key to the study guide - Name

Source of origin
Authoritative
source
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The purpose of this study unit is to provide you with background
knowledge which you must have in order to understand the way in which
the law, which includes family law, works.
Unless you read this study unit carefully, you may experience difficulties
with the module.
CONTENT OF THIS STUDY UNIT
Before you can start studying family law, you should know what the
sources of our law are and how much weight to attach to each of the
sources of the law.
1 SOURCES OF OUR LAW
SOURCES OF OUR LAW
Sources of origin Authoritative sources
It is necessary to distinguish between sources of origin and authoritative
sources of law. A source of origin of the law is every fact which gives rise to
positive law. (Positive law is the law which applies in a particular country
and which can be enforced.) Examples are legislation (Acts, proclamations,
regulations and ordinances) whether of Parliament, or of subordinate
legislative bodies (such as municipal councils), custom and agreement
(such as treaties between states and contracts). (It is often not realised that
an agreement creates law for the parties concerned: if Alice buys
something from Busisiwe, new law is created regarding Alice's right to
claim the thing bought and Busisiwe's right to claim the purchase price.)
The authoritative sources of our law are the laws, writings, etcetera from
which one can determine what the law is. These sources are the authorities
of our law. When the legal position in a particular instance has to be
determined, the authoritative sources of law have to be consulted and the
law must be found in them.
Before we take a closer look at the authoritative sources, we should
mention that the sources of origin and the authoritative sources of law
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