UKZN STUDENT LAW REVIEW
DEVELOPING WRITING, DEVELOPING LAW
WHY WOULD WRITING AN ARTICLE BENEFIT ME?
"The UKZN Student Law Review is a tangible symbol of students realising their full potential. It provides a platform to interrogate and analyse complexities in the law and to make a valuable contribution to the production of knowledge to enhance the understanding and application of law. It is designed to equip students with the skills to critically engage with legal theory as well as the interpretation thereof in case law, and to consider the implications of alternative perspectives. In addition, it enables students to comment constructively on the sustainability and feasibility of court decisions. Moreover, it creates an environment that is conducive to students honing their writing skills and developing them to an academic standard, comparable to that of established authors."
Prof Managay Reddi
Dean and Head of School
School of Law
Law students are not exposed to academic writing for publication, nor do they have the opportunity of exposure by having their names printed in journals and reviews. In this regard, they lack one fundamental aspect that increases their competitiveness outside the boundaries of the law school.
Law review encourages students to step out of the classroom, and no longer simply accept court decisions or legal principles for the truth. These can be tackled and debated, and even rejected if the student so wishes. This flexibility develops critical and analytical reasoning, and ripens research skills which are tools that are much needed for the practise of law. These tools equip students to arrive at conclusions through a reasoned and logical process. This process is fuelled by passion and creativity, and is guided by discipline, practicality and common sense.
Participation in the UKZN Student Law Review enhances students’ resumes. Employers, particularly large law firms, love interviewing students who engage in law review. This is because they know that the students would have developed their writing and editing skills, learned how to justify a legal argument, and been engaged in hours of in-depth and meticulous legal research that is required for the profession. Further, being engaged in law review shows an admirable commitment to an intellectually demanding activity.
If a student wishes to follow the academic route, law review can give him an excellent start on the road to becoming a law professor – not only because of the editing experience, but also through the opportunity of having his own articles published.
Student writers can also add meaningfully to legal development. This is beneficial to the student for a variety of reasons, but it is also a feat which will enrich the academic study of law in South Africa. The impact is not limited the the benefit that is felt when the article is initially published, but it resonates because that student has learnt a skill that can be utilised repeatedly, thus ensuring a continued contribution.
Writing workshops for students will also be run where possible to equip them with the necessary information and skills to start academic writing for publication, as well as to assist them with the necessary research and writing skills necessary for professional practice.
Further, the School of Law is currently moving towards increasing its postgraduate enrolment and a significant number of our postgraduate students are carrying out research in various areas of law. This has been outlined by, amongst other initiatives, the refurbishment of the Centre for Postgraduate Legal Studies. The School of Law also houses the country’s only specialised Unit for Maritime Law and Maritime Studies. The law review will provide a research outlet for these institutions by providing space for students in these institutions to publish their research.