Two South African universities, those of Cape Town (UCT) and of the Witwatersrand (Wits), are ranked alongside institutions such as Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Princeton, Standford and Yale.

This is according to a survey of Vice-Chancellors from around the globe that was featured in the Financial Times in May, 2002. The list of the world’s top 23 universities was based on 10 benchmarks, including the ability to recruit world-class faculty and students, a throughput of world-class visiting academics, alumni in positions of power and influence, leading edge pure research and a long history of quality.

Established in 1859, the Faculty at the University of Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest law school. It offers a choice of over 40 courses for LLM or Postgraduate Diplomas to some 500 students, 25% of whom come from outside South Africa. What, one might ask, is the attraction for foreign students?

Obviously, UCT’s international ranking is a key factor. Post-LLB, the Masters and PG diplomas are in specialist areas such as International Criminal Law which currently has 25 students from Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Zambia as well as South Africa. Popular with foreign students are the Shipping, Marine and Environmental LLMs. Emerging fields are those of E-Law and International Arbitration while the biggest classes are those in Commercial subjects.

Set in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, UCT offers an environment that few can match. Table Mountain and Robben Island have become household names but just as remarkable are the sandy beaches, the famous fynbos floral kingdom, a vibrant Arts sector and the warmth of this rainbow nation. On the social front, there are 60 sport and extramural clubs: tennis, volleyball, hockey, rugby and swimming are all on campus as is the Baxter Theatre Complex. There is also an International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO) to assist with housing & study permits as well as with orientation.

In the wider South African context, all Law Faculties have played and continue to play a pivotal role in national life. From 1950 to 1990, academics were vocal in their opposition to apartheid; in the 1980s, for example, UCT’s Institute for Labour and Development worked with Trade Unions for change whilst its Institute of Criminology documented human rights abuses and assisted many to resist the worst excesses of emergency rule. In the early 1990s, several law professors were involved in drafting the Constitution and the founding Bill of Rights; this exchange continues with staff assisting with the drafting of new legislation and ‘out on loan’ in fields as diverse as the environment, penal reform and the status of refugees.