A local government law workshop hosted by the Faculty of Law at the North-West University (NWU) brought together municipal councillors and officials from across the country to strengthen the legal knowledge required for effective service delivery.

The training workshop was organised by the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES) in partnership with UN-HABITAT and with support from the National Research Foundation.

From 13-15 February 2026 three North-West University (NWU) law students will argue some of the world’s toughest criminal law questions in a premier mooting event in New Delhi in India.

Potchefstroom Campus students Lindiwe Ngophe, Ethan van Wyk and Connor Anderson will represent the NWU at the University of Delhi’s 22nd KK Luthra Memorial Moot Court Competition, a globally respected forum that attracts top universities.

O’kgabile Mokoena, a final-year LLB student at the North-West University (NWU), has been selected as a 2025 recipient of the distinguished Abe Bailey Travel Bursary.

This highly competitive award recognises young South African leaders who embody academic excellence, civic engagement and the commitment to drive positive change in society.

By Gofaone Motsamai

Law students have a role to play in critically evaluating international institutions, including the United Nations and its Security Council.

This is according to diplomats and legal experts who spoke at a seminar on the development and conclusion of international agreements, hosted by the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law in collaboration with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the Department of Higher Education (DHET).

The Constitutional Court’s recent decision in Jordaan and Others v Minister of Home Affairs has reshaped how South Africans approach surname changes after marriage. The judgment declared sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act unconstitutional for restricting surname changes to women, finding that the provisions reinforced outdated assumptions about family identity.

Three decades into democracy, South Africa’s cities remain central to the country’s pursuit of social justice but continue to fall short. That was the message from Prof Oliver Fuo, SARChI Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES), during his inaugural lecture on 4 September at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus.

Prof Klaus Beiter from the Faculty of Law at the North-West University (NWU) participated in the intergovernmental working group of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva from 1 to 3 September 2025.

During this time the working group evaluated proposals for a fourth Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child ensuring free early childhood care and free secondary education.

A timely new academic publication has joined South Africa’s shelves of legal scholarship. Commercial Law and Related Issues: A Review of Contemporary Legal Issues and Regulatory Development in South Africa and Selected Jurisdictions, published by Juta, was officially launched during a recent legal research conference at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU).

The United Nations Human Rights Council will hear next week from international legal experts, including the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Prof Klaus D Beiter, on whether a new protocol should guarantee children free early childhood care and secondary education.

“This process is about identifying whether existing international law adequately secures children’s right to education,” Prof Beiter says.