The Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) is the largest online free-access collection of legislation and case law from South Africa and other jurisdictions in the South African region.
SAFLII was formally created in 2002 as a joint project between the
Australasian Legal Information Institute
The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Its public policy purpose is to improve access to just ...
(AustLII) and the
University of Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
(Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2006 the
South African Constitutional Court Trust
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
assumed ownership of the project. The website at the time of this transition carried approximately 700 judgments from South Africa and Namibia.
SAFLII is currently in operation from within the Department of Public Law at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
and has been there from December 2013.
SAFLII became a member of the
Free Access to Law Movement
The Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) is the international movement and organization devoted to providing free online access to legal information such as case law, legislation, treaties, law reform proposals and legal scholarship. The movement b ...
at the Law Via the Internet conference in 2003.
Currently, SAFLII serves over 220,000 unique visitors per month and provides access to about 49,000 judgements from South Africa alone. SAFLII also offers access to legislation and open-access journals such as ''De Jure'', the ''Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal'', ''SADC Law Journal'' and ''Law, Democracy & Development''.
References
* Anderson K ‘The Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) - Achievements & Challenges’
PT8th Law via Internet Conference, Montreal, 2007
* Anderson K ‘Balancing Privacy Rights with Accessibility’
DF8th Law via Internet Conference, Montreal, 2007
* Badeva-Bright M ‘Challenges to Building a Legal Information Network in Africa’
PT8th Law via Internet Conference, Montreal, 2007
* Badeva-Bright M ‘Common Open Standards for Precedents’ Akomantoso Conference, Nigeria, 2007
* Badeva-Bright M
Case Study: The South African Legal Information Institute As part of the Free Access to Law – Is it Here to Stay? Project
* Jacobson P ‘Wealth of legal information available on the Web now, for free’ Jacobson Attorneys blog, December 2006
* Kabalu A
SAFLII Report to the Southern Africa Judges Commission. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
* Montgomery J â
Free access to primary legal documents in Southern Africa€™ 15(1) Organisation of SA Law Libraries (OSALL) Newsletter, Nov 2004. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
* Section on SAFLII in Greenleaf,
GlobaLex website, February 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
* Gachago R ‘(http://www.africanlii.org/sites/default/files/Roger_Gachago_SAFLII.pdf The Southern African Legal Information Institute'
PTAccess to African Supranational and Regional Law Workshop, Johannesburg 2012
Legal organisations based in South Africa
Free Access to Law Movement
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