Instrument quickly transposes ground reference target to eye level

Optical alignment of equipment is facilitated by a traverse target with a string suspending a plumb bob to transpose the ground level point to eye level operation. This instrument appreciably decreases the time required from the present method but achieves the same degree of precision

Dispute resolution in NAFTA and the WTO: a useful guide for SADC?

In the process of developing, structuring and formalising the mechanism for settlement of trade disputes in the SADC region, the system for the settlement of disputes in both NAFTA and the WTO can serve as a useful guide for SADC and even more so for the African Union. The swift, fair and just settlement of especially trade disputes will be a major factor in the economic development of the region and it is therefore necessary that a mechanism for the settlement of disputes is established that will serve the aims of SADC and its member states. This article provides an overview of the mechanisms for trade dispute resolution in the WTO and NAFTA as guide for SADC

Teaching South African (LLB) law students legal analysis to ensure critical thinking

The art of thinking in a peculiarly legal way is a skill essential to successfully entering the discourse of law

The University of the Free State Faculty of Law/Write Site intervention – Supporting broader access with the skills for success

Heeding the call for broader access to tertiary studies for previously disadvantaged students, the University of the Free State (UFS) is one of only a few institutions in the country that offer an extended, five-year Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme. Its more lenient admission requirements and more manageable distribution of course work across five study years have put access to professional legal studies within reach of students who would not have otherwise qualified for admission. Beyond broader access, however, still lies the challenge of student success. It is a well-documented fact that modern-day students enter higher education ill-prepared for the demands of tertiary studies, and those entering the extended LLB are no exception. The gaps in their skills sets include a lack of academic writing skills, which are among the core competencies required of a law graduate. In an effort to address this challenge, the UFS Faculty of Law has established an innovative collaboration with the Write Site, a writing centre staffed by language specialists who offer students personalised assistance with their writing assignments. This is done as part of the module Legal Skills, one of the foundational modules presented exclusively for students in the extended LLB programme. This article provides the details of the intervention, including its results to date. It concludes that the Faculty of Law/ Write Site collaboration is a model worthy of emulation, teaching students not only to write well, but also to do well in their academic field. Recommendations for fine-tuning the intervention are proposed, including a call for this type of skills assistance to be offered across the curriculum, instead of in a once-off module only. Whilst the current climate of acute human resources and funding shortfalls in higher education may make this hard to achieve, the academic success of our students and the professional success of our future lawyers and other professionals are on the line

The series limited liability company: Innovative, flexible … and complicated

Since the introduction of the limited liability company (LLC) in the United States of America, various states have recognised the need to experiment with ways of improving the limited liability this structure offers. Of particular interest in this regard is the development of the series LLC. The series LLC was intended to provide a more flexible manner for businesses to conduct their activities, while preventing the risks of liability from affecting the entire LLC enterprise. However, uptake of the series LLC has been slow. This can allegedly be ascribed to uncertainty about how this structure may be utilised for commercial purposes, as its relation to business law remains, to a large extent, unresolved. This article examines these uncertainties, including the “separateness” of the series LLC, the recognition of the limited liability it affords, the application of bankruptcy law, taxation, as well as the fiduciary duties attached to the structure. Certain recommendations are made to ease the way forward, while further legal development is awaited. First, series LLC statutes need to specifically provide for all the rights of each series as well as the rights reserved for the master LLC. Secondly, these statutes must specify a default rule for the measure of “separateness” between the master LLC and each series. Finally, series statutes ought to provide for notice of the limited liability of each series to creditors of the LLC

Inkwisatoriese en akkusatoriese elemente in die Amerikaanse pleitonderhandelingsproses: rigtingwyser of waarskuwingsteken?

Uit teks: Dit word algemeen aanvaar dat die prosedure van pleitonderhandelinge die hele strafproses hervorm het en is die belangrikste hiervan dat koste bespaar word en tyd meer effektief gebruik kan word. Dit dien as belangrike middel tot beskikking van die aanklaer en die verdediging. Pleitonderhandelinge kan ook bydra tot uitskakeling van onskuldigbevindings by ’n verhoor op bloot ’n tegniese punt. Die prosedure beperk ook tot ’n groot mate die omvang van regsprekende beamptes se diskresie by vonnisoplegging en bring mee dat die beskuldigde persoonlik ook by die proses betrek word

Is die essentialia van die vennootskap ondergeskik aan die bedoeling van die partye? ’n Oorsig oor die Suid- Afrikaanse reg

When determining the existence of partnership, it is necessary to establish whether the essentialia of a partnership are present. However, apart from the essentialia, the intention of the parties is regularly referred to and it is stated that the intention of the parties shall be conclusive, even in the presence of all the essentials. This article will attempt to illustrate that only the essentials are determinants for the existence of a partnership and that the intention of the parties can only refer to the intention to comply with the essentialia. The essentialia of partnership are: the making of a contribution by each partner; the business must be conducted to the joint benefit of all the parties; and the objective of the partnership should be to make and distribute profit. Although the essentials of the partnership seem cut and dried at first glance, the whole issue is clouded by a series of court rulings in which a further requirement, viz. the intention of the parties to create a partnership was added to the essentials by reference to contrary evidence that the agreement between the parties may not be a partnership agreement. With all due respect, this view cannot be concurred. The question that has to be asked is if the intention referred to is the intention to comply with all the requirements of the partnership or the intention to specifically create a partnership

Die vennootskap: goeie huweliksmaat met huwelik of konkubinaat?

In this article the legal position of people in a concubinate relationship after the breakup or dissolution of the relationship in the American, Dutch and South African law is compared. Various attempts in the American law failed to solve the problems that originate with the dissolution of marriages and concubinates or to establish a just and equitable system. In the Netherlands attempts were made to solve problems with living-together relationships, especially between members of the same sex. The South African courts have solved these problems by application of the partnership principles on  these relationships through recognition of the universal partnership and its use as a just and equitable remedy

’n Verkenning van die soorte vennootskappe in die Amerikaanse reg

This article briefly comments on the various types of partnerships encountered in American law. The types of ordinary as well as extraordinary partnerships are identified. Ordinary partnerships are only analyzed to the extent that they differ from the standard ordinary partnership. In American literature reference is made to the mining partnership, the family partnership, the partnership in real estate and the farming partnership. This differentiation is primarily based on the type of business with which the partnership is concerned. However, the mining partnership and the farming partnership differ from the ordinary partnership in a number of ways, and, as a result of their unique attributes, are discussed in detail. A brief discussion of the types of extraordinary partnerships is necessitated in order to highlight their differences. The limited partnership is discussed briefly and only the main characteristics are named