L. J. Du Plessis as Regsdenker

Abstract

This article seeks to explain some of the outlines of the legal philosophy of L. J. du Plessis, without pretending that a meticulously coherent system of thought can be deduced from his deverse legal writings. Much rather the claim is made that his endeavours display a marked “environmental involvement", hence placing his contribution in the framework of • the South African jurisprudential scene o f his time, and • the mainstream o f twentieth-century Reformational (or Neo-Cahinist) thought. Even though Du Plessis relies heavily on the Dooyeweerdian Philosophy o f the Comonomic Idea, he also shows himself to be a profoundly original thinker at the same time. The spearhead of this originality manifests itself in the way in which het intergrates a socto-eschatological view o f reality in his legal thought, to an extent unsurpassed by his like-minded contemporaries. The first part of the this article introduces Du Plessis as a jurist displaying a marked environmental sensitivity. It also attempts to contextualixe bis contributionin the field o f legal theory. The second part deals with the foundationallines i along which his legal thought had developed as well as the distinctivecharacteristics o f his contribution.