South AfricaZA

Article 59 of the Constitution of South Africa

Article
59
Chapter
CHAPTER 4 — PARLIAMENT
Index row title
(1) The National Assembly must—
Source document
The South Africa Constitution
Provision ID
4f47ebd4-b220-4977-8477-53a68c5b9f2b

126 words

Verbatim text

(a) facilitate public involvement in the legislative and other processes of the Assembly and its committees; and (b) conduct its business in an open manner, and hold its sittings, and those of its committees, in public, but reasonable measures may be taken— (i) to regulate public access, including access of the media, to the Assembly and its committees; and (ii) to provide for the searching of any person and, where appropriate, the refusal of entry to, or the removal of, any person. (2) The National Assembly may not exclude the public, including the media, from a sitting of a committee unless it is reasonable and justifiable to do so in an open and democratic society. Chapter 4: Parliament 32National Council of Provinces Composition of National Council

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 59 of the Constitution of South Africa.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 4 — PARLIAMENT”.
  • The passage runs to about 126 words.
  • Read plainly, it mentions privacy, search and seizure — it protects privacy or limits searching a person, their home or their communications (the words used: “searching”); it mentions assembly and association — it protects gathering together or joining a group, union or party (the words used: “Assembly”).

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) The National Assembly must—”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.

The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.

This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

How to cite this

Constitution of South Africa, article 59, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/4f47ebd4-b220-4977-8477-53a68c5b9f2b (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/4f47ebd4-b220-4977-8477-53a68c5b9f2b

Accessed 25 October 2026.

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