TRC Final Report

Volume 1

Chapter 13

Subsection 31

1979 Internal Security Act No 32: Empowered Government to declare an organisation unlawful and to control the distribution of publications. Meetings of more than twenty persons were declared unlawful unless authorised by the magistrate. This Act repealed the whole of the 1950 Internal Security Act [SA] and related Acts, with the exception of the 1960 Unlawful Organisations Act which declared that any organisation which threatened public safety was unlawful. Included in this category were the ANC and the PAC (SRR 1979: 312). Commenced: 27 April 1979 Sections 27-9 inclusive repealed by the State of Emergency Act No 86 of 1995 [SA]

1983 Prisons Amendment Act No 8: Prohibited any publications about prisons and prisoners without the permission of the Commissioner of Prisons. Commenced: 3 June 1983

1984 Industrial Conciliation Act No 8: Prohibited unions with head offices outside the homeland from organising within the homeland. COSATU continued despite these restrictions. Commenced: 1 July 1983

1984 Internal Security Amendment Act No 22: Prohibited any meeting of more than twenty persons to be held without the permission of the Minister of Law and Order. Commenced: 31 August 1984

1985 Internal Security Amendment Act No 39: Empowered the President to close certain educational institutions in certain circumstances (notably circumstances of unrest etc.), in particular the University of Bophuthatswana. Commenced: 20 December 1985

1985 Security Clearance Act No 40: Required security clearance of people as a prerequisite to their employment in certain educational or training institutions and certain parastatal bodies. Commenced: 20 December 1985

1986 Internal Security Amendment Act No 5: Granted further control over illegal gatherings. Commenced: 17 April 1986

1986 Security Laws Amendment Act No 13: Imposed imprisonment for up to ten years for disruption of any educational institution, unlawful strikes, boycotting of consumer goods, civil disobedience, obstruction of public places, or attending a restricted funeral. Commenced: 11 June 1986

1986 Special Offences Act No 6: Made it an offence to possess a tyre or similar object, or any inflammable liquid, in circumstances in which it could be inferred that such things could be used to commit an offence. Commenced: 17 April 1986

1987 Electoral Amendment Act No 7: Provisions of section 16(a) allowed for the refusal of registration to political parties. Parties could be disqualified if their object was deemed to be ‘hostile to the state’. Commenced: 5 June 1987

1988 Internal Security Amendment Act No 2: Amended the 1979 Internal Security Act (RRS 1988/89: 58). Commenced: 15 March 1988

1990 Proclamation No 4: Gave the President power to make emergency regulations and to govern the state of emergency which had been declared in some districts under Proclamation 3 of 1990. Commenced: 10 March 1990

1991 Industrial Relations Act No 27: Prohibited worker bodies from registering with unions based outside the homeland, and unions from contributing or to receiving money from any organisation banned under the 1979 Internal Security Act or any other security law.

1991 Internal Security Amendment Act No 5: Continued to bar registered political parties other than the ruling party from holding meetings without official permission. Commenced: 28 March 1991