South Africa has a 'hybrid' or
'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a
civil law system inherited from
the Dutch, a
common law system inherited from
the British, and a
customary law system inherited from indigenous Africans (often termed
African Customary Law, of which there are many variations depending on the tribal origin). These traditions have had a complex interrelationship, with the English influence most apparent in procedural aspects of the legal system and methods of adjudication, and the
Roman-Dutch influence most visible in its substantive private law. As a general rule, South Africa follows English law in both
criminal and
civil procedure,
company law, constitutional law and the law of evidence; while Roman-Dutch common law is followed in the
South African contract law,
law of delict (tort),
law of persons, law of things,
family law, etc. With the commencement in 1994 of the interim Constitution, and in 1997 its replacement, the final Constitution, another strand has been added to this weave.