LCP4801 Assignment 2 Semester 1 2026 – Due 20 April 2026

LCP4801 ASSIGNMENT 2 2026
DUE 20 APRIL 2026

QUESTION 1

1.1 Describe the development of international law and the contribution of
pre-colonial African entities to such development. Refer to relevant sources.
(15)
(a) Development of international law

International law is broadly defined as the law regulating relations between states
(Learning Unit 1, p 2). Historically, it developed through identifiable epochs (Learning
Unit 1, pp 2 – 3; Strydom Chapter 1).

(i) 1500 – 1648
This period marks the consolidation of European statehood and the early development
of a state system. The culmination was the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which
entrenched the idea of sovereign, territorially independent states (Strydom pp 8 – 10).
The Westphalian model established:
Independent sovereign states
Non-interference in internal affairs