The system of racial segregation and oppression in South Africa known as ''
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
'' was implemented and enforced by many
acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
and other laws. This legislation served to institutionalize racial discrimination and the dominance by
white people
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
over people of other races. While the bulk of this legislation was enacted after the election of the
National Party government in 1948, it was preceded by discriminatory legislation enacted under earlier British and Afrikaner governments. Apartheid is distinguished from
segregation in other countries by the systematic way in which it was formalized in law.
Segregationist legislation before apartheid
Although apartheid as a comprehensive legislative project truly began after the National Party came into power in 1948, many of these statutes were preceded by the laws of the previous British and Afrikaner administrations in South Africa's provinces. An early example is the
Glen Grey Act
The Glen Grey Act is an 1894 Act of the Parliament of the Cape Colony. Instigated by the government of Prime Minister Cecil John Rhodes, it established a system of individual (rather than communal) land tenure and created a labour tax to force Xho ...
, passed in 1894 in Cape Colony, and which had the effect of diminishing the land rights of Africans in scheduled areas.
[Smythe, N C: 'The origins of apartheid: race legislation in South Africa - 1836 - 1910', p 262. ELM thesis, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1994.]
List of apartheid segregation in South Africa
Population registration and segregation
* The
Population Registration Act, 1950
The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics as part of the system of apartheid.
Social rights, political rights, educational ...
, required that every South African be classified into one of a number of racial "population groups". This act provided the foundation upon which the whole edifice of apartheid would be constructed.
* The
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953 allowed public premises, vehicles and services to be segregated by race, even if equal facilities were not made available to all races.
The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act was repealed by the
, and the Population Registration Act was repealed by the
Population Registration Act Repeal Act, 1991
The Population Registration Act Repeal Act, 1991 (Act No. 114 of 1991) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which repealed the Population Registration Act, 1950, ending the legal racial classification of South Africans which formed the bas ...
, but the racial classifications remained on the population register until 1992.
Job reservation and economic apartheid
*
Mines and Works Act, 1911
*
Native Building Workers Act, 1951
*
Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1953
The Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1953 (renamed in 1964 to the Bantu Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, in 1973 to the Bantu Labour Relations Regulation Act, and in 1978 to the Black Labour Relations Regulation Act) was a South Afr ...
*
Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956
Segregation in education
*
Bantu Education Act, 1953
The Bantu Education Act 1953 (Act No. 47 of 1953; later renamed the Black Education Act, 1953) was a South African segregation law that legislated for several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision enforced racially-separated educati ...
*
Extension of University Education Act, 1959
The Extension of University Education Act, Act 45 of 1959, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. This act made it a criminal offense for a non-white student to register at a formerly open university without th ...
*
Coloured Persons Education Act, 1963
*
Indians Education Act, 1965
Sexual apartheid
* The
Immorality Act, 1927
The Immorality Act, 1927 (Act No. 5 of 1927) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa that prohibited extramarital sex between white people and people of other races. In its original form it only prohibited sex between a white person and a bl ...
forbade extramarital sex between white people and black people.
* The
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No. 55 of 1949, was an apartheid law in South Africa that prohibited marriages between "whites" and "non-whites". It was among the first pieces of apartheid legislation to be passed following the Nation ...
forbade marriages between white people and people of other races.
* The
Immorality Amendment Act, 1950
The Immorality Act, 1927 (Act No. 5 of 1927) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa that prohibited extramarital sex between white people and people of other races. In its original form it only prohibited sex between a white person and a bl ...
forbade extramarital sex between white people and people of other races.
These laws were repealed by the
.
Land tenure and geographic segregation
* The
Natives Land Act, 1913
The Natives Land Act, 1913 (subsequently renamed Bantu Land Act, 1913 and Black Land Act, 1913; Act No. 27 of 1913) was an Act of the Parliament of South Africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land.
According to the ''Encyclopæd ...
limited land ownership by black people to 8% of the land area of South Africa.
* The
Native Trust and Land Act, 1936
The Native Trust and Land Act, 1936 (Act No. 18 of 1936; subsequently renamed the Bantu Trust and Land Act, 1936 and the Development Trust and Land Act, 1936) in South Africa passed a law that served as the reorganization of its agricultural struc ...
expanded this limit to encompass about 13% of the land area of South Africa.
* The
Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, 1946 restricted land ownership by Asians in towns and cities.
* The
Group Areas Act, 1950 (re-enacted in 1957 and 1966) divided urban areas into "group areas" in which ownership and residence was restricted to certain population groups.
* The
Group Areas Development Act, 1955 formed part of the machinery for the implementation of the Group Areas Act.
* The
Coloured Persons Communal Reserves Act, 1961 and the
Rural Coloured Areas Act, 1963 established "reserve" areas for coloured people in rural areas.
* The
Preservation of Coloured Areas Act, Act No 31 of 1961 further entrenched "Coloured Areas" in law and created a legal mechanism to seize land for white Guardians.
* The
Aliens Control Act, 1973 loosened the restrictions on residence by Asians in parts of South Africa.
These and other discriminatory acts related to land tenure were repealed by the
Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991
The Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991 (Act No. 108 of 1991) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which repealed many of the apartheid laws that imposed race-based restrictions on land ownership and land use. Among the laws ...
.
Pass laws and influx control
*
Natives (Urban Areas) Act, 1923
*
Natives (Urban Areas) Consolidation Act, 1945
*
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, 1951
The Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, Act No 52 of 1951, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. This act authorized the forcible removal of squatting communities. It allowed eviction and destruction of home ...
*
Native Laws Amendment Act, 1952
The Native Laws Amendment Act, 1952 (Act No. 54 of 1952, subsequently renamed the Bantu Laws Amendment Act, 1952 and the Black Laws Amendment Act, 1952), formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa
South Afric ...
*
Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, 1952
*
Natives Resettlement Act, 1954
The Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. It permitted the removal of blacks from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg by the South ...
*
Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) Act, 1956
*
Urban Bantu Councils Act, 1961
The Urban Bantu Councils Act, Act No 79 of 1961, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. It replaced the Advisory Boards created earlier by the Pass laws#Native Urban Areas Act, Natives Urban Areas Act of 1923, ...
*
Black Local Authorities Act, 1982
The Black Local Authorities Act of 1982 provided for the establishment of a series of local government structures similar to those operating in the South African Apartheid "White areas". For the first time under Apartheid, African black residents ...
The pass laws were repealed by the
Identification Act, 1986 and the influx control laws by the
Abolition of Influx Control Act, 1986
Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to:
*Abolitionism, abolition of slavery
*Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment
*Abolition of monarchy
* Abolition of nuclear weapons
* Aboli ...
.
Political representation
* The
South Africa Act 1909
The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created the Union of South Africa from the British Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for pote ...
, which united the four South African colonies into a unitary state, preserved electoral arrangements unchanged, meaning that qualified black voters in the
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...
could vote for the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
. This was an
entrenched clause
An entrenched clause or entrenchment clause of a constitution is a provision that makes certain amendments either more difficult or impossible to pass. Overriding an entrenched clause may require a supermajority, a referendum, or the consent of the ...
, protected by a provision requiring a two-thirds majority in a joint sitting of Parliament to alter the
Cape Qualified Franchise
The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections ...
.
* The
Representation of Natives Act, 1936
The Representation of Natives Act No 12 of 1936 (commenced 10 July) was legislation passed in South Africa which further reduced black rights at the time.
The Cape province had a qualified franchise which had allowed a small number of blacks in t ...
, passed with the necessary two-thirds majority, removed black voters in the Cape from the common voters' roll and placed them on a separate roll, allowing them to elect only three members to the House of Assembly. The act also provided for four indirectly elected senators to represent black people countrywide. Qualified
coloured
Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
voters in the Cape remained on the common roll.
* The
Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, 1946 allowed Indians in the
Transvaal Province
The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...
and
Natal Province
The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...
to elect three members of the House of Assembly and two senators, but this representation was removed by the
Asiatic Laws Amendment Act, 1948.
* The
Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951
The Separate Representation of Voters Act No. 46 was introduced in South Africa on 18 June 1951. Part of the legislation during the apartheid era, the National Party introduced it to enforce racial segregation, and was part of a deliberate proc ...
removed coloured voters in the Cape from the common voters' roll and placed them on a separate roll, allowing them to elect only four members to the House of Assembly. It was not, initially, passed with a two-thirds majority, and the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
invalidated it on this basis, precipitating the "
coloured vote constitutional crisis
The Coloured vote constitutional crisis, also known as the Coloured vote case, was a constitutional crisis that occurred in the Union of South Africa during the 1950s as the result of an attempt by the Nationalist government to remove coloured v ...
". The government subsequently altered the method of election of the Senate and passed the
South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1956
The Coloured vote constitutional crisis, also known as the Coloured vote case, was a constitutional crisis that occurred in the Union of South Africa during the 1950s as the result of an attempt by the Nationalist government to remove coloured v ...
with a two-thirds majority, validating the Separate Representation of Voters Act.
* The
Promotion of Bantu Self-government Act, 1959
The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959 (Act No. 46 of 1959, commenced 19 June; subsequently renamed the Promotion of Black Self-government Act, 1959 and later the Representation between the Republic of South Africa and Self-governing T ...
abolished the remaining parliamentary representation for black people under the Representation of Natives Act.
* The
Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968
The Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968 (Act No. 50 of 1968) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the government of B. J. Vorster, which repealed the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951. This had t ...
, abolished the remaining parliamentary representation for coloured people, and the
Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1968
The Coloured Persons Representative Council of the Republic of South Africa was a partially elected council with limited legislative powers, intended to represent coloured South Africans during the apartheid era. It was first elected in 1969, re-e ...
replaced it with an elected "Representative Council" with limited powers.
* The
Prohibition of Political Interference Act, 1968
The Prohibition of Political Interference Act, 1968 (Act No. 51 of 1968, which was also known as the Prohibition of Improper Interference Act, and was later renamed the Prohibition of Foreign Financing of Political Parties Act), was a piece of apa ...
prohibited multi-racial political parties.
* The
Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983
The Constitution of 1983 (formally the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983) was South Africa's third constitution. It replaced the republican constitution that had been adopted when South Africa became a republic in 1961 and was in f ...
established a tricameral Parliament with separate houses representing whites, coloureds and Indians. Blacks remained unrepresented.
The
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993
The Interim Constitution was the fundamental law of South Africa from the first non-racial general election on 27 April 1994 until it was superseded by the final constitution on 4 February 1997. As a transitional constitution it required th ...
established universal non-racial adult suffrage.
Separate development and bantustans
* The
Native Administration Act, 1927
According to the Native Administration Act, 1927 (Act No. 38 of 1927; subsequently renamed the Bantu Administration Act, 1927 and the Black Administration Act, 1927), the Governor-General of South Africa could "banish" a 'native' or 'tribe' from o ...
gave the executive government wide-ranging authority to govern the "native reserves", and the people living in them, by proclamation.
* The
Bantu Authorities Act, 1951
The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 (Act No. 68 of 1951; subsequently renamed the Black Authorities Act, 1951) was to give authority to Traditional Tribal Leader within their traditional tribal homelands in South Africa. This legislation, succeeding t ...
established a hierarchy of tribal, regional and territorial authorities, led by chiefs and appointed councillors, to govern the reserves.
* The
Promotion of Bantu Self-government Act, 1959
The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959 (Act No. 46 of 1959, commenced 19 June; subsequently renamed the Promotion of Black Self-government Act, 1959 and later the Representation between the Republic of South Africa and Self-governing T ...
provided for the development of the territorial authorities into self-governing
bantustan
A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now N ...
s.
* The
Bantu Investment Corporation Act, 1959
The Bantu Investment Corporation Act, Act No 34 of 1959, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. In combination with the Bantu Homelands Development Act of 1965, it allowed the South African government to capita ...
established a corporation to develop the economies of the bantustans.
* The
Transkei Constitution Act, 1963 made the
Transkei
Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...
an autonomous self-governing territory, with a partially elected assembly.
* The
Bantu Homelands Development Corporations Act, 1965 established separate economic development corporations for the various homelands.
* The
Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970
The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970 (Act No. 26 of 1970; subsequently renamed the Black States Citizenship Act, 1970 and the National States Citizenship Act, 1970) was a Self Determination or denaturalization law passed during the aparthei ...
made black people citizens of one of the bantustans, with the intention that when the bantustans became independent they would cease to be South African citizens.
* The
Bantu Homelands Constitution Act, 1971
The Bantu Homelands Constitution Act, 1971 enabled the government of South Africa to grant independence to any "Homeland" as determined by the South African apartheid government. In accordance with this act, independence was eventually granted to ...
allowed other homelands to become autonomous self-governing territories, similar to the Transkei.
* The
Status of the Transkei Act, 1976 declared the Transkei to be an independent state and no longer part of South Africa. This independence was not recognised by any country other than South Africa.
* The
Status of Bophuthatswana Act, 1977
Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to:
* Status (law)
** City status
** Legal status, in law
** Political status, in international law
** Small entity status, in patent law
** Status conference
...
, the
Status of Venda Act, 1979, and the
Status of Ciskei Act, 1981, similarly declared
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for mem ...
,
Venda
Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...
and
Ciskei
Ciskei (, or ) was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian O ...
to be independent states.
The bantustans were abolished by the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993
The Interim Constitution was the fundamental law of South Africa from the first non-racial general election on 27 April 1994 until it was superseded by the final constitution on 4 February 1997. As a transitional constitution it required th ...
, and the nominally independent states were integrated back into South Africa.
Banning, detention without trial and state security
*
Suppression of Communism Act, 1950
The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...
*
Public Safety Act, 1953
In 1953, the Public Safety Act was enacted by the apartheid South African government (coming into force 4 March). This Act empowered the government to declare stringent states of emergency and increased penalties for protesting against or suppor ...
*
Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956
The Riotous Assemblies Act, Act No 17 of 1956 in South Africa (taking effect 16 March) prohibited gatherings in open-air public places if the Minister of Justice considered they could endanger the public peace. Banishment was also included as a for ...
*
Unlawful Organizations Act, 1960
The Unlawful Organizations Act No 34 of 1960 (commenced 7 April 1960) allowed the apartheid government of South Africa to declare unlawful any organizations deemed to threaten public order or the safety of the public. This legislation was enacted ...
*
Indemnity Act, 1961
The Indemnity Act 61 of 1961 was a law enacted by the apartheid government in South Africa, which protected the government from any legal repercussions of the Sharpeville massacre and other violent events that followed. It prevented the courts fro ...
*
General Law Amendment Act, 1963
The General Law Amendment Act, number 37 of 1963 (commenced 2 May), commonly known as the 90-Day Detention Law, allowed a South African police officer to detain without warrant a person suspected of a politically motivated crime for up to 90 days ...
*
Terrorism Act, 1967
The Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 was a law of the South African Apartheid regime until all except section 7 was repealed under the Internal Security and Intimidation Amendment Act 138 of 1991.
Detention without trial
Section 6 of the Act allowed s ...
*
Indemnity Act, 1977
*
Internal Security Act, 1982
The Internal Security Act, 1982 (Act No. 74 of 1982) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa that consolidated and replaced various earlier pieces of security legislation, including the Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, parts of the Riot ...
See also
*
: Apartheid laws in South Africa
*
Law of South Africa
South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law syst ...
*
South African Statutes and other Legislation
References
External links
African History: Apartheid Legislation in South Africa About.Com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apartheid Legislation In South Africa