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SAFLII
What it is
SAFLII is a free web repository of legal information focused on open access, the rule of law, and judicial accountability. Its collection includes judgments, legislation, court rules, journal articles, commission reports, government gazettes, Rule 16A notices, and court rolls. It also links to legal materials from other countries in the region through partnerships with Legal Information Institutes. The SINO search can cover every database or selected databases, rank results by relevance, and accept words, exact phrases, legislation names, case names, or document titles. Boolean and proximity operators are available. Results can be ordered by relevance, date, title, or database, with several page-size choices. RSS feeds cover selected courts and databases. SAFLII says materials come directly from courts or government gazettes. Personal reading, printing, and copying are permitted under its stated terms, while automated collection is prohibited.
For and against
For
- Free public access without login
- Searches case law and legislation
- Boolean and proximity search operators
- Multiple result sorting and page sizes
- RSS feeds for selected databases
Against
- Web platform only
- No free trial is listed
- Automated collection and API access prohibited
- Does not provide legal advice
The verdict
SAFLII brings a broad legal collection and detailed search controls to a free web service. Its access terms and lack of professional advice make it a research resource rather than a substitute for counsel.
Who it suits
It suits legal practitioners, journalists, labour and human resources practitioners, employers, employees, and employee representatives seeking searchable legal materials. Users needing specific legal advice should consult a qualified professional.
Plans and prices
Free public access
Individual end users may read, print and copy materials for personal use and other uses permitted by copyright law
Read 9 Oct 2026 · saflii.org
On the record
- Advice limitation
- SAFLII states that it does not offer professional or legal advice and advises users needing specific advice to consult a suitably qualified professional.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Collection
- The collection includes judgments, legislation, court rules, journal articles, commission reports, government gazettes, Rule 16A notices and court rolls.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- SAFLII describes its collection as useful to legal practitioners, journalists, labour and human resources practitioners, employers, employees and employee representatives.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Organization
- SAFLII operates independently as a non-profit organization and is a registered public benefit organization.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- SAFLII is an online repository of legal information that promotes the rule of law and judicial accountability through open access.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Regional coverage
- SAFLII also hosts legal materials from other countries in the region through partnerships and links to other Legal Information Institutes.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Result views
- Search results can be sorted by relevance, date, title or database, with 10, 20, 50 or 100 results per page.www3.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Search
- SAFLII’s SINO search supports searches across all databases or selected databases and can rank results by relevance.www3.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Search filters
- Search options include any or all words, exact phrases, legislation names, case names and document titles, with Boolean and proximity operators available.www3.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Source integrity
- SAFLII says it uploads only judgments received directly from courts and obtains materials such as court rules directly from government gazettes.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Updates
- SAFLII provides RSS feeds for selected courts and databases across several countries.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Use limitation
- The terms prohibit automated or programmatic collection, including scraping, crawling, API access and bulk querying, and say SAFLII may block or rate-limit violations.saflii.org · read 9 Oct 2026
