Law of South Africa

Module 5

The Bill of Rights, citizenship and administrative law: equality, expression, religion and privacy, citizenship and immigration, just administrative action and constitutional litigation

Chapter 2 of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, is called the cornerstone of democracy. It guarantees, among others, human dignity, equality, life, freedom and security of the person, privacy, freedom of religion, expression, assembly and association, property, housing, health care, food, water and social security, children’s rights, education, access to information, just administrative action, access to courts and the rights of arrested, detained and accused persons. The first thing to learn is who holds each right: most rights belong to ‘everyone’, including a foreigner, but a few, such as political rights and the right to choose a trade, occupation or profession, belong to citizens. The second is that rights bind private persons as well as the state and may be limited only by a law of general application and only so far as the limit is reasonable and justifiable (section 36). Around the rights sit citizenship and immigration, administrative law and constitutional litigation, which give the rights their force.

General education on the law of South Africa, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the province and the authority concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a South African attorney for any real matter.

This course was written on 5 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of South Africa as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.