It is our pleasure to present the online version of ‘Inkundla’, a law journal written and edited by students at the Oliver Schreiner School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand. This website serves to augment the printed version by exposing it to a greater audience, creating a platform for debate and discussion, and posting a few extra articles which may be of interest.

The name ‘Inkundla’ refers to a traditional court, where debates and eye-witness accounts of emerging social phenomena were hosted. ‘Inkundla’ - the journal - hopes to fulfil the same function, albeit in the context of a modern African democracy. More specifically, first, the journal aims to motivate and improve the quality of student writing and research in the field of law by providing a vehicle for academic publishing.  Second, the journal aims to provide well researched material on distinct legal issues or particularly important cases for legal practitioners, academicians, students and others to make use of. Third, it hoped that the journal will ultimately, whether directly or indirectly, influence legal development in South Africa.

We have had great support for this initiative, both from staff and fellow students. Professor Jonathan Klaaren, Professor Bonita Meyersfeld, Ms. Franziska Sucker and Ms Mariya Badeva-Bright, in particular, have given endless enthusiasm, advice and time in helping us bring this project from conception to completion. We have also received very generous financial and institutional backing from the Law School, without which we would not have been able to take our first step. In short, the show of belief, vision and unconditional support from Wits has been inspiring and invaluable to our success. We are deeply grateful.

We must also thank our fellow students, from those who offered casual words of encouragement in lecture halls to those who sent us their work for publication. That so many have already showed an interest in the journal bodes well for its future. A special word of thanks must go to Taremeredzwa Takudzwa Chirewa, a student at the Wits School of Arts, who gave us the artwork for our cover.