<P> South Africa has a' hybrid' or' mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans (often termed African Customary Law, of which there are many variations depending on the tribal origin). These traditions have had a complex interrelationship, with the English influence most apparent in procedural aspects of the legal system and methods of adjudication, and the Roman - Dutch influence most visible in its substantive private law . As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in both criminal and civil procedure, company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman - Dutch common law is followed in the South African contract law, law of delict (tort), law of persons, law of things, family law, etc . With the commencement in 1994 of the interim Constitution, and in 1997 its replacement, the final Constitution, another strand has been added to this weave . </P> <P> Besides South Africa itself, South African law, especially its civil law and common law elements, also forms the basis of the laws of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, which were introduced during the process of colonisation . Basutoland (Lesotho) received the law of the Cape Colony in 1884, and Bechuanaland (Botswana) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) received it in 1891 . Swaziland received the law of the Transvaal Colony in 1904, and South - West Africa (Namibia) received the law of the Cape Province in 1920, after its conquest by South Africa . </P> <P> The South African court system is organised hierarchically, and consists of (from lowest to highest legal authority): Magistrates' Courts; High Courts; a Supreme Court of Appeal, the highest authority in non-Constitutional matters; and a Constitutional Court, which is the highest authority in constitutional matters . The Constitutional Court has final authority to decide whether an issue is Constitutional or not . Certain specialised courts have also been provided for by the legislature, in order to avoid backlog in the main legal administration infrastructure . Among these is the Small Claims Court, which resolves disputes involving small monetary sums . In addition, African indigenous courts, which deal exclusively with indigenous law, also exist . The Constitutional Court is the highest court in the land and deals with all matters, today, this was an alteration made by the state when the question of,' why is the constitution the highest law in the land but the constitutional court isn't the highest court' thus the evidential change . </P> <P> Until 1795, the Seven United Provinces of Holland was a sovereign independent state . Together with the other territories of the Netherlands, it was organised into a fairly free commonwealth of nations known as the Republiek der Vereenigde Nederlanden (Republic of the United Netherlands). It was originally a rural territory, but the rapid speed of development during the 15th century changed it into a trading centre . The old Germanic customary law was no longer able to settle the disputes which arose in everyday trade, and the Dutch turned to the more advanced Roman law . They took it over and changed it to suit their lives, to such an extent that at the beginning of the 17th century, the great Dutch jurist Hugo de Groot (Grotius) could describe this fusion (or joining together) of Dutch and Roman principles as a "new" legal system with its own contents . This was how Roman - Dutch Law began . It was later to form the basis of the present common law in South Africa in a form that had been expanded by what were called the placaaten which was the legislation of that period . </P>

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