Browsing by Author "De Vos, Wouter"

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    Negotiorum gestio in South African law : an historical and comparative analysis
    (1983) Van Zyl, Deon Hurter; De Vos, Wouter
    The present treatise deals with the subject of negotiorum gestio, or unauthorised administration of the affairs of another, as it is developed and been applied in South African law. As appears from the tittle hereof, it is not merely a description of the relevant aspects of negotiorum gestio as applied in modern South African practice, but an historical and comparative analysis of an institution which has its origin in classical Roman Law and has experienced fruitful development over a period of approximately two thousand years. In this regard the historical method of research has been applied, commencing with the Roman origins, continuing with the medieval and later development and concluding with relevant law as applied in South Africa up to the present day.
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    Sentencing reforms in a postcolonial society: a call for the rationalisation of sentencing discretion in Nigeria, drawing on South Africa and England
    (2015) Badejogbin, Oluwatoyin Akinwande; De Vos, Wouter; Phelps, Kelly
    This thesis investigates measures to ensure that sentencers introduce proportionality to sentencing and refrain from imposing penalties that infringe constitutional rights. The investigation involves two stages of analysis. First, the thesis examines the socio-historical context in which the practice of punishment evolved in England, South Africa and Nigeria in order to unveil how evolving concepts about punishment regulate or fail to regulate penal severity. Secondly, the thesis examined the normative basis of sentencing in South Africa and Nigeria, both of which are constitutional democracies and former English colonies. The analysis leads to two critical findings. First, Nigeria lacks the rich tapestry of constitutional jurisprudence that South African Courts have developed around punishment. Secondly, neither South Africa nor Nigeria has a structured system for rationalising sentencing discretion, with the result that sentencing can lead to widely disparate and disproportionate outcomes in both countries. The thesis thus proposes that Nigeria adopts constitutional provisions that restrain penal severity, and that it harmonise its pluralistic penal system, scrutinise statutory penalties in the light of constitutional norms, and, drawing on practices in England, develop guidelines that enhance proportionality and parsimony in sentencing.