THE ‘CONSTITUTIONALISATION’ OF SOUTH AFRICAN PRIVATE LAW: TEACHING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS. THE EXPERIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

The South African Constitution has a determining effect on South African private law in that all private law legislation is testable against the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, and South African courts have an essential development task in respect of the common law principles of South African private law. In consequence, South African private law has undergone significant change under the influence of constitutional imperatives, which change will continue in future. I call this the ‘constitutionalisation’ of South African private law. In this article I examine some of the principal teaching challenges faced by South African private law academics in consequence of the constitutionalisation of private law, as well as a number of solutions to these challenges. To this end, I share the experience of private law colleagues at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.