Terms of Use
1. What do these terms relate to?
These terms of use describe the permitted use for the LawLibrary service available at https://lawlibrary.org.za and its subdomains.
2. Who are we, and how to contact us?
The LawLibrary service is provided by Laws.Africa and AfricanLII in the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town. You can contact us by email at info@lawlibrary.org.za or by filling out this form.
3. By using the LawLibrary service you accept these terms
By using the LawLibrary service, you confirm that you accept these terms of use and agree to comply with them.
4. Fair and reasonable use
You must use the service responsibly by not making too many requests. In order to maintain the integrity of the service for everyone, we may block or disable use of the service from certain IP addresses, for making too many requests.
Scraping and bulk downloading from this website is strictly prohibited. We are a donor-funded organisation and bulk and frequent scraping affects our costs, endangering the sustainability of the service. There are more efficient ways of obtaining access to our data in bulk. Please email us if you would like to access our data in bulk.
5. Crawling and indexing
You may access the LawLibrary service through the website, or access the data through our APIs.
We restrict external indexing of documents by search engine robots or spiders. You must adhere to the instructions in the /robots.txt file.
We may block or disable use of the service from certain IP addresses, if they appear to be compiling a search engine index.
6. Coverage
LawLibrary collects caselaw, legislation, African Union documents, journals, books and other materials through cooperation with regional, governmental, academic and non-profit organisations and sometimes individuals.
We strive to ensure high quality standards on all documents published on the platform. Where verification was not possible, this will be indicated on the document concerned.
7. Errors and omissions
We scan and digitize most of the documents made available on the LawLibrary and affiliate LII websites. We use industry-standard Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to convert these documents to readable text and there may be errors introduced by this process.
Please contact us should you encounter errors in any of the documents published and we shall rectify them within a reasonable time.
8. Disclaimer
Although we make every effort to authenticate information and include the source and history of documents published on this service, you should note that information on LawLibrary is:
- not necessarily comprehensive, complete, accurate or up-to-date;
- sometimes linked to external sites over which LawLibrary has no control and for which LawLibrary assumes no responsibility;
- not professional or legal advice (if you need specific advice, you should always consult a suitably qualified professional).
LawLibrary and Laws.Africa, members of its staff, and its contractors shall not be liable for any financial or other consequences arising from the use of information or data contained on this site, including the inappropriate, improper or fraudulent use of such information or data.
LawLibrary does not invite reliance upon, nor accept responsibility for, the information it provides. LawLibrary makes every effort to provide a high-quality service. However, neither LawLibrary nor the providers of data on LawLibrary, give any guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up-to-date nature of the information provided. Users should confirm information from another source if it is of sufficient importance for them to do so.
Hypertext links on LawLibrary are (in most cases) inserted by LawLibrary, not by the data providers. Automated insertion of hypertext links on LawLibrary means that links will not be comprehensive or accurate in all cases. Neither LawLibrary nor its providers of data, give any guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning hypertext linking.
9. Copyright and Licensing
You may use and re-use primary and secondary law content on LawLibrary under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. Under this license, you may freely use, re-use and redistribute works from LawLibrary provided you credit LawLibrary as your source and your use is not for commercial gain.
Specific collections on LawLibrary may be licensed under more permissive licenses. Examples of these collections are unedited African Union documentation, national and regional caselaw and government gazettes. Check the landing page of each collection for specific licensing information.
Use of legal materials published by LawLibrary can be subject to additional conditions set by courts, regional and government bodies, and publishers claiming intellectual property rights relating to the documents. LawLibrary makes an effort to indicate the existence of additional conditions on the pages of the relevant databases. Still, Users remain responsible for checking whether their use of the documents is authorised.
LawLibrary reserves the intellectual property rights on the LawLibrary name, website’s graphics and website design.
10. Privacy
10.1 Information concerning the usage of LawLibrary
LawLibrary collects information which identifies, for each page accessed on LawLibrary, the network identity of the machine which has accessed it. We use Google Analytics and in-house software to perform this function.
LawLibrary retains this usage information for purposes of network analysis, usage analysis, and research into usage patterns to improve the LawLibrary services. Access to and use of this information is restricted to Google Analytics, LawLibrary management and staff, and to researchers working on LawLibrary projects and subject to an agreement to adhere to these Terms of Use.
LawLibrary reserves the right to gather more extensive information than stated above (i) about any attempted access to LawLibrary which raise security issues (and, where necessary, to make disclosures to relevant authorities); and (ii) for network analyses on an occasional basis.
11. Personal information contained in LawLibrary databases
11.1 Personal information in court cases
LawLibrary publishes comprehensive collections of court decisions with the consent of the public bodies concerned. The electronic dissemination of judgments is in concordance with the open court principle, instituted to ensure the impartiality and transparency of the judicial process by allowing access to the record of judicial proceedings, including judgments. Therefore, LawLibrary operates on the core principle that all citizens and organisations should be provided with free, unconditional and unrestricted access to basic legal materials.
LawLibrary undertakes to monitor and delete from published judgments personal information as directed by law or specific court order. LawLibrary retains the right to remove personal information from judgments at its discretion where this is possible without distorting the meaning and context of the document.
11.2 Personal information in government gazettes
Government gazettes and official journals are official publications of the states that publish them. The law mandates that certain personal information should be made public via the government gazette and government departments place these public notices in the government gazette with the intent of the contents being made accessible to the public.
LawLibrary cannot withdraw from circulation, redact or amend the government gazette.
11.3 Automated monitoring
LawLibrary performs automated monitoring and, where necessary, de-identification of judgments before publication and does not guarantee that all sensitive material has been correctly de-identified.
Should you have concerns over personal information published on the LawLibrary website, please contact us.
11.4 Your responsible use of personal information
LawLibrary users should note that there are legal limitations on the use, publication and dissemination of some personal information in LawLibrary databases. It is the responsibility of LawLibrary users to comply with the laws of the land.
12. Right to amend these Terms of Use, Copyright and Privacy statements
We reserve the right to amend these terms of use, copyright, and privacy and security statements at any time. All amendments will be posted on this website. Unless otherwise stated, the current version shall supersede and replace all previous versions of this document.
13. Subscription Terms of Use
13.1 Who is bound by these Terms?
13.1.1 These Terms apply to you (an individual or entity) (“you,” “your”) when you create an account, subscribe, or otherwise use the Service.
13.1.2 You represent and warrant you have the capacity to enter into a contract.
13.1.3 If you use the Service on behalf of an entity (e.g. a law firm), you warrant you are authorised to bind that entity, and “youincludes that entity.
13.2 Definitions
13.2.1 “Account” – your registered user account in My LawLibrary.
13.2.2 “Subscription” – your paid plan (e.g. Essentials, Pro) or free tier account.
13.2.3 “Billing cycle” – either a monthly or annual period for subscription billing.
13.2.4 “Effective date” – the date you first activate a paid Subscription.
13.2.5 “Free Trial” – the complimentary trial period (if applicable) during which you may use the Service without payment.
13.2.6 “Content” – legal materials, judgments, legislation, documents, summaries, annotations, etc., accessible via the Service.
13.2.7 “Features” – functionality associated with your tier (saved documents, search alerts, AI summaries, etc.).
13.3 Service Access & Use
13.3.1 We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service and Features, in accordance with these Terms and your Subscription.
13.3.2 You must use the Service in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. copyright, data protection).
13.3.3 You agree not to misuse the Service (e.g. no hacking, reverse-engineering, scraping, bulk downloading beyond permitted limits).
13.3.4 You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential. Notify us immediately if compromised.
13.4 Free Tier, Free Trial & Paid Subscriptions
13.4.1 Free Tier; we offer a free tier (My LawLibrary FREE) with limited features and access.
13.4.2 Free Trial; from time to time, we may offer a free trial of a higher-tier plan to new paid subscribers. The trial period is temporary and provided at no additional cost. When the trial ends, your account automatically reverts to your originally selected paid plan and you will not be charged for the higher tier unless you choose to upgrade.
13.4.3 Paid Subscriptions; paid subscriptions begin on the effective date of purchase and renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle unless cancelled before renewal. Upgrades take effect immediately and are pro-rated; downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
13.5. Pricing, Payment & Billing
13.5.1 Pricing is as published on our pricing page.
13.5.2 Payment is accepted by credit card only. By providing your card details, you authorise us (and our payment processor) to charge all applicable fees.
13.5.3 By providing payment details, you authorise us to charge fees to your card in accordance with your chosen subscription plan.
13.5.4 If a payment fails, we may suspend access until resolved.
13.5.5 All amounts in ZAR; VAT treatment as indicated.
13.5.6 No refunds for partially used cycles unless required by law.
13.5.7 Price changes will be communicated 30 days before affecting renewals.
13.6. Discounts & Promotional Offers
13.6.1 We may offer discounts under specific conditions.
13.6.2 Discounts apply for defined periods (e.g. first 12 months).
13.6.3 We may terminate discounts at our discretion with notice.
13.7. Content, Intellectual Property & Use Restrictions
13.7.1 We (or licensors) own all Content and technology.
13.7.2 You retain ownership of user-generated content but grant us license to use it to operate the Service.
13.7.3 Unauthorised copying, distribution, or derivative works prohibited.
13.8. Suspension, Termination & Effects
13.8.1 We may suspend or terminate your access for breach (e.g. non-payment).
13.8.2 You may cancel at any time; effective end of the current billing cycle.
13.8.3 Termination does not relieve prior payment obligations.
13.8.4 Surviving provisions remain in force after termination.
13.9. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability
13.9.1 Service provided 'as is' and 'as available'.
13.9.2 We disclaim warranties to the fullest extent permitted.
13.9.3 We are not liable for indirect or consequential damages.
13.9.4 Our aggregate liability is capped at 12 months’ subscription fees.
13.9.5 Nothing in these Terms excludes liability prohibited by South African law.
13.10. Personal Information & Data Protection
13.10.1 We process personal data per our Privacy Policy.
13.10.2 We comply with POPIA and applicable data laws.
13.10.3 You consent to data use necessary for service provision.
13.10.4 We may use anonymised data for analysis or product improvement.
13.11. Governing Law, Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction
13.11.1 This agreement is governed by South African law.
13.11.2 Disputes first referred to mediation; if unresolved, courts of SA have jurisdiction.
13.12. Changes to Terms
13.12.1 We may change Terms; material changes communicated by notice.
13.12.2 Your continued use after changes indicates acceptance.
13.13. General Provisions
13.13.1 These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service. They supersede and replace any prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, understandings, or communications, whether written or oral, relating to the Service.
13.13.2 Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision will be deemed severable from the remainder of the Terms. The validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions will not in any way be affected or impaired.
13.13.3 Assignment
You may not assign, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms, in whole or in part, without restriction or the need for your consent.
13.13.4 Waiver
Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. No waiver by us will be effective unless it is expressly stated in writing and signed by us.
13.13.5 Notices
We may provide notices or communications to you by email, by posting them on our website, or by any other reasonable method of communication. Such notices will be deemed to have been received by you upon sending or posting. You must provide any notices or communications to us in writing at our designated support address, unless we specify otherwise.
If you have any comments or suggestions about this policy, please contact us.
Date of notice: 8 October 2025