This book explores the contentious history of the rule of law in the geographic and socio-political space that becomes South Africa. This is a history of contestation over the idea and use of indigenous, colonial, and constitutional law by official institutions. It explores the multitude of social movements, political organisations, and communities that have turned to the law to defend against abuses of power or to challenge authority and assert claims. These claims have been based on both official and unofficial law and have been asserted in the name of tradition, common law, human rights, and/or international law.

As reflected in the practice and academic analysis of law in South Africa in the past and present, the contested conceptions of the rule of law and its relationship to the legacies of colonial apartheid are central to the continuing political and social conflict in post-apartheid South Africa.

The book addresses the rule of law under colonialism and apartheid during the democratic transition and under South Africa's existing constitutional order. It also considers extra-legal influences on the rule of law, such as the political economy of the country, and delves into the lived experience of the rule of law in a society where legal pluralism shapes the lives of large portions of the population.