Law | Eyezomthetho
Regsgeleerdheid
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
LAW
COURSE FRAMEWORK
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 214
2025
NQF Level: 6
Credits: 12
44342-214
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Table of contents
1. Word of welcome
2. Contact
2.1 Lecturer(s): contact details & consultation hours
2.2 Teaching assistant(s): contact details & consultation hours
2.3 Departmental secretary: contact details
2.4 Communication with parents
3. Contact sessions
3.1 Lectures
3.2 Tutorials
3.3 Notional hours
3.4 Class and assesment timetable clashes
3.5 Medical certificates
3.6 Special Needs/Concessions for tests
4. Teaching and learning approach
5. Outcomes of the module
6. Resources
7. Assessment
7.1 Assessment strategy
7.2 Assessment opportunities and weights
7.3 Pass Requirements
7.4 Calculation of FM after A2
7.5. Access to A3
7.6 Calculation of FM after A3
7.7 Assessment queries
8. Language policy
9. Plagiarism and Copyright
10. Study hints
11. Framework
11.1 Topics and subtopics
11.2 Weekly schedule
11.3 List of prescribed cases
In the case of a discrepancy between the English and the Afrikaans version of the
course framework, the English version is the correct version.
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1. WORD OF WELCOME
Welcome to Constitutional Law 214. In this modules we will discuss the structures of
government at national level through a separation of powers lense. We will also discuss the
interaction between the different levels of government.
2. CONTACT DETAILS
2.1 Lecturer
Prof BV Slade
Office: Room 2003 Old Main Building
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 021 808 3195
Consultation hours:
Please note that consultations are only to be scheduled via email, by contacting your lecturer
directly. You are please to include a variety of days/times that you are available, subject to your
class timetable, within the body of the email (do not attach a scan/copy of your timetable as
an attachment to your email).
Consultation and email communication policy:
Students are welcome to consult with lecturers during their consultation hours. Please note that
lecturers will not address substantive queries regarding the module content through email
correspondence. If you have a query regarding the module content, schedule an appointment
with your lecturer as per the procedure outlined above in paragraph 2.1. Emails seeking
information where the information is already contained in either the course
framework or the university’s general rules and policies, or which has been
announced in class or on Sunlearn, will not be replied to. If you do not receive a reply to
an email, please consult these sources of information.
Please note that emails or any behaviour that is rude, abusive or threatening will not be tolerated
and the Faculty will not hesitate to institute disciplinary action in such circumstances. Students
are furthermore requested to use the appropriate style guidelines and register that would be
expected of written communication within a professional context.
Students are reminded to include, at the very least, the following in all email correspondence
with your lecturer/faculty staff:
• Your full name and student number;
• Your degree programme; and
• The specific module that your correspondence is applicable to.
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2.2 Assistant
Zandri Swanepoel
Office: Room 1029 Old Main Building
Email: [email protected]
Office hours:
Mondays: 09h00-13h00
Thursdays: 09h00-13h00 and 14h00-16h00
Fridays: 09h00-13h00
NB: Please note that all administrative queries regarding the module should first be directed to
the module assistant and not the departmental secretary.
2.3 Departmental Secretary
Ms Sibulele Vala
Office: Room 2042 Old Main Building
Email:
[email protected]Tel: 021 808 3195
2.4 Communication with parents:
SU respects students’ privacy. That also means that SU recognises that students’ personal
information (including academic results) belongs to students and not to their parents and that
there are no legal grounds on which SU may give the information to the parent, including in
personal conversations, without the student’s written consent.
We recognise with great appreciation parents’ interest in their children and as a gesture of
goodwill we will discuss students’ study matters with their parents, but only with the written
consent of the student concerned.
3. CONTACT SESSIONS
3.1 Lectures
There are two lectures per week:
Wednesday 16h00-16h50: Krotoa 1001
Thursday 15h00-15h50 Krotoa 1001
Please see the schedule for themes / topics below
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3.2 Tutorials
During the first week of lectures students will be divided into groups according to the following
times:
• Mondays at 10:00
• Mondays at 11:00
• Tuesdays at 10:00
• Tuesdays at 11:00
The venues will be made available at the start of the semester. It is compulsory for
students to attend all tutorials. Your attendance and participation during
these tutorials will form part of your class mark. The work to be prepared for
the tutorials will be communicated to you during lectures. This information, along with
your tutorial assignment, will also be made available on SUNLearn. Consequently, it is
expected of students to prepare and submit typed tutorial assignmentson SUNLearn.
Information concerning the submission of tutorial assignments will be placed on
SUNLearn.
3.3 Notional hours
Notional hours represents the agreed estimated learning time taken by the average student to
achieve the specified learning outcomes of a module (DHET, 2014; DHET, 2021). This is not a
precise measure but indicates the amount of study time and degree of commitment expected.
This includes, inter alia, consideration of contact time (in lectures and tutorials (if applicable), any
research, completion of assignments, individual learning of the content and all assessments. Each
credit allocated to a module represents ten notional hours, i.e., a ten-credit module is equal to
100 notional hours and would indicate that the average student would need 100 hours to achieve
the identified outcomes and obtain the necessary knowledge and skills.
Please note the following about the notional hours for Constitutional Law 214:
• It is a semester comprising 12 credits, which means that students should spend
120 notional hours working on the module contents during the semester.
• The first semester of 2025 is 13 weeks long (teaching time) and an assessment
period of roughly two weeks.
• This division translates to roughly 8 hours per week that students should devote
to Constitutional Law 214 during the semester.
• Students should bear in mind that 2 hours per week will be dedicated to contact
lectures (including 1 hour per week for tutorials), the remaining 6 hours per week
should be divided between to time spent on preparing for lectures, engaging with
prescribed material, carrying out formative and summative assessments (tests and
exams) and time spent on private study.
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3.4 Class and assessment timetable clashes and attendance
Please note that no student is allowed to register for any two modules that may clash on either
the class timetable or assessment schedule. It is the student’s responsibility to check all timetables
and make sure there are no clashes. Students are requested to consult the University’s General
Calendar, Part 1 (2025), Application, admission and registration as a student, paragraph 4.2.7
(Limitations with regard to registration for modules on the basis of timetable clashes) in regards
to the aforementioned provisions.1
Please note further the following wording from the University’s General Calendar, Part 1 (2025),
Assessments and promotions, (6.) Generally applicable assessment rules, paragraph 6.2.1: “You
shall not be admitted to the assessments in a module unless you are registered for the module,
have attended the required contact sessions for the module and have, up to the assessment,
satisfactorily performed the work prescribed in such module".2 Please note that class and (where
offered) tutorial attendance is accordingly compulsory, as it constitutes an integral part of the
outcomes and assessment criteria in this module.
3.5 Medical certificates
Students are requested to consult the University’s General Calendar, Part 1 (2025)
[“Admission and Registration”] section 12 [“Absence from Classes and/or Assessments”],
which provides the overarching framework applicable to this section.3
The Faculty of Law wishes to clarify that the following medical certificates will NOT be accepted:
a.) Medical certificates issued later than 24 hours from the time the assessment occurred
or the submission date of an academic assignment; and/or
b.) Medical certificates indicating that a student was not examined by the medical
practitioner in person, i.e., where the medical practitioner uses the phrase “as I was
informed” or a similar wording which suggests that the medical practitioner merely
confirms the information provided by the student instead of having examined the
student themself. The certificate must accordingly indicate that it has been issued as
a result of personal observation of the student by the practitioner (as opposed to
merely a telephonic consultation or communication); and/or
c.) In cases of mental health conditions, only medical certificates issued by psychiatrists,
medical practitioners and registered clinical psychologists will be accepted.
Furthermore, the student had to have been seen by the relevant psychiatrist, medical
practitioner and registered clinical psychologists at the time of the mental health
condition having prevented the writing of the test in question.
1 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Documents/Yearbooks/Current/2025-Part-1-General-Rules.pdf
2 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Documents/Yearbooks/Current/2025-Part-1-General-Rules.pdf
3 http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Documents/Yearbooks/Current/2025-Part-1-General-Rules.pdf
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Please note that the abovementioned qualifications apply to a medical certificate that is
submitted to excuse an absence from class or a tutorial.
A hard copy of the medical certificate must be handed in to the departmental secretary on
the first weekday following the official test date. In addition, a scanned copy may be sent
electronically to your lecturer prior to the end of the first weekday following the official test
date – before the hard copy is submitted to the departmental secretary. Should a student fail
to hand in the medical certificate within this time period it will constitute the non-completion
of the assessment opportunity/test.
Whilst the Faculty is mindful of the need to be accommodating of both physical and mental
health conditions, the point of departure remains dependent on the issuing of a valid medical
certificate, so as to ensure fairness and consistency in application of the abovementioned
procedures. Students are furthermore reminded of the various university services available,
including Campus Health and the Centre for Student Counselling and Development.
3.6 Special Needs/Concessions for tests
Students who have been granted a special needs concession by the University, must provide the
departmental secretary, no later than one week before any scheduled test, with the official
university consent letter so as to allow adequate time for applicable arrangements to be made.
Students are futhermore encouraged to approach the departmental secretaries before each test
series, in order to confirm that any arrangements are in order.
Note: Any such application for a concession is subject to reasonable accommodation
within the capacity of the Faculty.
4. TEACHING AND LEARNING APPROACH
Constitutional Law 214 consists of formal lectures as well as practical sessions in the form of
tutorials. Attendance of these components are compulsory. Prescribed reading and cases are
indicated in the framework and form an essential part of the course. They should be studied in
detail.
5. OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE
Upon completion of the module, the successful student should be able to provide clear, relevant
and accurate written presentation (taking account of the writing style and referencing guide
where appropriate for written assignments):
• Explaining the structure and operation of the different branches and levels of the
state
• Explaining the role of the chapter 9 institutions
• Providing legal solutions to substantive and procedural issues in real and
hypothetical cases related to the exercise of power by the different branches and
levels of the state
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• Providing legal solutions to the conflict between the different branches and levels
of the state in real and hypothetical cases
• Critically evaluating the resolution of conflict between the different branches and
levels of the state in case law.
6. RESOURCES
The following sources are prescribed:
• The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (You must bring your
Constitution to every lecture)
• P de Vos, W Freedman (eds) et al South African Constitutional Law in Context (2nd ed
2021) Oxford University Press
Prescribed case law:
The detailed study guide sets out the prescribed cases. The study guide will be made available on
SUNLearn. It is an essential requirement of this course that all the prescribed cases are studies
thoroughly. The cases have been selected to assist in illustrating some of the key principles. It it
your responsibility to find the case law via JutaStat, LexisNexis or Saflii. Please consider the
environment when deciding to make a printout of the cases.
Other non-prescibed cases, of which you should also take note, will be referred to and
discussed during lectures and tutorials.
Some of the cases which will be referred to and discussed in the lectures have been included in the
study guide as “additional (non-compulsory) reading”. Reading these cases is not compulsory, and
it is sufficient for purposes of the course if you know what was said about them in class and/or in
the textbook. At the same time, reading the actual judgments (or parts thereof) could help you
to develop a more integrated understanding of the relevant aspects.
Students are reminded that the compulsory and optional resources may be supplemented during
the course of the module. Any supplement to the compulsory and optional resources shall be
announced in class and be made available on Sunlearn. Students are reminded that should
supplementary resources be added, this course framework shall not necessarily be updated. Class
attendance is therefore imperative.
7. ASSESSMENT
7.1 Assessment strategy
Constitutional Law 214 will be assessed through the flexible assessment system. In addition to
this section on assessment in the module framework, also note the general rules regarding
assessment in Part 1 of the University’s Calendar and the Undergraduate Assessment Rules of
the Faculty of Law.
7.2 Assessment opportunities and weights
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This module has three main summative assessment opportunities (A1, A2 and A3) and a number
of formative assessment opportunities (“AF” for assessment further). The type, weight (only if
the assessment contributes to the final mark (“FM”)) and date of these respective assessment
opportunities are as follows:
Assessment Type of assessment Weight of Date of assessment
opportunity assessment towards
FM
AF Tutorials 0.15 Dates of tutorials will be
announced on SUNLearn
A1 Invigilated, sit-down, 0.35 29 April 2025
limited-time assessment
A2 Invigilated, sit-down, 0.50 23 May 2025
limited-time assessment (09:00)
A3 Invigilated, sit-down, See paragraphs 5 and 6 17 June 2025
limited-time assessment below (09:00)
NB: It is the student’s responsibility to check, with the aid of the University's official time-
tables, the relevant dates and you must also establish the correct times and venues for the
invigilated limited-time assessments (A1, A2 and A3).
It is every student's duty to ascertain the venues and time of commencement of a particular
assessment and to be at the correct place on time. Your lecturers are not responsible for
providing information in this regard.
The content of each assessment will be communicated on SUNLearn closer to the time of the
assessment.
During assessments students will mostly be required to apply legal principles to facts. Students
should therefore identify which provision in the Constitution is applicable, discuss the applicable
law in full (for example, case law), together with academic opinions, and apply the principles to
the facts. Students will also be required to think critically about the case law and certain legal
principles. Essay type questions may also be asked, in which a student will be asked, for example,
to discuss a specific statement critically.
Students are expected to be honest at all times. Any form of dishonesty, copying or plagiarism
will be considered for further possible disciplinary action.
More specific information relating to the assessment opportunities follows below.
Assessments Further:
Tutorials
• During the course of the year, there will be a number of opportunities to learn
(formative assessments). These opportunities will take the format of tutorial
exercises and short assignments
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• It is compulsory for students to attend tutorials where applicable. Your attendance
and participation during these tutorials will count towards the AF mark.
• The work to be prepared for the tutorials will be communicated to you during
lectures. This information, along with your tutorial assignment, will also be made
available on SUNLearn.
• Note the following:
o You must make a bona fide attempt to complete the tutorial or assignment.
o You must attend all tutorials where applicable. Your attendance of tutorials
will be recorded on a register throughout the year. You will be awarded a
mark for every tutorial that you attend (attendance mark).
o A further mark will be awarded for every tutorial assignment you submit
(submission mark). Please note that no mark will be awarded if your
tutorial assignment does not comply with the following formal requirements:
▪ The tutorial must be typed.
▪ It must be submitted online via SUNLearn; no late submissions will be
accepted.
▪ All tutorials must include a signed plagiarism declaration / an
acceptance of the plagiarism declaration if available online. Failure to
sign or agree to the plagiarism declaration will result in the tutorial
submission being viewed as a non-submission.
▪ The tutorial must comply with the style guidelines contained in the
faculty’s Writing Guide. It is, for instance, critically important that you
carefully follow the guidelines regarding the citation of literature.
▪ The tutorial must be accompanied by a bibliography indicating all the
sources used for completion of the tutorial. Failure to include a
bibliography will result in the tutorial submission being viewed as a
non-submission.
▪ Your tutorial assignment must not exceed the prescribed maximum
length and must not be shorted than the prescribed minimum.
If you are unable to attend a tutorial class or submit your typed assignment for
a legitimate reason (for example as a result of illness or another reason like death
in the family) a doctor's certificate or other written proof needs to be
presented to the module assistant. The module assistant, in conjunction with the
lecturers, has the discretion to accept the excuse.
Short assignments
During the course of the year there will also be short assignments; short questions that you need
to prepare before a lecture and submit during the lecture. Information regarding the submission
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of these will be communicated to you in advance. The submission of these typed assignments
must be accompanied by a signed plagiarism declaration.
Each tutorial (submission and attendance), and assingment will count 3% for a total AF mark
contributing 15% of the AF mark.
Main summative assessments
The main summative assessments (A1, A2 (and A3)) are invigilated (on-campus), limited-time
written assessments.
During these assessments, students will be provided with a Constitution that they may consult
during the test. Students are not permitted to write in the Constitution, and must return the
Constitution after completion of the test.
Please write legibly in these assessments and answer only the question asked.
7.3 Pass requirements
A valid FM of at least 50 must be achieved to pass the module (see the calculation of the FM after
A2 in paragraph 7.4 below and the calculation of the FM after A3 in paragraph 7.6 below).
To obtain a valid FM, students must complete at least two main assessment opportunities (i.e., at
least two of A1, A2 and A3). Therefore, if a student has, for example, missed both A1 and A3,
the student cannot pass the module and the student’s FM will be capped at 45 (which is a fail).
Please note: As stress builds during the course of the semester, students may get tempted to
miss an assessment and write A3 instead. Students are discouraged from doing this because they
may miss important building blocks in the module; and students should also not underestimate
the weight of the A3 in the case of a missed test.
7.4 Calculation of FM after A2
A FM is calculated after A2 if a student completed A1 and A2, taking the weights of and percentage
marks achieved in AF, A1 and A2 into account.
Therefore, the FM after A2 if a student completed A1 and A2 is calculated according to the
following formula: percentage mark AF (0.15) + percentage mark A1 (0.35) + percentage mark
A2 (0.50).
7.5 Access to A3
A student will only have access to A3 if any one of the following scenarios applies:
a. A student missed A1 for whatever reason (students are not required to submit a
medical certificate or other proof of a valid excuse for missing A1). A3 is a
substitute main assessment for A1 in this scenario a).
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b. A student missed A2 for whatever reason (students are not required to submit a
medical certificate or other proof of a valid excuse for missing A2). A3 is a
substitute main assessment for A2 in this scenario b).
c. A student completed A1 and A2, but has not yet achieved a FM of at least 50 after
A2. A3 is a supplementary main assessment in this scenario c).
d. A student missed both A1 and A2 for whatever reason (students are not required
to submit a medical certificate or other proof of a valid excuse for missing A1 and
A2). Please note that such a student will not be able to obtain a valid FM as set out
in paragraph 7.3 and will thus not be able to pass the module after A3
7.6 Calculation of FM after A3
In all the formulas below, if a student did not complete an assessment, a percentage mark of zero
is awarded for that assessment.
a. If A3 is a substitute main assessment for a student who missed A1 (the scenario in
paragraph 7.5(a) above), A3 carries the weight of A1 (namely 0.35). A FM is
calculated after A3, taking the percentage marks achieved in AF, A2 and A3 into
account.
Note that the FM after A3 is not capped at 50 in this scenario a).
b. If A3 is a substitute main assessment for a student who missed A2 (the scenario in
paragraph 7.5(b) above), A3 carries the weight of A2 (namely 0.50). A FM is
calculated after A3, taking the percentage marks achieved in AF, A1 and A3 into
account.
Note that the FM after A3 is not capped at 50 in this scenario b).
c. If A3 is a supplementary main assessment for a student who completed A1 and A2
but did not achieve a FM of at least 50 after A2 (the scenario in paragraph 7.5(c))
above), the final mark after A3 is the higher of the following 2 results:
percentage mark AF (0.15) + percentage mark A3 (0.35) + percentage mark A2 (0.50).
AND
percentage mark AF (0.15) + percentage mark A1 (0.35) + percentage mark A3 (0.50).
Note that the FM after A3 in this scenario c):
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i.is capped at 50; and
ii.cannot be less than the FM after A2.
d. If A3 is a main assessment for a student who missed A1 and A2 (the scenario in
paragraph 7.5(d) above), the final mark after A3 is the higher of the following 2
results:
percentage mark AF (0.15) + percentage mark A3 (0.35) + percentage mark A2 (0.50).
AND
percentage mark AF (0.15) + percentage mark A1 (0.35) + percentage mark A3 (0.50).
Note that the FM after A3 in this scenario d) is capped at 45 (which is a fail).
7.7 Assessment queries
In the event that students wish to discuss or query an assessment result, they are expected to
arrange a consultation via email with the lecturer not later than 1 week after the release of
the memorandum/class/tutorial discussion of the assessment. Furthermore, the student is
expected to provide written motivation for the reassessment based on the provided
memorandum in the email request for a consultation.
No queries or adjustments of assessment results will be entertained in the absence of the student
having proof of their attempts at arranging said consultation within the timeframe mentioned
above.
8. LANGUAGE POLICY
Please refer to the applicable policy website of the University, the Faculty’s website and the Law
101 SUNLearn module for the latest updated information about the University language policy
and Faculty implementation plan, and for a detailed explanation of the implications of the language
options below.
Language option of this module: Dual-medium4
9. PLAGIARISM & COPYRIGHT
Please refer to the applicable policy website of the University, the Faculty’s website, and the
Faculty’s Legal Writing Blog, for the latest updated information about plagiarism and copyright.
4Refer to the SU Language Policy (2021) for the three different modes of language of tuition:
Dual medium – ‘For undergraduate modules where both Afrikaans and English are used in the same class group, …
7.1.4.1 During each lecture, all information is conveyed at least in English, and summaries or emphasis on content
are also given in Afrikaans…’
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You can access the following documents on the relevant website(s):
• SU Policy on Plagiarism;
• Plagiarism guidelines in respect of written assignments, essays, research, papers and
tutorials completed under the auspices of the Faculty of Law;
• Plagiarism Declaration; and
• Cover page for assignments (with plagiarism declaration).
10. Study tips
Please refer to the Law 101 SUNLearn module and the Faculty’s Legal Writing Blog for
information on study tips specifically aimed at Law students.
11. Framework
Please refer to the Study Guide for this module .
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