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 Truth Commission Digital Collection forms part of the Margarita S. Studemeister Digital Library in International Conflict Management at the United States Institute of Peace. There are profiles of truth commissions and commissions of inquiry set up in different countries with background information, details of members, links to establishing documents and each commission's final reports and findings. Sources of information for each profile are also given.
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 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.
Online guide to finding legal information in South Africa, edited by Shirley Gilmore and published by Pretoria University Law Press. The guide was updated in 2017 and is designed to assist legal researchers in accessing sources of South African law, explaining how to use the available print and electronic sources. The focus is on South African common law with some explanatory coverage of international and comparative law. The guide is available to download free of charge in PDF format or hardcopies may be purchased from the publisher on request.
PULP is an open-access publisher based at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. This page provides information on PULP’s publications along with links to free PDF versions. Titles include the most recent editions of the African Disability Rights Yearbook, African Human Rights Yearbook and the PULP Guide: Where to publish articles on the law.
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.
Collection of statutes of the Cape of Good Hope from 1714 to 1910 made freely available on the Institutional Repository of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The statutes are provided as PDFs. The collection can be browsed or searched by keyword.
