Johannes Christiaan de Wet
Encyclopedia
Johannes Christiaan de Wet (1912–1990) was South Africa
's most influential jurist
and teacher of law.
Born as a farmer's son in the Orange Free State
, he studied law at Stellenbosch, attaining doctorates there and in Leiden. After World War II
forced him to return to South Africa in 1942, he taught law at Stellenbosch from 1942 to 1972, making his faculty one of the leading faculties of law in the country. Afterwards, he taught Roman law
and comparative law
at Cape Town
from 1976 to 1981.
Among his many publications, the most notable were his seminal textbooks Kontraktereg en Handelsreg (1949, with J.P. Yeats) and Strafreg (1948, with H.L. Swanepoel), which saw several re-editions until the 1980s. With these works, de Wet abandoned the prevailing tradition of constructing legal rules from case law
. Inspired by European civil law
, he sought instead to construct a consistent framework of terms and principles to serve as a benchmark for case law itself.
Through his work, de Wet enhanced the status of his native Afrikaans
by making it a language of scientific legal discourse. His influence particularly on the law of contract
s and on penal law
was immense. Finally, his intellectual approach, characterised by critical rationalism
and self-assurance, had a liberating impact in the intellectual climate of apartheid-era South Africa.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's most influential jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and teacher of law.
Born as a farmer's son in the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, he studied law at Stellenbosch, attaining doctorates there and in Leiden. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
forced him to return to South Africa in 1942, he taught law at Stellenbosch from 1942 to 1972, making his faculty one of the leading faculties of law in the country. Afterwards, he taught Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
and comparative law
Comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law of different countries. More specifically, it involves study of the different legal systems in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, Islamic law, Hindu law, and Chinese law...
at Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
from 1976 to 1981.
Among his many publications, the most notable were his seminal textbooks Kontraktereg en Handelsreg (1949, with J.P. Yeats) and Strafreg (1948, with H.L. Swanepoel), which saw several re-editions until the 1980s. With these works, de Wet abandoned the prevailing tradition of constructing legal rules from case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
. Inspired by European civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
, he sought instead to construct a consistent framework of terms and principles to serve as a benchmark for case law itself.
Through his work, de Wet enhanced the status of his native Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
by making it a language of scientific legal discourse. His influence particularly on the law of contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
s and on penal law
Penal law
In the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs...
was immense. Finally, his intellectual approach, characterised by critical rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
and self-assurance, had a liberating impact in the intellectual climate of apartheid-era South Africa.