South Africa

• The Constitution of 1996, the highest law, with a Bill of Rights
• Acts of Parliament
• Roman-Dutch common law and English-influenced rules, developed by the courts
• Customary law, which the Constitution recognises

• The Constitutional Court, which is the highest court on constitutional matters
• The Supreme Court of Appeal, the highest court on other matters
• High Courts, magistrates' courts and specialised courts (such as labour and land courts)

A four-year law degree (LLB), then practical training. The profession is split: attorneys deal with clients, and advocates (who are members of a Bar) argue in the higher courts.

• Roman-Dutch law, brought by Dutch settlers, still shapes contract, property and delict (tort) law.
• The Constitution allows courts to apply the Bill of Rights to private relations too.
• Judges can develop the common law and customary law to match the Constitution.
• The legal profession is split into attorneys and advocates.

Netherlands, United Kingdom, Israel, Nigeria, Indonesia

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists South Africa as: Civil law, Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Guyana, Israel, Lesotho, Malta, Mauritius, Namibia, Northern Cyprus, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka.

• Constitutional Court of South Africa
• South African Judiciary

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.