A Study On Investment Laws Of South Africa

As the system of racial segregation was ended, South Africa accomplished the steady transition of politics, and payed more attention to the economic reconstruction and development, especially in attracting the foreign investment. The present South Africa is not only the country with typical hybrid legal system in Africa, but also the most developed country of Africa. It is considered as a developed country of the developing countries by the world. The trade between China and South Africa started in the 1990s. Right now, South Africa has already become China's biggest trading partner in Africa. As the economic trading activities between China and South Africa become frequently day by day, to know and understand the investment laws, regulations, policies of South Africa is getting more and more important. Therefore, the study on South Africa's investment laws has not only academic meanings but also practical value.South Africa is a country with hybrid legal system, which is formed by the interaction of English common law, Rome– Dutch law, the modern law, and the traditional inherent law. The investment laws of South Africa are an outcome during the forming and developing process of this hybrid legal system. In the thesis, firstly the author takes the history of this hybrid legal system as the legal background, using the historical analytical method of dialectical materialism to investigate the historical development of the investment laws, and then concludes that the formation and the development of the investment laws are differ from that of countries which have the legal background of common law or continental law. And it also offers the model for studying investment laws of other countries that have the same legal background. Afterwards, the author has briefly introduced the main content of South Africa's investment laws and the ways of disputes resolution. At the present, South Africa hasn't made a special investment code, but formed an investment legal system with various special legislation, some relevant separate laws and regulations, and policies. In content, it mainly introduces the basic policies of utilizing foreign investment, the policies of investment promoting and encouragement, the organizations and systems of trading investment management, and some relevant laws of establishing the foreign investment enterprises. When introducing the dispute settlement of investment laws of South Africa, it recommends non- judicial route, judicial route and arbitration by way of integration of theory with practice. After introducing the content, it analyzes its forming origin, and then summarizes three characteristics. Finally, the author carries on the overall appraisal to the investment laws, and points out the advantages which worth our country studying from.