Books For Africa’s 150th Reference Law Library Arrives in South Africa

Books For Africa's 150th reference law library recently arrived at the Judicial Institute for Africa (JIFA) in Cape Town, South Africa. It was coincidental, but quite meaningful, that JIFA is our 150th recipient of the Thomson Reuters/ABA reference law library. The purpose of JIFA is to foster a competent judiciary that strengthens democracy and justice across the African continent. They provide on-site and virtual training to judges from all over Africa. Two weeks before our law library arrived, JIFA held a training for 60 African judges. They also provide remote law clerk assistance to judges who may not have their own law clerks.

These law libraries ship under Books For Africa’s Law and Democracy Initiative, founded in 2008. JIFA shares our BFA goal of furthering the rule of law across Africa and we are very honored that JIFA happened to be the 150th law library recipient. 

Last November, the American Bar Association joined our program, and now contributes a significant collection of their books to our reference law library.  “We are delighted that the 150th reference law library provided by the Books For Africa Law & Democracy Initiative has gone to the Judicial Institute for Africa and that books from the American Bar Association were included in this library,” said Bryan Kay, ABA Publishing Director for Editorial & Licensing. The provision of fundamental texts on the law helps African nations to build equitable justice systems, lawyers to be effective in their practice, judges to make just determinations, and law students to learn and value the foundations of the Rule of Law which are essential to a just society. The ABA values its continuing partnership with Books For Africa and its unwavering mission to advance the Rule of Law.” 

Our program started as a partnership with Thomson Reuters. Tom Leighton, a VP at TR said "From the program’s inception in 2008, Thomson Reuters has been a proud partner with Books For Africa and its Law and Democracy Initiative in the work it does to further the rule of law across Africa. I’ve been fortunate to visit a number of the library recipients and have seen the tremendous value the books provide to the organizations and those they support.

Another partner in our work is the Attorney General Alliance and its African program. AGA provided funding for this law library to JIFA. Their ED, Karen White, said, "The Attorney General Alliance is incredibly proud to have funded the 150th law library in Africa as part of the Books For Africa program. This significant milestone highlights our ongoing commitment to enhancing legal education and access to justice across the continent. Through this strategic partnership, we are working together to promote the Rule of Law, and empowering judicial institutions with crucial resources." 

While the 150th law library is a significant milestone, it was followed quickly by the 151st, which went to the Supreme Court of Malawi. Among others we are sending this year, a reference law library will leave in December for the Kenya Women Lawyers Association.