South Africa suffered a long history of colonization, racial domination and land dispossession that resulted in the bulk of the agricultural land being owned by a white minority. Black people resisted being dispossessed but were defeated by the superior arms of the newcomers. As Lewin has written, “whatever minor causes there may have been for the many Bantu-European wars, the desire for land was the fundamental cause.” Despite the claims that South Africa was largely uninhabited at the time of the arrival of Europeans, documentary evidence shows that in fact the land was inhabited. Thus the journal of the first European to settle at the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck records incidents of confrontation with the indigenous Khoi-khoi (or Hottentots) in 1655.

It is an honor to have been invited to deliver this paper on my experiences as a member of the group drafting South Africa's first Bill of Rights in the course of the constitutional negotiations in 1993 to such an august international audience. I am also very pleased to be sharing the podium with Christina Murray, since we were student contemporaries (although at neighboring universities) and have been close colleagues in the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town since early 1988. Despite our close working relationship over these years, however, I think that this is the first occasion upon which we have talked jointly about our experiences in assisting the drafting of the Constitution, which makes it a special occasion for us, too. Mine will be a very personal recollection and assessment of a period in the constitutional history of South Africa which I never believed possible, let alone that I should have played a small part in it.

On May 7, 1996 about 50 politicians were gathered together in the Parliament buildings in Cape Town negotiating the final details of South Africa's long-awaited democratic Constitution. There, too, were huddles of advisers, the long-suffering members of the administrative staff of the Constitutional Assembly, and members of the press who, generally absent from the process, had come to record the last moments. Behind the scenes the lay-out team was ready to put the last touches to the document and printers stood ready. Late that night, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly, pleaded with the group in his characteristically ironic fashion: “I know it's late but just 20 minutes more, just 20 minutes – for our Constitution which is for the next 20 years, no, 50 years, 100 years, 200 years. …”

The Constitutional Court is the highest court in South Africa in all matters concerning the interpretation and enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution. The Court was established in 1994 in compliance with the provisions of the Interim Constitution which came into force when the first democratic elections were held, and started hearing its first cases in February 1995. The mission of the Library is primarily to support the work of the Constitutional Court.

Nigeria is a federal state with an estimated population of 120 million, making it the most populous country in Africa. For one hundred years, from 1861 when Lagos was colonized to 1960 when it gained its independence, Nigeria was under British colonial rule. There are about 400 nationalities in the country. In 1914, the Colony of Lagos and the Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria that had been constituted over time during the colonial enterprise were amalgamated into one single colonial state.

The Center, now known as the Mcnight Legal Resource Centre, was established at the University of Malawi and designed to provide information support for the efficient and effective performance of the law faculty and staff, students and researchers and institutions and organizations associated with the University, including related government departments and research centers.

The Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women's Law – SEARCWL - (in daily language just called the Women's Law Centre) is an institute under the Faculty of Law, University of Zimbabwe (UZ). It all started way back in the late 1980'ies when the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) sponsored diploma courses in women's law for participants from Africa, at the University of Oslo. The first three courses were held in Oslo, but then the venue was moved to the University of Zimbabwe, and through the 1990'ies more than a hundred scholars have passed through the diploma courses. From February 2003, a masters degree program has been running with 28 students from 10 different countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). From mid-June until the end of August we had an additional 19 students, so-called “upgraders” – i.e. ex-diploma students upgrading their diploma to a Masters degree.

I would like to begin by thanking our hosts and organizers of this Conference for the opportunity afforded me to be present at the IALL, and also to be able to discuss issues relating to legal information provision and transmission in Zimbabwe, a topic which is sadly overlooked and neglected.

The title of this paper follows the 2003 Meeting theme: Law in a Time of Transition. Speakers thus far have discussed the various ways in which South African substantive law has changed since 1990. With such far-reaching changes in the political and legal landscape, one would expect to see some changes in the legal literature. There have indeed been profound changes in the forms of legal publication over the past few years, some of which would seem to be a direct result of the new legal and political system. I refer in this context not so much to the content and substance of our statutes and decided cases, but rather to the forms in which they are made available.

South Africa is widely admired for its peaceful transition from a period of discrimination and oppression to a legitimate functioning democracy in which human rights are recognized and protected by the Constitution and the courts. Nevertheless, it is still a country traumatized by its recent past. There is a great need for building and strengthening processes of development, reparation, reconciliation and the healing of painful memories. The country has just celebrated National Heritage Day, and these memorial occasions are important in reminding us all of how far we have come, and the people and events which brought us to this point.