Laws.Africa is a non-profit organisation working with African governments to make African legislation and cases available for free online. Its website provides technical information and an API developer guide; it also offers case studies, best practice guidance for publishing legal documentation online and information about naming conventions for documents.
Free online versions of official government gazettes from various African countries, compiled into one website, hosted by Laws.Africa and AfricanLII. The gazettes contain important government information, for example governmental notices and legislation such as acts and bills. The gazettes are in PDF form and are searchable by country and date, with new gazettes being updated on the website continually. The collections vary from country to country, and there are gazettes from 22 jurisdictions as well as the East African Community and ECOWAS.
Open By-laws is a community project supported by Laws.Africa which aims to make South African by-laws accessible online. By-laws are made by municipalities and the site currently provides access to the by-laws of Cape Town, Drakenstein, Johannesburg, Kannaland, Swartland, eThekwini, Bergrivier, Cape Agulhas, Cederberg, Matzikama and Mbizana. Instruments can be browsed alphabetically or searched by keyword, and downloaded in a range of formats.
The Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) provides access to committee proceedings of the South African National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (upper chamber) in the form of detailed, unofficial minutes. Details of public hearings and ministerial replies to MPs' written questions are given and it is also possible to track the progress of bills and view the act in full text. Information is given on the provincial legislatures including profiles of members, committees and contact details. The PMG blog highlights important Parliamentary events of the current week.
Website of the People’s Assembly, a not for profit organisation, which aims to “promote accountability and bridge the gap between ordinary people and their elected representatives” in South Africa.
It is possible to search for elected representatives by name or location and profiles and contact details are given for all members of the National Assembly, National Council of Provinces and Provincial Legislatures. There is also guidance for citizens on making a submission to parliament, starting a petition and writing or visiting a parliamentary committee.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is a national body whose role is to protect human rights in South Africa by raising awareness and monitoring observance of human rights issues. The SAHRC also deals with complaints. Focus areas include children’s rights, the disabled and older people along with access to justice, housing, basic services and healthcare.
The International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL) is a forum for the exchange of knowledge about the development and understanding of constitutional systems worldwide. This page links directly to the IACL blog which aims to be a meeting place for constitutionalists to present their research, share views and discuss constitutional law topics. Posts can be browsed by date back to 2014 and viewed by topic including gender and constitutions, centenary of the constitution in Liechtenstein and Irish unification. Author interviews, book reviews and a series of podcasts are also given.
The South African Treaty Register is a database of South African treaty information from 1654 onwards. It is searchable by title, date, laterality and other criteria. For each treaty, the register gives the title, date of signature or adoption, parties (or sponsoring intergovernmental organization), date/s of entry into force, date of South African ratification (where applicable), et cetera. Many multilateral and bilateral treaties from recent decades are provided in full.
The African Legal Information Institute (AfricanLII) makes available treaties, cases, resolutions, decisions, reports and other publications of African regional organisations. It also provides access to legislation and cases from 16 African countries, via its search facility. The home page has links to regional and national African websites. AfricanLII is a project of the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) at the University of Cape Town law faculty.
Website of the Swazi Legal Information Institute (SwaziLII), a project designed to provide free access to Swazi legal resources. It provides cases and some legislation. N.B. As of May 2015, SwazLII is not being updated - see AfricanLII for Swazi legal information.
