: UPDATE: Sources of Online Legal Information for African Countries
By Jane Williams
Jane Williams is Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian at Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Memorial Law Library. She holds a JD & MSLS from the Wayne State University (Detroit).
Published August 2007
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
III. Primary Sources
The purpose of this article is to identify online resources for locating the legal materials of African states. It will first identify meta-sites useful both for background information and links to legal information. The next part will identify secondary sources which can help locate sources and issues. The third section will list primary sources grouped by region, topic, and country. The final part will list the web sites of some African regional organizations.
Africa has about fifty four states plus six dependent territories. The post-colonial period for much of the continent has been characterized by political instability, civil strife, war, economic underdevelopment, and weak legal systems. Thus, only a few African countries have a good history of publishing and disseminating legal materials. A useful source for determining what legislative materials are published for each jurisdiction is the Reynolds and Flores[1] treatise. It is also available as an online subscription.
In the past decade there has been a trend in some countries toward better governance and transparency. Increasing numbers of governments have web sites and/or parliamentary sites, some of which provide news, government reports, and other documents. Meta sites which include links to governments' web sites, country information, and legal information include the following:
· The Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII) provides searchable databases and a catalogue of web sites of the legal materials of Commonwealth and common law countries including about seventeen African states.
· Droit francophone is a similar effort for French speaking countries, including about fifteen in Africa.
· Guide to Law Online from the Library of Congress includes links to constitutions, government sites, and country information.
· Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) provides access to legislation from sixteen countries in southern and eastern Africa.
· The World Law Guide has collections of links for legislation and cases.
· The World Legal Information Institute has an up to date web site which provides a directory of government pages and legal information web sites organized by country and region.
Several projects are underway which should increase access to African legal materials. These include the following:
· JurisAfrica is an online law reporting service owned by African Law Reporter Online. It intends to publish constitutions, judgments of the superior courts, legislation and articles. Currently there are only a few items available, most of them relate to land law.
· NTIPO (Numérisation et Traitement Informatisé desPublications Officielles) is a project designed to increase access to African legal materials. NTIPO currently has pilot projects underway for Niger, Djibouti, Mauritania, and Congo (Republic).
Given that there are a limited number of comprehensive databases or internet sites for the legal materials of African countries and that few law libraries have complete collections, secondary materials are important for identifying issues, recent developments, and documents. These include news sources, indexes and library and institute catalogues, journals, and papers.
News Sources
· AllAfrica.com aggregates news sources from African organizations and elsewhere. A basic version with a topical search function is freely available. By subscribing one has access to an archive going back to 1996 and the ability to search by key word, category, publisher and/or date.
· Jurist from the University of Pittsburg provides country by country legal news for about a dozen African countries.
· The BBC News Africa service is another good source for current information. This service also includes country profiles with country overviews, basic facts and political information, and list of newspapers and other media.
· The African Law Firm Network, Lex Africa, provides legal news and informational pieces about commercial matters.
Indexes and Catalogues
· General online indexes with references to articles relating to legal issues include the two databases from AfricaBib: Bibliography of Africana Periodical Literature and African Women's Bibliographic Databases. Both can be searched by geographic region, periodical, subject, author, title, keyword and/or date. A few articles link to full text.
· The Quarterly Index of African Periodical Literature from the Library of Congress is another general Africana index which includes references to law related articles.
· The African Studies Centre (Leiden) is an independent institute which researches social science issues relating to Africa. Its library catalogue identifies monographs, articles, and book chapters some of which are related to law. The web site also includes the full text of working papers and other publications.
One can find online legal materials for African countries in fee based databases, within subject or regional collections, and on various country specific sites. Few of the internet sites are comprehensive and it can sometimes be difficult to determine the currency of the information.
· L'Association des Cours Constitutionnelles ayant en Partage l'Usage Français (ACCPUF) web site provides laws relating to constitutional institutions, some jurisprudence, and other material from its member states.
· Droit-Afrique.com is a web portal to business law in French speaking Africa. It includes commercial, customs, investment, employment, social security, and tax laws as well as materials from regional organizations.
· The International Documentation Network on the Great African Lakes Region is an interesting collection of materials from a variety of governmental and nongovernmental sources. Included are Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. A search may locate laws and decrees although it is somewhat difficult to determine what material is included. Note too that if French, not English, is one of the official languages of a country a search in French will generate more results for primary legal materials for that country.
· IslamCatalogue--Islaw, from the University of Leipzig, provides links to Islamic law and the law of countries with high Muslim populations, including about fourteen African states.
· IZF.net (Investir en zone franc) was developed in 1998 by the Commission de l'Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) and the Secrétariat Exécutif de la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale (CEMAC). UEMOA has eight members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bisseau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. CEMAC has six: Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, and Chad. The individual country sites include links to various full texts or summaries of codes and pieces of legislation. In addition, some national legislation which implements CEMAC decisions is published in Les Journauax Officiels.
· Réseau d'information pour le développement durable en Afrique centrale provides various environmental laws including those relating to forests, water, mines, and energy for Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.
· The Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa provides selected legislation of Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Agriculture, food and natural resources
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations provides three databases:
· FAOLex is an up to date data base of national laws and regulations relating to food, agriculture, and natural resources. It includes most African countries and provides links to full text documents.
· FishLex provides laws and regulations on coastal state requirements for foreign fishing.
· WaterLex has international agreements on water resources.
Business Law
· The Doing Business Law Library from the World Bank provides laws and regulations relating to business. Topics included are banking and credit laws, bankruptcy and collateral laws, civil codes, civil procedure codes, commercial and company laws, constitutions, labor laws, land and building laws, security laws, tax laws, and trade laws. One can search by economy (the name of a state) or topic.
Competition law
· The International Bar Association's Global Competition Forum provides the competition laws of those African countries which have one.
· United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Competition and Consumer Policies web site includes the competition legislation for Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Constitutions
· Constitution Finder from the University of Richmond
· International Constitutional Law
Copyright, Patents, and Trademarks
· UNESCO's Collection of Copyright Laws includes the laws of about twenty African countries.
· The Collection of Laws for Electronic Access from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) provides texts for copyright, trademarks and patent legislation in English, French, and Spanish. WIPO's collection of copyright legislation overlaps somewhat with the UNESCO collection but it also includes about a dozen countries not included in the UNESCO database.
Criminal Law
· Prevent Genocide International provides domestic legislation on the crime of genocide for nine African countries.
Drugs
· The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provides an Online Legal Library of drug legislation which countries have passed to implement international drug conventions.
Health Law
· The International Digest of Health Legislation from the World Health Organization (WHO) is a searchable database with either links to full text or citations to official sources.
Humanitarian law
· The International Committee of the Red Cross provides two databases on international humanitarian law:
Investment and Trade
· FDI.net, from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, includes treaties, laws and regulations for a few African countries which are relevant to investors, including those relating to trade, foreign investment, and taxes. It also provides business law overviews for most countries.
Labor Law
· The International Labour Organization (ILO) database NATLEX provides labor laws as well as laws on other subjects such as economic and social policy, free trade, and criminal law. Some of the sites provide full text in English, Spanish or French while others just provide citations.
Non-Profit Law
· The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law provides the text of laws governing various issues related to non-governmental organizations, including about twenty two African countries. One must register to use the site but otherwise the documents are freely available.
Occupational Safety and Health
· ILO's International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre provides bibliographic information for legislative texts relating to various areas of occupational safety.
Refugees
· RefLeg is a database from the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees which provides the full text of national laws implementing the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. It also includes laws on citizenship, nationality, statelessness, human rights and related issues.
Tax and Commercial Law
· World Wide Tax Service from Thompson RIA is a subscription service which includes tax and commercial laws for most African countries. The currency of the material, however, is sometimes questionable.
Algeria
Collections
· Droit Algerie is a web portal to Algerian law from the Ministry of Justice. It can be viewed in French or Arabic. The site provides access to the constitution, codes, legislation and treaties to which Algeria is a party. Supreme Court judgments are available in Arabic only.
· Lex Algeria, the Algerian law portal, includes selected codes relating to public and private law as well as jurisprudence from the Conseil Constitutionnel from 1989 and the Conseil d'Etat from 1999. Some decisions are in English but the French and Arabic versions are more comprehensive.
Law and Legislation.
· Journal Officiel de la République Algérienne Démocratique et Populaire is a weekly publication of laws, treaties, ordinances, ministerial decrees, and notices. It is available from 1962 and is browsable by date.
Research Guide
· Dahmène Touchent, "Algerian Law Guide"
Angola
Law and Legislation
· The Assembleia Nacional web site provides a list of sessions laws from 1992 through 2001 with a few links to full text documents.
· The Ministry of Commerce (Ministério do Comércio) provides commercial legislation and information on recent legislative proposals.
Benin
Law and Legislation
· Afrikinfo.com provides a list of legislative documents but at the time of this writing there are few links to full text.
· The Assemblée Nationale web site includes a few acts from 1999 and 2000 most of which appear to concern the implementation of international and other agreements.
· The Bénin government web site provides the Code des Investissments and the Code de l'Hygiène Publique.
Jurisprudence
· La Cour Suprême provides selected cases from 1999 and 2000.
Botswana
Law and Legislation
· The Bank of Botswana includes banking laws and regulations.
· The Legislative Drafting Division of the Attorney General's Chambers provides a list of recent bills and acts with citations to the Government Gazette but there are no full text links.
· The Department of Environmental Affairs provides a list of environmental laws and contact information.
· The Telecommunications Authority provides the Telecommunications Act (1996), the Telecommunications Act Amendment (2004), the Broadcasting Act of 1996, and telecommunications and broadcasting regulations.
· The Department of Mines links to the Mines and Minerals Act and the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds regulations.
Jurisprudence
· SAFLII database includes selected decisions from the High Court of Botswana (2006-) and the Appeal Court of Botswana (1981-).
Research Guide
· Lubabalo Booi, "Botswana's Legal System and Legal Research"
Burkina Faso
Law and Legislation
· Banque de Données Juridiques du Burkina provides Le Journal Officiel from 1993. It includes laws, ordinances, decrees, decisions, notices and other official government communications and is searchable by key word, type of material and body issuing the document, and citation to the JO. The site also provides several codes (elections, civil procedure, mining, insurance, and labor).
· The Premier Ministère web site includes a list of the web sites of other government ministries. Several of these provide legislation relating to their area of responsibility.
Jurisprudence
· JuriBurkina provides selected judgments from the Cour de Cassation, Conseil Constitutionnel, Conseil d'Etat, Cour d'appel de Bobo Dioulasso, Tribunal du Travail de Ouagadougou, Tribunal de Travail de Bobo Dioulasso and Tribunal de Grande Instance de Bobo Dioulasso.
Burundi
Law and Legislation
· Droit francophone provides selected legislation from 1979-2000.
· The government portal site provides presidential decrees for 2007.
Cameroon
Law and Legislation
· CamLaw is an online legal research initiative provided by the Cameroon Law Society. The site currently provides the Criminal Procedure Code and the Labour Code. The French version also includes the tax code.
· The Prime Minister's Office web site provides a searchable collection of laws, ordinances, decrees, orders and decisions. The site can be viewed in French or English but some material is only available in French.
Cape Verde
Law and Legislation
· The Ministério das Finanças e Planeamento site includes a link to the tax code and an index of legislation from 1990-1998.
· The Ministério da Educação site provides some education legislation.
· The Polícia de Ordem Pública site links to some police legislation.
· The Juventude e Desportos site includes a list of legislation relevant to its jurisdiction but does not include full text.
Central African Republic
Law and Legislation
· Bibliotheque Virtuelle provides the text of several codes, including mining, petroleum, forests, and investment with others under construction.
Chad
Collections
· CEFOD (Centre d'etude de formation pour le développement) provides various legal materials including selected codes and other legislation. Revue juridique tchadienne, which reports some jurisprudence and legislation, is also linked from the site.
Law and Legislation
· Droit francophone includes selected legislation from 1935-1996.
Jurisprudence
· Droit francophone also has selected decisions from the Cour d'appel (1969-1996) and a few from the Tribunal du travail.
Congo (Brazzaville)
Law and Legislation
· The official web site includes an investment section which provides links to the Code d'investissement and Code Forestier.
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Database
· The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) provides full text of legislation (1968-2006) and judicial decisions (1972-2004).
Law and Legislation
· Ministere de L'Economie, des Finances et du Budget links to financial and investment laws and to departmental orders, decrees and decisions.
Djibouti
Law and Legislation
· Le Journal Officiel, available from 1996, includes laws, presidential and ministerial ordinances, decrees and orders, announcements and legal orders. It can be searched by date, subject index and type of legal document.
· Droit francophone has a large collection of laws for the period 1971-2003.
Egypt
Law and Legislation
· The government web portal has several laws in English translation, including Environment Law, Law of Investment Guarantees and Incentives, Labour Law, General Sales Tax, and Central Securities Depository and Registry Law. Other laws are in Arabic.
Research Guide
· Dr. Mohamed S.E. Abdel Wahab, "An Overview of the Egyptian Legal System and Legal Research"
Gabon
Law and Legislation
· Droit francophone provides some legislation for some years since 1969 until 1995.
· L'Assemblée Nationale includes a list of laws from 1997 but it does not provide full text.
· Le Sénat Gabonais web site includes laws from 2003-2005 with plans to add prior years. The site also includes documents relating to the Parliament's work.
· Agence de Régulation des Télécommunications links to various pieces of legislation and administrative decisions relating to telecommunications.
· Direction Générale des Marchés Publics web site includes laws and decrees relating to financial markets.
· Direction Générale du Contrôle Financier provides legislation and other materials relating to government finance.
Gambia
Law and Legislation
· The Central Bank of the Gambia links to the Financial Institutions Act (2003), the Insurance Act (2003), the Money Laundering Act (2003), and the Return of Fees and Charges Levied by Banks (2003) and to other materials relating to banking regulation.
· The Gambia Divestiture Agency provides the Gambia Divestiture Act 2001 and the Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Act.
· The Gambia Investments and Free Zones Agency includes the Gambia Investment Promotion Act, Free Zones Act 2001 and other laws relevant to business such as environmental and tax laws.
Ghana
Subscription database
· The Ghana Law Database, provided by DataCenta Ltd, includes laws of the Fourth Republic (1992-), the Consolidated Statutes of Ghana, business and financial laws, all volumes of the Ghana Law Reports, four law journals, and legal news. The Ghana Law Reports, however, have not been published since 1994.
Legislation
· Legislation and bills from the current session can also be found on the Parliament web site.
Jurisprudence
· CommonLII provides selected Ghana land law decisions.
· The Ministry of Justice and Attorney General's Department provides links to a few Supreme Court decisions, some legislation and opinion pieces.
Research Guide
· Victor Essien, "Researching Ghanaian Law"
Guinea
Law and Legislation
· The web site Investir en Guinée provides links to Le Code Minier and Le Code des Investissements.
· Droit francophone includes a few pieces of legislation from 1991.
Ivory Coast
Law and Legislation
· L'Assemblée Nationale de Cĉte d'Ivoire provides laws from 2001 and other parliamentary materials.
· Droit francophone has selected legislation from 1927-2002.
· L'Agence des Télécommunicatons de Côte d'Ivoire includes laws and other legislation related to the telecommunications sector.
· Investir en Côte d'Ivoire provides investment related legislation including the Code des Investissements, Loi bancaire, and Loi de finances.
Kenya
Databases
· Kenya Law Reports, from the National Council for Law Reporting, provides an up to date edition of the Laws of Kenya in a searchable database. It also includes the Kenya Gazette from 2003, the 2006 Hansard and other material at no charge. One may also search for cases but printing and downloading are not available unless one subscribes to the eKLR service.
· Laws of Kenya provides a comprehensive, up to date collection of laws and subsidiary legislation. One must register to use the site but there is currently no charge. The collection of laws can also be downloaded to one's desk top.
Subscription Database
· Africa Law Reports from LawAfrica include judgments from Kenya's courts.
Research Guide
· Tom Ojienda and Leonard Obura Aloo, "Researching Kenyan Law"
Lesotha
Law and Legislation
· The government web site includes acts from 1992 plus some earlier years.
· CommonLII provides some legislation for 1981 and 1994-2000.
Liberia
Law and Legislation
· The National Elections Commission web site provides links to election laws and regulations.
Libya
Jurisprudence
· Le Conseil Constitutionnel provides selected decrees and jurisprudence.
Madagascar
Law and Legislation
· The Annual Review of Population Law includes various laws relating to population and family law.
· L'Assemblée nationale website includes acts from 1994 to date. Searchable but not browse-able except by entering a year as a search term.
· Droit francophone includes selected legislation for the years 1953-2000 with some scattered earlier years.
· The Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et du Budget has a large collection of codes, laws, and regulations but at this time the links are not reliable.
· Ministère de l'Energie et des Mines provides mining and related environmental legislation.
Jurisprudence
· Haute Cour Constitutionnelle makes decisions available from 1996.
Malawi
Law and Legislation
· The Malawi SDNP web site, a UNDP supported government program, links to legislation relating to communications, the environment, employment, local government, and workers compensation.
· The Reserve Bank of Malawi web site links to banking and financial legislation.
Jurisprudence
· Decisions of the Industrial Relations Court (2000-2003) are available from CommonLII
Mali
Law and Legislation
· As part of PRODEJ (Programme Décennal de Développement de la Justice) the Ministry of Justice provides the text of major codes, other recently adopted legislation, and other legal texts.
· Droit francophone has selected legislation from 1959-2000.
· Secretáriat Général du Gouvernement, the government department responsible for publishing laws in Mali, provides legislation from 1994-2001 plus a few items from 2006.
Research Guide
· Dahmène Touchent, "Guide to Legal Research in Mali"
Mauritania
Law and Legislation
· GLIN provides the text of over five hundred laws, decrees and ministerial orders from 1963.