All Press Releases
3 May 2019
Today, Lawyers for Human Rights approached the Johannesburg High Court to hear the matter of Alem Bazabe Ereselo v the CEO: Helen Joseph Hospital and Others, which concerns an asylum seeker’s Constitutional right to access emergency medical treatment, equality, human dignity, and life.
After fleeing Ethiopia due to persecution on the basis of her political opinion, the Applicant in this...
3 April 2019
Lawyers for Human Rights celebrates the landmark judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal today, tackling a pressing human rights issue that has been largely ignored in South African metros: a pattern of confiscating and destroying the property of the poorest members of society.
This case concerned a group of almost 30 homeless people who have lived on a traffic island under the R31...
26 March 2019
Lawyers for Human Rights and Abba Specialist Adoption and Social Services welcome the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to register 33 abandoned children with birth certificates, after LHR approached the Pretoria High Court on behalf of Abba, for an urgent order compelling the Department to register the births of all the children within 30 days.
Thirty-three abandoned children had been...
21 March 2019
This year marks 40 years of Lawyers for Human Rights providing free legal services to marginalised individuals & communities in South Africa in order to help deepen democracy and facilitate access to justice for all.
This Human Rights Day, help celebrate our history and ensure the future of LHR by donating to support our work.
Despite South Africa’s renowned and progressive Constitution...
29 January 2019
On 30 January 2019, the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria (“the High Court”) will hand down judgment on the matter between Somali Association & 8 Others v The Refugee Appeal Board & 6 Others in an application to review and set aside eight decisions of the Refugee Appeal Board (“RAB”) in which it dismissed the applicants’ asylum...
20 December 2018
Today, 20 December 2018, the Constitutional Court handed down an unanimous judgement in the case of Alex Ruta v The Minister of Home Affairs, overturning the majority ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The Constitutional Court declared that Section 4 (1) (b) of the Refugees Act relates to individuals that commit crimes outside the Republic prior to entering South Africa. The court also...
12 December 2018
On Thursday 13 December Lawyers for Human Rights will oppose an application in the Pretoria High Court on behalf of a large group of waste pickers or recyclers. The recyclers are facing imminent eviction from their homes where they have lived for periods ranging from a few weeks to over 16 years. Their accommodation is made of modest shelters constructed out of plastic sheets and cardboard. They...
12 December 2018
Lawyers for Human Rights welcomes the Constitutional Court’s judgement, handed down yesterday, 11 December 2018, in the matter of Law Society of South Africa and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others. The matter concerned the constitutionality of the President’s signature of the 2014 Protocol stripping the SADC Tribunal of its jurisdiction over...
11 December 2018
On 6 December 2018 the South African History Archive (“SAHA”) was granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) represented SAHA in an application for leave to appeal in the matter of The South African History Archive Trust v The South African Reserve Bank 05598/16. The matter relates to the refusal of requests for information...
6 December 2018
On 6 December 2018 Lawyers for Human Rights (“LHR”) will be representing the South African History Archive Trust (“SAHA”) in an application for leave to appeal in the matter of The South African History Archive Trust v The South African Reserve Bank 05598/16. The matter relates to the refusal of requests for information relating to fraudulent activity during apartheid...