De Rebus

Free online legislation project launched

The Oliver R Tambo Law Library at the University of Pretoria, in partnership with the South African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) and the Constitutional Court Trust recently launched a project to consolidate all South African legislation on one website. The website will supply all information free of charge to the public.

According to Shirley Gilmore, head of the Oliver R Tambo Law Library, the project is based on the idea that all South Africans should have free and easy access to reliable information. ‘There is a world-wide trend to provide open access to legal information in order to support an open and democratic society,’ she said.

The database of legislation is a work in progress and does not yet contain all Acts, however, Ms Gilmore said that there is a sufficient number of Acts for the database to be made available to the public.

The database will include historical versions of Acts as well. The website can be found at www.lawofsouthafrica.up.ac.za.

Kathleen Kriel,
kathleen@derebus.org.za