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Historical Milieu of Tribunals in South Africa: The Role of Church Tribunals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2021

Rashri Baboolal Frank
Rashri Baboolal Frank*
Affiliation:
Advocate of the High Court of South Africa Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria
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Abstract

The historical evolution of tribunals in South Africa is important in understanding the stratagem of present-day tribunals. This article attempts to take the reader on a journey from before colonisation to during and after that era. The aim is to address the historical journey of tribunals from a South African perspective, and to analyse Church tribunals regarding their functions, characteristics and daily operations through certain profound cases.

Keywords

churchcasestribunalsSouth Africa
Type
Articles
Information
Ecclesiastical Law Journal , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 67 - 81
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Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2021

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References

1 M Austin and P Vidal-Naquet, Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece: an introduction (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1977), p 297. See also R Carnwath, M Chitra, G Downes and P Spiller, ‘An overview of the tribunal scenes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom’, in R Creyke (ed), Tribunals in the Common Law World (Port Melbourne, Victoria, 2008), pp 1–26 at p 2. The term ‘tribunal’ comes from the Latin tribunus, referring to the tribune, the official who oversaw this court.

2 For the practice of makgotla, see R Choudree, ‘Traditions of conflict resolution in South Africa’, (1999) 1 African Journal on Conflict Resolution 9–27 at 23–25.

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7 S Letwin, ‘Plato’ and ‘Cicero’, in S Letwin, On the History of the Idea of Law, ed N Reynolds (Cambridge, 2008), pp 9–20 and 42–55.

8 Austin and Vidal-Naquet, Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece, p 297.

9 Ibid.

10 D Allen, ‘The origins of political philosophy’, in G Klosko (ed), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy (Oxford, 2013), pp 75–95 at p 75.

11 Carnwath et al, ‘Overview of the tribunal scenes’, p 2.

12 P Stein, Roman Law in European History (Oxford, 2004), p 63.

13 N Worden, Slavery in Dutch South Africa (Cambridge, 1985), pp 2–3. N Buthelezi, ‘Indigenous knowledge systems and agricultural rural development in South Africa: past and present perspectives’, (2014) 13:2 Indilinga – African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 231–250 at 234–235.

14 J Seroto, ‘Indigenous education during the pre-colonial period in southern Africa’, (2011) 10:1 Indilinga – African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems 77–88 at 78.

15 Ibid, pp 77–78.

16 G van Niekerk, ‘Indigenous law and narrative: rethinking methodology’, (2009) 32:2 Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa 208–227 at 209–210.

17 Ibid, p 209.

18 W Storey, Guns, Race, and Power in Colonial South Africa (Cambridge, 2008), pp 25–34.

19 Ibid, pp 35–36. See also Worden, Slavery in Dutch South Africa, p 42.

20 W Storey, Guns, race, and power in colonial South Africa, pp 35–36. See also Worden, Slavery in Dutch South Africa, pp 12, 125. F Kariuki, ‘Conflict resolution by elders in Africa: successes, challenges and opportunities’, pp 5–6, <http://kmco.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Conflict-Resolution-by-Elders-successes-challenges-and-opportunities-1.pdf>, accessed 19 October 2020.

21 Kariuki, ‘Conflict resolution by elders in Africa’, pp 5–6. See also A Ajayi and L Buhari, ‘Methods of conflict resolution in African traditional society’, (2015) 8:2 African Research Review 138–157 at 141.

22 Ajayi and Buhari, ‘Methods of conflict resolution’, p 141.

23 Velthuizen, ‘Applying endogenous knowledge in the African context’, pp 75–78.

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25 Cited in T Bennett, A Sourcebook of African Customary Law for Southern Africa (Cape Town, 1991), p 91.

26 Masina, ‘Xhosa practices of ubuntu for South Africa’, p 171.

27 Cited in Bennett, Sourcebook of African Customary Law for Southern Africa, p 91.

28 Ibid.

29 Masina, ‘Xhosa practices of ubuntu for South Africa’, pp 169–170, emphasis in original.

30 Ibid, pp 170–171.

31 Ibid, p 172.

32 Ibid, p 169.

33 O Schreiner, The Contribution of English Law to South African Law; and the rule of law in South Africa (Cape Town, 1967), p 5. See also Worden, Slavery in Dutch South Africa, pp 2–3. The Dutch East India company ruled the Cape Colony from 1652 to 1795.

34 T Bennett, Customary Law in South Africa (Cape Town, 2004), pp 35–36. The approach taken by the Cape authorities was consistent with Ordinance 3 of 1849, which allowed customary law to apply, provided that it was not repugnant to the general principles of humanity as observed by the civilised world.

35 Worden, Slavery in Dutch South Africa, pp 2–3. The British colonised South Africa after 1795. See also L Raditsa, Prisoners of a Dream: the South African mirage (Annapolis, MD, 1989).

36 Bennett, Sourcebook of African customary law for Southern Africa, p 90.

37 Bennett, Customary Law in South Africa, pp 41–42, with reference to s 11(1) of Native Administration Act 38.

38 Ibid, p 42.

39 N Ntuli, ‘Policy and government's role in constructive ADR developments in Africa’, available at <https://web.archive.org/web/20160909115051/http://capechamber.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/POLICY-IN-AFRICA-AND-GOVERNMENT.pdf>,accessed 19 October 2020.

40 S Brown, C Cervenak and D Fairman, ‘Alternative dispute resolution practitioners guide’, available at <https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/200sbe.pdf>, accessed 1 July 2017.

41 Ibid.

42 Archdiocese of Cincinnati, ‘History of tribunals’, available at <http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/ministeries-offices/tribunal/history-of-tribunal/>,accessed 31 March 2015.

43 Ibid.

44 A Raath and S de Freitas, ‘Church tribunals, doctrinal sanction and the South African Constitution’, (2002) 43:1–2 Dutch Reformed Theological Journal 276–284 at 276.

45 Van Graan v The Hope Town Consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church 1886 4 SC 131 at 134.

46 Ibid at 133.

47 Van Rooyen v Dutch Reformed Church Utrecht 1915 36 NLR 323.

48 Ibid at 330–331.

49 De Waal and Others v Van der Horst and Others 1918 TPD 277.

50 Ibid.

51 Ibid at 281–282.

52 Long v Bishop of Cape Town 1863 4 Searle 162.

53 Cited in De Waal and Others v Van der Horst and Others at 282.

54 Ibid.

55 Forbes v Eden (1867) LR 1 Sc and Div 568.

56 Cited in De Waal and Others v Van der Horst and Others at 283.

57 Ibid at 286.

58 Nel and Others v Donges NO and Others 1919 OPD 7 at 15.

59 Lucas v Wilkinson and Others 1926 47 NLR 10 at 16–17.

60 Ibid at 24.

61 Du Plessis v The Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church 1930 CPD 403.

62 Ibid at 422.

63 Cited in ibid at 425.

64 H Ebrahim, The Soul of a Nation: constitution-making in South Africa (Cape Town, 1998), p 13.

65 S Ndlovu, ‘The geopolitics of apartheid South Africa in the African continent: 1948–1994’, in South African Democracy Education Trust, The Road to Democracy in South Africa Volume 5 (Pretoria, 2013), pp 1–13 at pp 2–3.

66 L Rose-Innes, Judicial Review of Administrative Tribunals in South Africa (Cape Town, 1963), p 41.

67 De Vos v Die Ringskommissie van die NG Kerk Bloemfontein 1952 (2) SA 83 (O).

68 Ibid at 101.

69 Odendaal v Kerkraad van die NG Bloemfontein-Wes 1960 (1) SA 160 (O).

70 Ibid.

71 Odendaal v Loggerenberg en Andere 1961(1) SA 712 (O).

72 Theron en Andere v Die Ring van Wellington van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk 1976 (2) SA 1 (A).

73 Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000.

74 Raath and de Freitas, ‘Church tribunals, doctrinal sanction and the South African Constitution’, p 279.

75 J Slovo, ‘“Reforms” and revolution in South Africa’, in C Crais and T McClendon (eds), The South Africa Reader: history, culture, politics (Durham, NC, 2014), pp 436–444.

76 Ebrahim, Soul of a Nation, p 5.

77 W de Klerk, ‘The process of political negotiation: 1990–1993’, in B de Villiers (ed), Birth of a Constitution (Cape Town, 1994), pp 1–11 at pp 6–7.

78 Ibid, pp 7 and 9.

79 Bernstein v Bester NO 1996 (2) SA 751 (CC) at para 105.

80 F Slabbert, ‘Government and opposition: are the checks and balances intact?’, in B Bowes and S Pennington (eds), South Africa: the good news (Hyde Park, 2002), pp 49–64 at p 53.

81 Bernstein v Bester at para 51.

82 Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999; Companies Act 71 of 2008; Competition Act 89 of 1998; National Water Act 36 of 1998; National Credit Act 34 of 2005.

83 J Harries, Law and Empire in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 1999), p 215.

84 Bennett, Customary Law in South Africa, p 43.