The law at your fingertips

Problem

Developed countries have long been aware of the need for citizens to have ready access to up-to-date legislation. A number of years ago Ms Shirley Gilmore, Head of the Law Library at the University of Pretoria (UP), realised that most people do not have ready access to South African legislation. She says that although some Acts were available online, the sources were not always reliable and many were outdated. In addition the laws that were available through commercial publishers were expensive to purchase. For South Africa to move closer to being recognised as a developed country it needed to provide a similar resource.

Solution

A venture that started in the Oliver R Tambo Law Library at University of Pretoria to provide free online access to up-to-date versions of South African national legislation (Acts and Regulations), has proved to be an overwhelming success. The initiative was spearheaded by Ms Gilmore in 2013 and launched officially by Justice Edwin Cameron of the Constitutional Court. The project has grown in leaps and bounds, once again highlighting UP as a pioneer leading the way in this first for South Africa.

Before being loaded onto the database, each Act and its Regulations have to be consolidated, after which amendments (changes) must be applied to bring the Act up to date. The end result also contains historical versions of legislation (so-called point-in-time versions). The task is hugely labour intensive, as each Act has to be carefully prepared and formatted before it can be made available online. Ms Gilmore says she is truly appreciative of the untiring team efforts of Ms Natassja Lessing (project leader and editor) and Ms Alison Smith (editor).

According to Ms Gilmore, the project has been extremely rewarding and has elicited only positive feedback. Even Constitutional Court Judges Edwin Cameron, Kate O’Regan (retired) and Zak Yacoob have conveyed their appreciation of and support for the project. Attorneys, advocates and the general public have all expressed their gratitude for the hard work and effort put in by UP staff to the benefit of South Africa at large.

Progress

Although not all Acts of parliament have been loaded onto the database, a significant number have been uploaded and were carefully selected to include legislation most referred to and searched, including Acts related to divorce, sectional title property ownership, and basic conditions of employment. Although still a work in progress, the project is updated weekly in terms of the Government Gazette. The documents are shared with the Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) which is known for providing free access to case law (court judgements).

The project is generously sponsored by a number of public and private organisations, including the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and various private law firms.

This online database can be accessed at www.lawsofsouthafrica.up.ac.za.

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  The law at your fingertips