A 19 member team of academics of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) demonstrated their legal advocacy skills when they attended the 2017 Conference of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa in Swakopmund, Namibia.
The three day (16 to 20 January 2017) conference’s theme was Land reform: Lessons for Law, Good Governance and Legal Education.
Speaking on the first day of the three day conference, Prof Mia Swart, who teaches International Law at UJ, pointed out that it was evident that the advances made in terms of resettlement don’t necessarily translate into significant poverty alleviation when she presented a paper on Namibia’s land reform process.
Prof Swart drew attention to the persistence of high levels of economic inequality, highlighting data which indicates the different living standards of white vs black Namibians.
In addition to Prof Swart, 15 members of the University’s Faculty of Law presented papers. Presentations were not limited to that of the conference theme, and papers were delivered on various legal topics. Mr Marius van Staden, who teaches Public Law at UJ, presented a paper, entitled, The Regulation of Work and the Rise of Legislation.
Mr van Staden was also elected as the Secretary of the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa.
University Law lecturers, Ms Samantha Huneberg and Ms Marissha Pillay, were recognised at the conference. Both were acknowledged with the First Time Presenters’ Prize winners.
The Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa is the official platform for legal academics in the Southern African region. It is represented on a diversity of important bodies. Its purposes are to promote research and teaching in the field of law, to further the professional interests of its membership and to act, as far as possible, as the common voice of legal academics.
The Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa organises a conference every eighteen months where all those involved in legal education and training (Law lecturers) have an opportunity to exchange ideas and research findings.
