Max Loubser was a leading South African legal scholar, specialising in the fields of delict and prescription. His major publications include The Law of Delict in South Africa (co-authored with Rob Midgley), Extinctive Prescription, which is the standard work in the field, and Tort Law in South Africa, which forms part of the prestigious International Encyclopaedia of Laws.

Max Loubser was born on 8 December 1948 in Somerset West, South Africa. He matriculated at Hugenote Hoërskool, Wellington, in 1966, attaining the first position on the merit list of the Cape Province.  Thereafter, he commenced his studies at the Stellenbosch University, where he obtained both the BA (Law) and LLB degrees cum laude, and was one of the members of the renowned LLB class of 1972.

After being awarded a South Africa-at-large Rhodes Scholarship, he studied at the University of Oxford, which in 1977 conferred on him the DPhil degree for a thesis entitled The Theft of Money in South African Law, written under the supervision of Tony Honoré.

In the same year he was appointed as professor of law at the Stellenbosch University, joining Fritz Brand and Gerhard Lubbe as the three young academics who bolstered the ranks of the Law Faculty after the retirement of Professor J C de Wet. Max Loubser occupied the professorial position with great distinction for 34 years, until his retirement in 2011.  Thereafter, the Faculty was fortunate that he was willing to accept an appointment as Research Fellow, and in this capacity he continued to make significant contributions to his fields of research.

However, Max Loubser’s interest and achievements were not limited to the world of higher education. Unusually, for a legal academic, he managed to combine this career with that of a legal practitioner, having served as partner and director at the Stellenbosch law firm Cluver Markotter since 1982.  Max was also a  skilled photographer with a special interest in images of wild birds.

Max will be remembered for his great humility, dry sense of humour, loyalty, and collegiality. The Law Faculty extends its deepest condolences to Max’s widow, Christine, and their children Rhona, Max, and Ernst.