAL (GIBS) LLD (Unisa).

Cloete is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and member of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces, he specialises in Professional Conduct and Ethics and is actively involved with the Law Society of South Africa. He has been the Director and course leader of the University of Pretoria School for Legal Practice since 1999. The School is accredited by the Law Society of South Africa and offers training to candidate attorneys. The School has had enormous success in terms of not only the results achieved in the national admission examinations, but also for its candidates, who have become sought after in the legal fraternity. Most of them are today in private practice all over South Africa.

Cloete established the Sports Law Centre at the highperformancecentre™ of the University of Pretoria in 2002 and serves as Director. The mission of the Centre is to provide a centre of excellence in providing high quality services, research and courses to the sporting world at large. The Sports Law Centre have become the leading centre of its kind in South Africa and are proud to have the United Cricket Board of South Africa, SuperSport, Mpumalanga Academy of Sport, Law Society of South Africa and the Department of Sport and Recreation as clients. The Centre has also gained international recognition. A memorandum of understanding was entered into between the Sports Law Centre, University of Pretoria and the world renowned Asser International Sports Law Centre, c/o T.M.C. Asser Instituut, The Hague, Netherlands. In terms of the agreement, both institutions agreed to collaborate in research and educational projects.

Teaching activities

Rian teaches Legal Practice (RPK 310 and 320) and Sports Law (SRR 420) for the LLB, as well as Professional Conduct and Ethics and various Sports Law courses through CE@UP.

Representative publications

  • “Guard against disappointed beneficiaries: the will drafting duties of legal practitioners” 2003 TSAR 540 – 541
  • “Die erkenning van gemeenregtelike gebeurlikheidsgelde-ooreenkomste. Price Waterhouse Coopers Inc v National Potato Co-operative Ltd 2004 6 SA 66 (HHA)” 2005 De Jure 420 – 425 (Co-author together with Prof CJ Nagel)
  • “An attorney’s legal duty towards a third person. Road Accident Fund v Shabangu 2005 1 SA 265 (SCA)” 2005 Obiter 778 – 782 
  • “Arbeidsregte as beskermingswaardige objekte: ‘n Uitbreiding van die privaatregtelike of die konstitusionele saakbegrip?” 2003 THRHR 361 – 372
  • “Eiendom in die menslike liggaam: Klop Frankenstein aan die voordeur?” 2003 Obiter Vol 2 412 – 430
  • “Die grondwetlike erkenning en beskerming van welvaartsregte: New property, sosio-ekonomiese regte en ander onstoflike sake” 2003 THRHR 531 – 546

Areas of specialisation

Cloete conducts most of his research on attorneys practice and sports law and also presents a number of undergraduate, postgraduate and extra-curricular courses in these fields.

Academic & professional memberships

Cloete is a board member of the Asser International Sports Law Journal and an executive member of the South African Sports Lawyers Association (SLASA).

Tel: +27-12-420 3671
Fax: +27-12-420 4405
E-mail: [email protected]

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