| University of Pretoria Faculty of Law | |
| Type: | Public Law school |
| Established: | 1908 |
| Affiliations: | University of Pretoria |
| Dean: | Elsabe Schoeman |
| Former Names: | Transvaal University College (1908–1930)[1] |
| Nickname: | Tuks or Tukkies[2] |
| Mascot: | Oom Gert[3] |
| Colours: | Blue, Gold and Red |
| City: | Pretoria |
| State: | Gauteng |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Campus: | Hatfield |
| Website: | Faculty of Law |
The University of Pretoria Faculty of Law was established in 1908. It consists of six academic departments, six centres, two law clinics and the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP).[4] This faculty has Departments of Jurisprudence, Mercantile Law, Private Law, Procedural Law, Public Law and Centre for Human Rights. The faculty offers the undergraduate LLB degree, and postgraduate LLM/MPhil and LLD/PhD degrees.
The Oliver R Tambo Law Library houses the faculty's collection of legal materials and the Law of Africa collection.[5]
The faculty organises the annual African and World Human Rights Moot Court Competitions. In 2006, the faculty's Centre for Human Rights received the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education.[6] Since 1997, the university has produced more research output every year than any other institution in South Africa, as measured by the Department of Education's accreditation benchmark.[7]
The proposal for a university for the capital, first mooted in the Volksraad in 1889, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War in 1899. In 1902, after the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging, the Normal College for teacher training was established in Groenkloof, Pretoria, and in 1904, the Transvaal Technical Institute, with an emphasis on mining education, opened in Johannesburg. In 1906, the Transvaal Technical Institute changed its name to the Transvaal University College (TUC).[8] On 4 March 1908, when Transvaal University College (TUC) transferred its arts and science courses to its newly established Pretoria Campus, the precursor to the university was established, initially offering courses in languages, sciences, and law.[9] [10]
In November 2019, Elsabe Schoeman became Dean of UP Law.[11] Since August 2020, the Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning has been Professor Charles Maimela, the youngest and first black Deputy Dean at UP Law.[12]
UP Law currently employs approximately 70 dedicated full-time academics.[13]
UP Law got a global 78th-placed ranking in 2023 and 60th in 2022,[14] making it the highest ranked Faculty of Law on the African continent.[15]
The faculty conferred 179 masters' and 35 doctoral graduates in 2017, 173 master's and 27 doctoral graduates in 2018,[16] and 18 doctoral and 246 master's degrees in 2019.[17]
Centres and institutes in the faculty include the Centre for Advanced Corporate & Insolvency Law, Centre for Child Law, Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Intellectual Property Law, Centre for Medicine & Law, Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa and Sports Law Centre in Africa.
See main article: Centre for Human Rights. The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, founded in 1986, is an organisation promoting human rights on the continent of Africa through educational outreach, including multinational conferences, seminars and publications such as Human Rights Law in Africa, the African Human Rights Law Journal, the African Human Rights Law Reports and The Constitutional Law of South Africa. The centre, which was founded during Apartheid, helped adapt a Bill of Rights for South Africa and contributed to creating the South African Constitution.[18] In 2006, the centre received the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education.[6]
The Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA), established at the beginning of 2011, is a research institute in the Faculty of Law with Professors Erika de Wet and Christof Heyns (the United Nations Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions) being appointed as co-directors.[5]
The ICLA coordinates the Oxford Constitutions Online African country reports and collaborates with the Centre for Human Rights to coordinate the Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) Online African case law.[5]
The Centre for Child was established in 1998 and is recognized as a law clinic by the Law Society. Established in 2003, the centre's Children's Litigation Project acts as amicus curiae in litigation in relation to children's rights by appearing in several cases before the North and South Gauteng High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court.[19] [20]
| Moot court | Institution | Founded | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African Human Rights Moot Court Competition | Organised by the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law | 1992 | Held at participating law schools in the African continent | |
| South African National Schools Moot Court Competition | Organised annually by a different grouping of law schools | 2011 | National oral rounds take place at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, Pretoria and the finals at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg | |
| World Human Rights Moot Court Competition | Organised by the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law | 2009 | Pretoria | |
| African Trade Moot | Organised by the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape | Pretoria and Cape Town | ||
| Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition | Organised by the International Institute of Space Law | The Africa Regional Round is hosted by the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa, University of Pretoria Faculty of Law |
The Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), within the Faculty of Law, publishes and distributes scholarly legal texts in English, Afrikaans, French, Arabic and Portuguese.[21] PULP publishes a series of collections of legal documents related to African public law and legal textbooks from other African countries and is a member of the Publishers' association of South Africa.[22]
Law students participate in the following activities:
Well-known alumni include:[24]