Abstract:
Historically, when it comes to protection for individuals in respect of the processing of their
personal data, South Africa has been lagging behind international trends. The South African
legal framework recognised some form of data protection for individuals, albeit limited, under
the common law, the Constitution and certain specific pieces legislation. On 17 November
2000, the South African Law Reform Commission took the first step towards enacting a
separate piece of data privacy legislation by approving the inclusion in its programme of an
investigation entitled “Privacy and Data protection”. On 26 November 2013, approximately
13 years later, the President of South Africa assented to the Protection of Personal
Information Act 4 of 2013. This study examines the three most influential international
instruments upon which the Protection of Personal Information Act is based, insofar as they
relate to the core data privacy principles and the rights of data subjects. These international
instruments have also recently been the subject of amendments or are in the process of being
amended in order to keep abreast with international technological advancements and trends.
This study further considers potential amendments to the Protection of Personal Information
Act in respect of the core data privacy principles and the rights of data subjects in order to
align the Protection of Personal Information Act with these latest trends and developments.
