Ubuntu and the South African Law of Contract with particular reference to the common law Contract of Employment

Abstract

The concept of ubuntu has exercised the minds of many philosophers and jurists in recent times. This arises from the fact that the concept has many facets to it – etymological, linguistic, ethical and juridical – all of which demand attention and comprehension. Some commentators and jurists seem to assume that ubuntu is a new, parochial, unnecessary addition to the South African constitutional and legal lexicon. Their view is that ubuntu was introduced for the first time in 1994, by the postamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 98 of 1993 (‘the interim Constitution’). Another group opine that, not only is ubuntu a sub-Saharan African concept, but that it is also the foundational value of the country's constitutional framework.