DIE ONDERRIG VAN DIE INHEEMSE REG: BEVOEG OF BEPERK DEUR BOEKE?

The article deals with the teaching of customary law at tertiary level, with specific reference to the lecturer’s capability to teach the subject, if not a member of a traditional community. This question inevitably relates to the difference between “official” and “living” customary law. The author comes to the conclusion that whether or not the lecturer can teach customary law, is a matter of course content and the sources from which the content is drawn. Ideally, the content and sources should not be restricted to the “official” version of the discipline, as recorded in textbooks on customary law. A different manner of teaching recognizes that customary law is adynamic living system, the content of which might be difficult to ascertain. The article concludes with examples of two examination papers on second and final year levels of different universities, illustrating the incorporation of the “living” law in particularly the final year paper.