DEVELOPING THE LAW CURRICULUM TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY LEGAL PRACTITIONER: A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The law curriculum in African countries must reflect the realities of the needs of their own societies, but law faculties and law schools in developing countries also need to equip their law graduates to deal with the wave of globalization sweeping the world. This is particularly important for countries in transition from dictatorship to democracy, and from closed to open societies. Using South Africa as an example, it is intended to deal briefly with the changes made to the law curriculum to meet the domestic needs of the new democratic order. Thereafter, the broader curriculum needs of aspiring African lawyers in the 21st century, again with reference to South Africa, will be considered in the context of globalization.