| Code | Faculty |
|---|---|
| 04252016 | Faculty of Law |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 2 years | Total credits: 200 | NQF level: 09 |
| Prof FJ Viljoen [email protected] | +27 (0)124203228 |
| Prof M Hansungule [email protected] | +27 (0)124204532 |
Closing date for applications: SA applicants – 30 November; non-SA applicants – 31 August.
Also refer to the Postgraduate Brochure for the complete study programme as well as the Postgraduate administrative processes after registration.
The curriculum will generally consist of:
Mini-dissertation
In the event of having failed all modules during a particular year of study, a student will only be allowed to continue with his/her studies with the consent of the Postgraduate Committee.
Although no supplementary examination will be granted with regard to LLM and MPhil modules, the General Regulations and rules apply with regard to special and ancillary examinations.
The relevant head of department must recommend a supervisor and title for a mini-dissertation and these must be approved by the Postgraduate Committee. The mini-dissertation must be assessed and finalised as set out in the Faculty Board-approved LLM/MPhil Policy Document of the Faculty.
Mini-dissertations, where required, must be submitted in the format determined by the supervisor and approved by the Postgraduate Committee. The supervisor may likewise, subject to the approval of the Postgraduate Committee, also determine the research topic and the scope of the proposed research. (Refer to the Faculty of Law regulations regarding mini-dissertations and also Postgraduate administrative processes brochure for the Faculty)
For the degree to be awarded with distinction a student must obtain an average of at least 75% for all the coursework modules, as well as a minimum of 75% for the mini-dissertation. The modules must have been written for the first time.
Period of registration
The duration of the programme will in general be four semesters (2 years) but may be completed within two semesters (1 year) where possible, subject to fulfilment of all the requirements for the degree and payment of the full amount prescribed for the LLM degree. Programmes may also be structured to allow for one year of study only. The one- or two-year period may only be extended by the Postgraduate Committee on recommendation of the relevant head of department based on good reason shown and if it is clear that the student will be able to complete the programme in a further year of study.
Language of tuition
The official language of tuition is English. However, should circumstances allow it, an LLM module may be presented in Afrikaans. The dean, in consultation with the relevant head of department, determines the language of tuition.
Limiting of modules on offer in a particular academic year and availability to foreign students
The dean determines which modules will be presented each year, taking into consideration the availability of lecturing personnel, space and financial implications and/or other circumstances. The dean may, on recommendation of the relevant head of department, determine the maximum number of registrations for a specific elective module in terms of the prescribed guidelines. The dean may also, on recommendation of the relevant head of department, determine that a particular LLM module will not be offered where on the first day of lectures four or fewer students are registered for such module.
Re-registration for modules
A student may not register more than twice for the same module. In order to pass a module the student must obtain a final mark of 50%.
Module content:
(a) Historical and philosophical perspectives on rights
(b) Critical perspectives on rights
(c) Legal philosophical and political notions of justice
(d) Applications within the South African context
Module content:
This module is an introduction to the Law and Sustainable Development discipline. Using a “systems” approach, the module exposes students to the complexities of development given globalisation, the separation of powers, and international public interest / human rights law. Three core subsystems (politics, economics and law) are considered, to make the case for a multidisciplinary but integrated development model. In this model, the law, judiciary and legal practitioners play a primary role to galvanise and shape development policy and a secondary role to redress infractions and omissions. Students will consider development in a post-WWII context and the paradigms that have shaped the thinking, policies, programmes and practices adopted by nation states to advance the aspirations and legal obligations set out in international, regional and national human rights instruments. The module content includes:
Module content:
This module deals with the following aspects:
(a) Post-structural/postmodern legal theory
(b) Post-colonial legal theory
(c) Feminist legal theory
(d) Application within a developmental context
Module content:
A combination of at least seven of the following topics:
(a) The state, democracy and human rights
(b) International relations and human rights
(c) History of human rights, including “grassroots narratives”
(d) Human rights in visual media (art and film)
(e) Human rights in literature
(f) Human rights fact-finding and reporting; human rights journalism
(g) Human rights and HIV/Aids
(h) Medicine, medical ethics and human rights
(i) Civil society, “grassroots movements” and human rights
(j) Poverty and human rights
(k) Globalisation and human rights
(l) Human rights and social change
(m) Social science research and human rights
(n) Tradition, religion and human rights
(o) Gender and human rights
(p) Transitional justice, reconciliation and justice
Module content:
This module deals with the following aspects:
(a) Transformative constitutionalism
(b) Post-apartheid jurisprudence
(c) Law, memory, reconciliation and reparation
Module content:
(a) Planning and organising a research project
(b) Drafting a research proposal: Hypotheses and research question
(c) Theory in research and methodological approaches to legal research
(d) Language
(e) Citation and ethics of citation
(f) Drafting of chapters and presentation
Module content:
An analysis of the theory and practice of constitutional socio-economic rights in South Africa, with a specific focus on litigation and legal activism in this respect.
Module content:
(a) Protection of socio-economic rights in other domestic jurisdictions, in particular in Africa
(b) Introduction to international human rights law
(c) Socio-economic rights in the UN human rights system
(d) Socio-economic rights in the African human rights system
(e) Socio-economic rights in the European human rights system
(f) Socio-economic rights in the Inter-American human rights system
(g) Socio-economic rights in other emerging regional human rights systems
Module content:
(a) The student must submit a research proposal during his/her first year of registration for the LLM degree to the supervisor prior to commencing with the writing of the mini-dissertation.
(b) A mini-dissertation (MND 800) of 13 000 to 15 000 words inclusive of footnotes but excluding the list of contents and the bibliography, is required. The mini-dissertation must be submitted to the supervisor not later than August of the second year of registration for the LLM programme. The mini-dissertation must deal with the subject content of one of the modules or a combination of the modules registered for by the student for his/her LLM degree. Any request for an extension of the period for submission of the mini-dissertation may only be granted by the Dean on recommendation of the LLM Committee
Module content:
Development and presentation of a research proposal. (A research proposal must be submitted to the supervisor and accepted in the first semester of the second year of study before the student will be allowed to register for the mini-dissertation.)
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