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All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |
| SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY |
| REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: |
| Diploma in Law |
| SAQA QUAL ID | QUALIFICATION TITLE | |||
| 112483 | Diploma in Law | |||
| ORIGINATOR | ||||
| Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) | ||||
| PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY | NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK | |||
| - | HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework | |||
| QUALIFICATION TYPE | FIELD | SUBFIELD | ||
| Diploma (Min 360) | Field 08 - Law, Military Science and Security | Justice in Society | ||
| ABET BAND | MINIMUM CREDITS | PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL | NQF LEVEL | QUAL CLASS |
| Undefined | 360 | Not Applicable | NQF Level 06 | Regular-Provider-ELOAC |
| REGISTRATION STATUS | SAQA DECISION NUMBER | REGISTRATION START DATE | REGISTRATION END DATE | |
| Reregistered | EXCO 0821/24 | 2019-10-14 | 2027-06-30 | |
| LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT | LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT | |||
| 2028-06-30 | 2033-06-30 | |||
| In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise. |
This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. |
| PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION |
| Purpose:
The Diploma in Law aims to equip learners with knowledge, skills, and competencies and to apply both theoretical and practical legal knowledge in paralegal environment. The qualifications will provide paralegal practitioners with high quality and competent legal services within their scope of practice, while simultaneously adhering to the relevant rules of professional ethics. Learners graduating from this qualification will demonstrate the ability to participate as responsible citizens and fill the current need in society for affordable yet qualified and competent legal advice. This qualification is designed to provide learners with a detailed knowledge of the different areas of law with specific reference to the paralegal scope of practice. It is the express purpose of this qualification to deliver well-trained paralegal practitioners. Following this foundational phase, learners will have the choice to specialise in more than one field of law which falls within their preference. The qualification provides learners with an appropriate balance of theoretical knowledge and practical legal skills. The simulation aspect of the curriculum is compulsory in each of the three years. This qualification will enable learners to acquire practical legal skills to make a meaningful contribution from the first day of entering the workplace. The qualification is designed to equip learners with the necessary competencies regarding management and entrepreneurial skills. Learners will function as independent, multi-skilled, socially, and environmentally responsible legal assistants or paralegals within their field of expertise and Practice. A life-long learning and research culture will be promoted in an innovative legal academic and the practical environment through reflective engagement ensuring high standards. Learners will further be trained to render legal services under the supervision of qualified practitioners of law as well as government institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Courts, and owners of their own business. Management practice and entrepreneurial skills provide learners with opportunities to start their practice in some regions of legal services, which are not reserved specifically for attorneys. The qualification is designed to specifically create employment opportunities for learners that will indirectly create employment for other members of society. It also aimed at those individuals who are employed at a sub-attorney level to obtain the desired qualifications in the field of paralegal services for purposes of promotion as paralegal practitioners. Learners will play a vital role in making legal services accessible and affordable to members of society and build the capacity of disadvantaged communities to know, assert and access their rights and to remove barriers to access to justice. Their knowledge of the law combined with an insight into the dynamics of communities enables them to provide practical, socio-legal services. Paralegals work to address the unmet needs of rural communities and strengthen the capacity of communities and residents to understand and act on their rights. The qualification is designed in a way to enable paralegals to offer a holistic set of approaches, based upon restorative justice principles, to deal with human and legal rights problems such as domestic violence, rape, child maintenance, labour disputes, abuse of children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Paralegals play, therefore, a vital role in bridging the gap between the formal and distant justice delivery system and the communities that are supposed to benefit from that formal system. Rationale: The need for this qualification relates directly to the fact that only a small percentage of citizens in South Africa can afford legal services or has access to the legal fraternity, despite the fact that it is a constitutionally protected right in terms of the Bill of Rights in South Africa, that all citizens should have access to these services. The fact that not all citizens have access to legal services is primarily due, amongst other factors, to the high fees charged by the legal fraternity as well as the accessibility of these services. Another factor is that not all citizens live close to service centres such as universities with community law clinic facilities, therefore, assisting members of society at a minimal cost. In the Government Gazette of 19 September 2014, the Government, therefore, recognised the need for, and importance of, paralegals as well as the intention to enhance the status of paralegals through regulation. The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services (10 September 2014, Government Gazette: B8-2014) notified, concerning the Legal Aid Bill, the imperative to "accelerate the delivery of legal services (advice and representation) to all South Africans who cannot afford such services. The Committee is of the view that paralegals and community law and advice centres play a major role in the area of public interest law by providing legal assistance to those who would not otherwise be able to access legal services." There is, against the background above, a lacuna in the system which limits access to justice and professional legal guidance to the majority of the public. This qualification will address the problems of access by producing competent legal specialists in their chosen fields of practice. Also, give access to legal services for the diverse needs within communities at a rate that most citizens can afford. The development of this qualification accords directly with the background mentioned above. The intention with the development of this qualification, though, is not to replace the formal legal profession in any way, but rather supplement it and fill the gaps for matters in the legal sphere not explicitly reserved for the legal profession. The successful learner will accordingly be able to assist the public in matters which the formal legal profession, as a rule, does not take on. Learners will be in a position to render competent legal services to the public in general and to assist legal practitioners, the government, NGOs, courts, and the like. Learners will, for example, be competent to assist an attorney or state prosecutor in investigating the facts of a case; interview clients and witnesses; perform legal research; draft pleadings, notices, subpoenas, motions, briefs and other legal documents; organise and manage files, documents and exhibits; file documents with courts, paginate court bundles, perform deeds office searches, lodge documents with SARS and the Master's office; and assist at hearings, arbitrations, mediations, administrative proceedings, and trials. The qualification will provide further in the need of the development of specific theoretical competencies complemented by practical skills to effectively operate in specific areas related to the legal profession that have been identified and include, amongst others, the following: legal cost consultancy; attorney's assistant; insolvency and estate practice/planning; registration of business entities; debt collection; examiners at deeds office; conveyancing clerk; labour consultants and trade union representative. Part of the rationale for the qualification is that learners will in their final year of study have the opportunity to specialise in specific chosen fields to equip them with job-specific skills and competencies which will enable them to not only enter the formal profession as support staff, but also to enable them to fulfil a useful role in the community by rendering services to the community in matters where the use of an attorney would be superfluous. |
| LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING |
| Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
Admission to the qualification provides for RPL, as stipulated and managed by the attached institution's Policy on the RPL. The Department of Law endorses the Policy on Recognition of Prior Learning and accepts the following essential points of departure: The institution accepts the principle underlying outcome-based, resource-based, and life-long learning, in which consideration of articulation and mobility plays a significant role. The institution endorses the viewpoint that Recognition of Prior Learning acquired through formal learning or informally through experience, is an indispensable element in the decision concerning admission to a qualification. In RPL, the most critical point of departure is the demonstrable knowledge and learning a learner has obtained, either through formal teaching and learning programmes or through experience. Therefore, it is not just about the experience a learner has on his or her record. RPL is awarded based on the applied skills and competencies the learner demonstrates in the application in the light of the outcomes achieved about the constituent modules of the qualification. Entry Requirements: The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is: |
| RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? |
| Y |
| QUALIFICATION RULES |
| This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at NQF Level 5 and 6 totalling 360 Credits.
Compulsory Modules, Level 5, 120 Credits: Compulsory Modules, Level 6, 210 Credits: Elective Modules, Level 6, 30 Credits, Choose Three: |
| EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES |
| 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of Legal Assistants/Paralegals.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of different forms of knowledge in the field of law. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the production of different schools of thought within the discipline of law and understanding of the processes in which legal knowledge. 4. Evaluate, select, and apply appropriate legal methods, procedures, and techniques in legal application. 5. Demonstrate an ability to understand the ethical implications of decisions and actions taken by Legal Assistants/Paralegals in the legal environment in which he/she operates. 6. Evaluate different sources of information regarding the law, be able to select the appropriate information to resolve problems, and be able to apply well-developed processes of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation to the information sourced. 7. Make decisions and act appropriately in a range of familiar and new legal contexts and demonstrating an understanding of the relationship between legal systems and the impact of actions and developments in one system on the other. |
| ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA |
| Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6: Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7: Integrated Assessment: The qualification provides for sufficient practical applications of knowledge, skills, and attitudes across modules. It is to ensure that assessment of the learner's competencies through a variety of assessment forms, such as formative and summative assessments. Formative assessment includes assignments, projects, research papers, case studies, role play, self-assessment; fieldwork, and on-line assessment; tests and quizzes, which are used to monitor the progress of the learners' learning outcomes. Also; they are used to evaluate the quality of delivery, teaching, and tutoring. Written assignments include activities such as summaries); short/essay answers, paragraphs, and full-length essay type assignments are also considered formative types of assessments. Summative assessments include written oral tests and examinations. |
| INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY |
| The purpose and curriculum content of the Diploma in Law compare and relate with qualifications from accredited institutions in Botswana, Australia and Ireland. The choice of the international countries and their accredited institutions is their similarities with the scope and purpose of the Diploma in Law.
In Botswana, the Gaborone Universal College of Law offers a Diploma in Law. The similarities are that both qualifications provide learners with knowledge and skills in relation to the: However, the differences is that the Diploma in Law covers a broader range of legal subjects applicable to the paralegal legal profession. In Ireland, the Law Society of Ireland offers a Diploma in Corporate Law and Governance. The similarities are the both qualifications focuses on areas in relation to: However, the differences is that the Diploma in Law covers a broader range of legal subjects applicable to the paralegal legal profession. In Australia, the Sydney University of Technology offers a Graduate Certificate in Professional Legal Practice. The similarities are both qualifications share a focus on: However, the differences are The Graduate Certificate in Professional Legal Practice has a particular focus on the ethical responsibilities of legal practitioners. The Australian qualification also specialises in areas such as property transactions; transfer leases; revenue issues of property transactions; advise on land use, powers of attorneys, commercial transactions. |
| ARTICULATION OPTIONS |
| This qualification allows possibilities for both horizontal and vertical articulation.
Horizontal Articulation: Vertical Articulation: |
| MODERATION OPTIONS |
| N/A |
| CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS |
| N/A |
| NOTES |
| N/A |
| LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| NONE |
| PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here. |
| NONE |
| All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |