The Portal To —
Law of South AfricaSouth Africa
A mixed legal system that joins Roman-Dutch, English and customary law under one of the world’s most admired constitutions, written after apartheid on the foundation of human dignity, equality and the rule of law. How the system works, how to live, work and buy there, and where history still shapes the law. Free articles, organized by subject, growing every week.
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Who This Page Is For
This portal collects material on South African law, a mixed legal system: its private law is Roman-Dutch, its procedure and commercial law owe much to English law, and African customary law is recognised by the Constitution. Everything sits under the supreme Constitution of 1996, which was written to replace the legal order of apartheid. It is written for readers who visit, live, work, study, buy property or do business in South Africa or who want to understand its legal system, and it explains laws, institutions and procedures without giving legal advice or opinions on individual cases. Everywhere else on this site, content reflects US law unless a page says otherwise.
Course · 8 modules and a capstone · $15 · Module 1 free
South African Law
A first course in South African law: Roman-Dutch law and British rule and apartheid and the transformation, constitutional supremacy and the founding values, the President and Parliament, the provinces and municipalities and traditional leadership, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal and the CCMA, the Bill of Rights and equality and administrative justice, contract and delict and the sale of land and eviction law, civil and customary marriage and succession, companies and B-BBEE and exchange control and employment and tax, and criminal procedure and the environment and arbitration.
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This portal fills in automatically, subject by subject, as new articles on South African law are published — check back shortly.
Legal documents
31 legal documents in English
Leases, loan and sale agreements, powers of attorney, family documents, letters and more, ready to fill in and sign, in English, with the English translation alongside for the other party. PDF and Word. 6 € for a document in the language, 9 € with the English translation. Included in the individual All-Access plan, in the language you choose.
- • Residential Lease Agreement
- • Freelance Services Agreement
- • Loan Agreement
- • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- • Sale Agreement for Movable Goods (including a used vehicle)
- • Parental Consent for a Child to Travel Abroad
These are general templates for use in any country, each with a ‘check in your country’ list. They are not drafted under South Africa law, and they are not legal advice.
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The Civil Law Tradition
Where South Africa’s Roman-Dutch private law comes from and what it shares with the Netherlands, France, Germany and the other legal systems built on Roman law: the great jurists, the codes and legal science.
Explore the civil law tradition →Looking at another legal system? Law by country · Compare legal systems