By Professor Mzukisi Njotini

The South African Law Deans’ Association (SALDA) has learnt with shock and sadness of the untimely passing of one of the finest academic giants and scholars of our time, Prof Duard Kleyn. Details of Prof Kleyn’s death emerged on 5 April 2024.

Prof Duard Kleyn’s contribution to academic scholarship and leadership is significant. He was a former Executive Dean of the Faculty Law at the University of Pretoria, a position he held from 1998 to 2006. He was also appointed as the first Visiting South African Fellow of the Department of Private Law at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1996 and Visiting Professor of the Faculty of Law, Erasmus University, Rotterdam in 1997. At the time of his death, Prof Kleyn was Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria.

Prof Kleyn authored and co-authored several books, articles, and chapters in books. The most notable academic contribution is his seminal work titled the Beginner’s Guide for Law Students.

The entire academy or community of law academics, national and international, will remember Prof Kleyn as a consistently gentle, decent, approachable, and ethical scholar with a pleasant sense of humour, and as someone who embraced the need for transformation in legal academia.

The SALDA extends its sincere condolences to Prof Kleyn’s family, his loved ones, and colleagues (past and present). We will keep them in our thoughts during this difficult time.

Professor Mzukisi Njotini is the President: South African Law Dean’s Association.