The international and human rights collection in the Library, which became a reality through donations by the Canadian Bar Association, several American law schools and the Government of India, has faced increasing demands as the LRC’s role in enhancing human rights and democratic development in South Africa has evolved over time.

In order to meet the growing demand for up-to-date legal resources and to provide research facilities to accommodate an increasing number of library users, the Library underwent extensive improvements made possible through a one-time grant from Dr. Bill Venter, then Chairman of the Altron Group.  The newly refurbished Library was officially named and re-opened by then President Nelson Mandela in 1996.

The Library and the building in which the Library is housed, are named in honour of the late Bram Fischer, an Afrikaner lawyer who was deeply
committed to the cause of non-racial democracy in South Africa. Fischer
lived in a time when his membership in the Communist Party and his political resistance to the Apartheid regime were considered to be treasonous, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his political activities.  His courage and dedication to the cause of democracy and equality for all continue to inspire the work of the LRC. It was therefore with great pride that the LRC accepted from Fischer’s daughters a collection of legal books that belonged to Bram Fischer, his father Percy Uhlrig Fischer and his grandfather Abraham Fischer.

At the opening of the Bram Fischer library, the following message was received from Ruth Rice and Ilse Wilson, Bram Fischer’s daughters:

“There are three generations of Fischer books in the LRC library – those belonging to Bram’s grandfather, Abraham Fischer, his father, Percy Ulrich Fischer and his own books. Arthur Chaskalson looked after all these books while Bram was in prison. He continued to subscribe to the law journal and to put Bram’s name on the books until the year Bram died. When the LRC came into being, Arthur asked us if he could put the books in the LRC library and we readily agreed.

We believe that Bram would have felt the LRC was an appropriate place to house the collection. We are very pleased that Bram is now being remembered by this library being given his name and we are delighted that his old friend and comrade, Nelson Mandela, has agreed to officially open the library.

We believe that the lawyers of the LRC with their determination to promote human rights and their service to the community are following the example of courage and integrity, which Bram Fischer showed.”

Apart from the historical Fischer collection, the original papers relating to President Nelson Mandela’s Rivonia trial were made available to the Centre by former Johannesburg attorney Joel Joffe and were presented to Mr. Mandela in June 1995. Copies of these papers are now housed in the library of the LRC, whilst the originals are in safekeeping and serve as a constant source of pride for the organisation.

The Bram Fisher Library:

Situated in the Johannesburg regional office, the Library serves
LRC lawyers, paralegals, candidate attorneys and interns working in the LRC’s national office in Johannesburg and five regional offices situated in downtown Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Grahamstown and Cape Town.

As a result of the LRC’s participation in the Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN) since 1994, the Library also provides information resources and services to members of the network, who are public interest legal centers working to advance human rights in the region. In addition, the Library supports the constitutional and human rights work of researchers and legal practitioners in the wider community, including members of the Bar and university students, as well as legal officers in rural areas where there is limited access to library resources.

The Library is staffed by a full-time librarian, who is responsible for managing the Library and providing specialised legal research to support LRC staff at both the national and regional offices.

The LRC’s reputation for producing strong litigation strategies, legal advice and law reform proposals, particularly in the areas of constitutional law and human rights, is due in no small part to the resources and services currently available in our Library. 

Books, law reports and periodicals have been the central pillars of information resources available in the library, however, with the advent of South Africa’s 1996 Constitution with a Bill of Rights, the importance of the Library has grown significantly. 

The Constitution expressly requires that when interpreting the Bill of Rights, South African courts must consider international law. Consequently, practitioners who rely on the Library for their legal research increasingly require legal information relating to international jurisprudence and policy relevant to the South African context. They require a combination of the traditional paper-based domestic and international publications as well as a wide range of electronic resources.

The challenge for the LRC is to develop and maintain the Library’s constitutional and human rights collection in a way that reflects these new demands.