Primary Sources
The Law Library
Primary legal information: legislation (Government Gazette) and case law (law reports).
Finding Legislation
- GOVERNMENT GAZETTE — official publication of all Acts and subordinate legislation; available at www.gov.za
- PARLIAMENT'S WEBSITE — Bills and Acts at www.parliament.gov.za
- SAFLII — Southern African Legal Information Institute (saflii.org) — free database of Acts and case law
Finding Case Law
- SAFLII (free) — largest free SA law database; CC, SCA, High Court, and many other courts
- JUTASTAT (subscription) — Juta's comprehensive commercial database
- LEXISNEXIS (subscription) — another major commercial database
- LAW REPORTS (printed and online): SA Law Reports (SA), Butterworths Constitutional Law Reports (BCLR), South African Criminal Law Reports (SACR)
Secondary Sources
The Reference Shelf
Secondary sources explain and analyse the law — textbooks, journals, encyclopaedias.
Key Secondary Sources
- LAWSA (Laws of South Africa) — the definitive South African legal encyclopaedia; covers all areas of law
- ANNUAL SURVEY OF SA LAW — yearly review of SA legal developments
- TEXTBOOKS — subject-specific works (Kerr on Contract, Christie on Contract, Van der Merwe on Property)
- JOURNALS — South African Law Journal (SALJ), Stellenbosch Law Review (Stell LR), SAJHR, De Jure
LAWSA is the most comprehensive secondary source. When researching an unfamiliar area of SA law, start with the relevant LAWSA volume to orient yourself, then go to primary sources.
Legal Citation
The Citation Guide
SA law has its own citation conventions for legislation, cases, and secondary sources.
Citing a Case
Format: Party v Party YEAR (VOL) LAW REPORT PAGE (COURT). Example: S v Makwanyane 1995 (3) SA 391 (CC). The court abbreviation appears in brackets: (CC) = Constitutional Court, (SCA) = Supreme Court of Appeal, (WCC) = Western Cape High Court.
Citing a Statute
Format: Full Short Title YEAR. Example: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Or: Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Section references: s 35 or section 35.
Citing a Journal Article
Format: Author "Title" (Year) Volume Journal Abbreviation Starting Page. Example: Dugard "International Law and the South African Constitution" (1997) 8 EJIL 77.
SA legal citation does not follow OSCOLA (the Oxford system used in UK). SA courts and law schools use their own conventions. Always follow the citation style guide of your institution.
SAFLII
The Digital Archive
SAFLII (saflii.org) is the free, open-access home of South African law.
What SAFLII Provides
- Constitutional Court judgments (from 1995)
- Supreme Court of Appeal judgments
- High Court judgments (most divisions)
- Tribunal and arbitration decisions
- Legislation (Acts and Regulations)
- Free of charge — no subscription required
How to Search
- Case name search (enter party names)
- Citation search (enter the citation)
- Full-text keyword search across all documents
- Jurisdiction filter to narrow results
For students without institutional subscriptions to Jutastat or LexisNexis, SAFLII is the primary research tool. Its coverage is comprehensive for higher-court judgments and most legislation.
Principles
The Three Virtues
Legal writing demands precision, clarity, and formality. Vagueness is the enemy.
Precision
Every word must mean exactly what it says. Legal consequences follow from legal words. "May" is not "must". "Or" is not "and". Imprecise writing creates ambiguity that leads to disputes — the very thing law seeks to resolve.
Clarity
Write in plain, accessible English. Avoid unnecessary jargon. Use short sentences and logical paragraph structure. Complex ideas can be expressed clearly — obscurity is not sophistication.
Formality
Legal writing is formal. Use full names of parties, accurate citations, correct titles (the Constitutional Court, not "the CC"), and formal language. Avoid colloquialisms and contractions in legal documents.
The hallmark of good legal writing is that a reader can understand exactly what is being said without needing to ask for clarification. Precision + clarity + formality = professional legal writing.
Structure
The Blueprint
Every legal assignment has a logical structure: introduction, discussion, conclusion.
The Basic Structure
- INTRODUCTION — state the question, briefly outline your approach
- DISCUSSION/BODY — develop your argument systematically; use headings; cite authority for every proposition
- CONCLUSION — synthesise your analysis; answer the question clearly
Citation in Assignments
Every legal proposition must be supported by authority: a case, a statute, or a textbook. Never state a legal rule without citing its source. "According to the court in X..." or "Section Y provides that..."
Headings
Use clear, numbered headings to structure your writing. This helps the reader follow your argument and shows you have organised your thoughts logically.
Exam trap: do not write a legal assignment as a narrative story. Lead with the legal proposition, support it with authority, and apply it to the facts. Structure is essential to marks.
Legal Opinion
The Opinion Chamber
A legal opinion answers a specific legal question with a clear, reasoned answer.
Structure of a Legal Opinion
- (1) FACTS — summarise the material facts given to you
- (2) ISSUE(S) — identify the legal question(s) to be answered
- (3) LAW — state the applicable legal rules and principles with citation
- (4) APPLICATION — apply the law to the facts in detail
- (5) CONCLUSION — give a clear, direct answer to the question
Tone
A legal opinion is professional and objective. It should not be argumentative or emotional. The lawyer's job is to advise, not to advocate in an opinion. Save advocacy for a court submission.
The opinion structure mirrors FIRAC (Facts, Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion). A well-structured legal opinion IS a FIRAC analysis — just written in professional, formal prose.