“There can be no Rule of Law unless there is access to the basic sources of law.”

Transparency of the Legal System

“There can be no Rule of Law unless there is access to the basic sources of law.”

— Theuns Viljoen, Executive Director, LexisNexis South Africa

Rule of Law cannot exist without a transparent legal system, the main components of which are a clear set of laws that are freely and easily accessible to all, strong enforcement structures, and an independent judiciary to protect citizens against the arbitrary use of power by the state, individuals or any other organization.

In some countries the average citizen, businesses trying to operate in those countries, and even practicing lawyers have limited access to laws or legal decisions. Recognizing this challenge, LexisNexis is working in Ghana, Mauritius and three Nigerian states to update laws, to issue them in prin ted volumes, and then to make them publicly available.

For the past seven years, LexisNexis South Africa has worked throughout Africa to consolidate and update laws in Kenya, Swaziland, South Africa, Malawi, and Zimbabwe—fourteen nations in all. As Theuns Viljoen, Executive Director, LexisNexis South Africa, observes, “Our approach is that there can be no Rule of Law unless there is access to the basic sources of Law.”

LexisNexis also has joined the Southern Africa Litigation Center (SALC) in a joint initiative with the International Bar Association and Open Society of Southern Africa. The SALC trains attorneys, supports human rights cases, and carries out other programs to advance the Rule of Law.