The Bill of Rights, contained in Chapter 2 of the final Constitution, guarantees all South Africans basic human rights. Everyone, for example, has a right to life, equality, human dignity and privacy. 

Some rights, however, are especially relevant to certain categories of people. Follow the links below to explore the position of women, children, workers and gays and lesbians - and see how the Constitutional Court has interpreted their rights in real cases. 

STREET LAW

Extracts from the Street Law series 

Street Law, a programme aimed primarily at youngsters, is designed to introduce the law and human rights to people of all levels of education - providing a practical understanding of the law, the legal system and the Constitution.
Since 1986 the programme has been making people aware of their rights and how the legal system can protect them. Street Law tells people about laws that affect them in their everyday life "on the street".

Made available courtesy of Juta Law Company, South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Constitution disclaimer:

This text of the Constitution includes all amendments, up to and including the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. Parliament does not publish updated official texts of the Constitution. The amendments to the text of the Constitution were inserted in the original text by staff of the Constitutional Court Library and website. It is not an official government publication. The Constitutional Court, its website, library and staff accept no responsibility and will incur no liability whatsoever for any errors or omissions in this version of the Constitution. 

 Read the Constitution in one of the other official languages: