Abstract

WILDENBOER, Liezl. Judicial administration beyond the Orange River from 1838 to 1843. Fundamina (Pretoria) [online]. 2016, vol.22, n.2, pp.347-364. ISSN 2411-7870.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2411-7870/2016/v22n2a9.

This article looks at the early administration of justice beyond the Orange River for the period from 1838 to 1843. During this time the areas east and west of the Drakensberg were administered as one by the Volksraad seated at Pietermaritzburg (east) and the adjunct council seated at Potchefstroom (west). Since no law reports for this period exist, not much is known about the administration of justice at the time. However, the 1838 and 1841 Regulations give some indication of the basic judicial structures and jurisdiction of the courts. Further deductions can be made from the minutes of the Volksraad during this period as well as a few additional documents that have survived. Lastly, this paper also considers the law that was applied during this period.

Keywords : Early administration of justice; Natal; nineteenth century; courts; landdrost and heemraden; 1838 Regulations; 1841 Regulations; messenger of the court; schutmeester; onder-schout; wykmeester; venduafslager; markmeester; law agents; Volksraad; Roman-Dutch law; Janssens.

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