MANUAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 51 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000

This document is a manual produced by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) in December 2015 to comply with Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA). It outlines the CER's role as a non-profit law clinic, identifies the Executive Director as the head for PAIA purposes, and details the procedures, fees, and categories of records available to the public for accessing information held by the organisation.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is a non-profit organisation and law clinic based in Cape Town that focuses on helping communities defend their "Constitutional right to a healthy environment" through litigation and advocacy for "transparency, accountability and compliance with environmental laws."
• Certain categories of records are available for free download from the CER website, including environmental legislation, court judgements, parliamentary replies, key government reports, speeches by executive or government department members, and the CER's Annual Reports and Memorandum of Incorporation. Key correspondence is also available unless it is "protected by attorney‐client confidentiality".
• The CER maintains internal records required by national legislation, which are categorized into constitutional documents, corporate governance documents, financial records, tax records, and employment records. Additionally, as a law clinic accredited by the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope, some of its documents are "protected by attorney‐client privilege".
• To request access to information under PAIA, a requester must submit Form C to the Executive Director along with a request fee of R50. The request must provide sufficient details to identify the record and the requester, specify the form of access, and explain the right the requester is seeking to exercise or protect.
• The CER specifies a detailed fee structure for the reproduction of records: R1,10 per A4 photocopy, R0,75 per printed A4 page from a computer, R7,50 for a stiffy disc, and R70,00 for a compact disc. Transcriptions of visual images cost R40,00 per A4 page or R60,00 for a copy of images, while audio transcriptions cost R20,00 per A4 page or R30,00 for a copy of the record.
• Regarding access fees, a deposit of one third of the access fee is payable if the time required to search and prepare the record exceeds six hours.
• Requesters who are refused access to information have the right to apply to a court under section 78 of PAIA within 180 days of the refusal.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2015). MANUAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 51 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2001/03/CER-PAIA-Manual-December-2015.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. MANUAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 51 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000. 2015. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2001/03/CER-PAIA-Manual-December-2015.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=MANUAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 51 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000 |date=December 2015 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2001/03/CER-PAIA-Manual-December-2015.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2015manual, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{MANUAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 51 OF THE PROMOTION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, 2000}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2001/03/CER-PAIA-Manual-December-2015.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }