Revised Ethics Guidelines for Legal Practitioners in South Africa on the Use of Generative AI

Law Society of South Africa AI Committee (drafters, published via De Rebus)

last revised 2026-07-01last verified 2026-09-031 versioncountry page →

GuidanceProposedVerification dutyCompetenceConfidentiality

map categories:Bar guidance on generative AI Duty to verify AI output Technological competence Client data in AI tools

Revised draft ethics guidelines on generative AI for South African legal practitioners, published 1 July 2026 in De Rebus by drafters working with the LSSA AI Committee after a 2026 consultation. Practitioners are fully responsible for AI-assisted work, must assess local relevance and bias, and must address cybersecurity risks. Not formally adopted by the LSSA or Legal Practice Council.

Applies to: lawyers, firms
Effective: See version history
Current version: Revised draft · 01 Jul 2026
Last verified: 03 Sept 2026
Official text: www.derebus.org.za/responsible-ai-use-in-south-african-legal-practice-…

What the document requires

Legal practitioners are fully responsible for AI-assisted work product.
Output must be evaluated for accuracy, local legal relevance and bias.
Practitioners must address cybersecurity risks such as prompt injection and data corruption.
Offered as a collaborative contribution; not formally adopted by the LSSA or LPC.

Version history

Version	Date	What changed	Source
Revised draftcurrent	2026-07-01	First version recorded.	official

Related court incidents on the record

Northbound Processing (Pty) Ltd v South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator (2025/072038) [2025] ZAGPJHC 6612025-06-30 Regulatory referral
Mavundla v MEC: Department of Co-Operative Government and Traditional Affairs, KZN (7940/2024P) [2025] ZAKZPHC 22025-01-08 Regulatory referral
Parker v Forsyth NNO and Others (1585/20) [2023] ZAGPRD 12023-06-29 Other

Sources

De Rebus — revised guidelines and consultation summary

Cite this record

SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "Revised Ethics Guidelines for Legal Practitioners in South Africa on the Use of Generative AI" (Law Society of South Africa AI Committee (drafters, published via De Rebus), Revised draft, 2026-07-01), safelegalai.com/regulation/south-africa/za-lssa-revised-generative-ai-ethics-guidelines (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.