With a surface area of 1.29m sq km and 2414 km of coastline, Peru is the third-largest country in South America. It has a population of 28.2m, 30.2% of which is under the age of 14. While there is no official religion, the majority of Peruvians are Christian, and the Catholic Church plays an important role in the country’s culture.
Articles & Analysis | Workers’ rights: Historical developments in labour law plus proposed changes from The Report: South Africa 2012
In South Africa ordinary common law contractual principles originally formed the primary basis of employment regulation in the private sector. As such, the employment contract rather than legislation tended to be pivotal in determining the content of employment relationships. The result was an employment dispensation that tended to suit employers as...
Articles & Analysis | Rules of the game: The laws governing the establishment and activities of a company from The Report: South Africa 2012
The South African legal system is built upon the foundation of the common law. In this light, legislation in South Africa should be seen as a body of law that has been superimposed and embedded upon the common law. The common law consists of that entire body of law that is not found in legislation. As such, in instances where legislation is silent,...
Articles & Analysis | Redressing historical wrongs: Laws that confer advantages to black-empowered enterprises from The Report: South Africa 2012
Since 1994, the South African economy has been profoundly transformed and consistent economic growth has been recorded. Despite these successes, the government recognised that as long as the economy continued to be characterised by strong gender or racial inequalities, South Africa would be socially and politically unstable. Thus, the government set...
Articles & Analysis | Protecting ideas: A review of the major intellectual property laws from The Report: South Africa 2012
South Africa has a well-developed system of intellectual property (IP) laws. Developments in Europe are of significance here, and our legislation and case law follow the European position in many respects. IP rights are enforced by the civil courts, and, except for patents, we do not have a system of specialised courts. The highest body in terms of...
Articles & Analysis | Owning property: A look at some of the country’s real estate laws from The Report: South Africa 2012
The real estate regime is heavily legislated and creates a definite framework within which persons may own property. South Africa has a first-class definitive registration system, with property rights protected by the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.