South African case law now available from vLex
By: David Hand
Tags: Legal, South African Law, Legal Research, Vlex Press Releases

London — November 2020

An extensive collection of South African case law is now available to law firms and universities around the world following an agreement between Juta and vLex earlier this year. Accessing this important collection on vLex will also enable researchers to benefit from AI-powered search and analysis tools, available for South African law for the first time.

Containing over 80,000 cases from a range of Southern African courts, this new resource will provide unique possibilities for international and comparative research. This is made possible by the global collection of legal information from over 130 jurisdictions already available from vLex, including the largest collection of UK superior court judgments available online.

An authoritative collection of South African law

Provided by Juta, the largest publisher of South African legal information, the new South African Core collection available from vLex includes cases from the following courts:

Constitutional Court

Supreme Court of Appeal

Divisions of the High Court

Superior courts of Namibia

Superior Courts of Zimbabwe

This collection can be enhanced with three accompanying reported series, providing researchers with access to authoritative cases:

The South Africa Law Reports which are the most authoritative series of law reports from South Africa.

which are the most authoritative series of law reports from South Africa. The South Africa Criminal Law Reports which are the most authoritative collection of criminal law cases, and also include a number of acts and amendments that relate to criminal procedure.

which are the most authoritative collection of criminal law cases, and also include a number of acts and amendments that relate to criminal procedure. The South African Appellate Division Reports which contain reports of South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal, including the complete 37-volume set of the Appellate Division Reports from 1910 to 1946.

Access to South African law enhanced by Artificial Intelligence

Accessing this collection on vLex brings new possibilities to South African legal research, with intuitive search and analysis tools offering benefits that are not available from any other research platform.

Powerful visualisation tools allow users to see the relationships between South African cases and any cases that cite them from any jurisdiction. This provides a means to discover case relationships at a glance, offering a new way to conduct more efficient research.

Legal professionals researching South African law can also benefit from the recently launched vLex Cloud. This powerful feature offers the ability for law firms to combine their own documents with the extensive collections available from vLex, including the new South African Core. vLex Cloud will enable firms to search across all the resources available to them simultaneously, and make connections previously impossible.

New possibilities for South African legal research

Masoud Gerami, Managing Director of vLex Global Markets, discussed the step forward that the release of this new collection offers:

“Following the launch of vLex Justis earlier this year, we have been focused on increasing the number of jurisdictions we can offer compelling collections from. Being able to provide this new collection of South African law, following an agreement with Juta, brings a significant new resource to legal professionals and academics around the world. This new collection, in combination with our powerful technology, opens up new possibilities for research.”

“Juta is delighted to be partnering with vLex on this important initiative”, says Kamal Patel, CEO of Juta and Company. “It will enhance and broaden the availability of our trusted case law offerings beyond South African borders, bringing new and innovative solutions to the market. As a South African pioneer of technology-driven legal information solutions, this partnership aligns with our digital transformation objectives, and our commitment to contributing to the rule of law around the globe.”

To learn more about this new collection, and begin a free trial, please visit the South African collection launch page.

About vLex

vLex provides access to a comprehensive collection of legal information from over 130 jurisdictions. Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for thousands of lawyers, law firms, government departments and law schools around the world. vLex acquired Justis Publishing in March 2019, and have integrated their content and features into the flagship vLex Justis platform.

Their team of over 170 lawyers, engineers and editorial experts continually strive to deliver up-to-date legal information and industry-leading AI-powered legal technology.

About Juta

Established in 1853, Juta is South Africa’s leading academic and law publisher trusted for quality academic, legal, professional and school publications in print and digital format. Meeting legal and regulatory information needs, as well as demands for quality learning resources, Juta matches the power of technology with authoritative African content.