Prof Bradley Smith

Research Interests

• Family law
• Trust law

Brief Bio

After matriculating from Grey College Bloemfontein in 1996, Bradley Smith obtained his B Com degree (cum laude) in 2000, his LLB (cum laude) in 2003, and his LLM (cum laude) in 2007. He was the recipient of the Dean’s Medal for the best LLB student in 2003, and also received the same award for the best LLM student in 2007.

He completed his doctoral thesis (LLD), with the title “The development of South African matrimonial law with specific reference to the need for and application of a domestic partnership rubric”, in 2009 under the guidance of Judge of Appeal (and Extraordinary Professor of Private Law at the UFS) FDJ Brand and Professor JA Robinson (NW University).

He held a full-time position at the Department of Private Law as from January 2003 until December 2022, rising to the rank of Professor in 2017. During this time, he taught Family Law and the Law of Trusts at under- and postgraduate levels. He also served as the editor of the Journal for Juridical Science (JJS) (2019 - 2022).

In January 2023 he took up a full-time appointment as Senior Lecturer: Research at the IIE`s Varsity College, and simultaneously was appointed as Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Private Law at the UFS. He has delivered a number of papers at both national and international conferences, has (co-)authored numerous accredited research publications and textbooks (published both nationally and internationally) and also delivers guest lectures at other South African and foreign universities from time to time.

He is a member of the South African Academy of Science and Arts (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) and the Society of Law Teachers of Southern Africa. His research has been cited in a number of leading judgments of the South African courts, including the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Notable examples include PAF v SCF 2022 (6) SA 162 (SCA); Bwanya v The Master of the High Court and Others 2022 (3) SA 250 (CC); Laubscher NO v Duplan 2017 (2) SA 264 (CC) and Paixão v Road Accident Fund 2012 (6) SA 377 (SCA). He is rated as an established researcher (C2) by the National Research Foundation.