Single work expression

Fetch a single work expression using an FRBR URI.

Fetch a single work expression

Retrieve a work expression by FRBR URI.

get

Get details of a work expression (or a partion of one) using either a work or expression FRBR URI.

• /akn/za/act/1994/2.json: Act 2 of 1992 in JSON format.
• /akn/za/act/1994/2/[email protected]: Act 2 of 1992, English version at 1994-01-01, in JSON format.

Authorizations

cookieAuthtokenAuth

sessionidstringRequired

Path parameters

frbr_uristringRequired

The FRBR URI of the work or work expression, without the first slash, such as akn/za/act/1994/2/

Query parameters

formatstring · enumOptionalPossible values:

Responses

200Success

application/jsonapplication/xmltext/htmlapplication/zipapplication/pdfapplication/epub+zip

Details of a published work expression (document).

urlstring · uriRead-onlyRequired

Detail URL for this work expression.

titlestringOptional

Short title of the work, in the expression language.

created_atstring · date-timeRead-onlyRequired

Timestamp of when the expression was first created.

updated_atstring · date-timeRead-onlyRequired

Timestamp of when the expression was last updated.

countrystringOptional

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code that this work belongs to.

localitystringOptional

The code of the locality within the country.

naturestringRequired

Doctype component of the work FRBR URI.

subtypestringOptional

Subtype component of the work FRBR URI.

actorstringOptional

Actor component of the work FRBR URI.

yearstringRequired

Year portion of the FRBR date component the work FRBR URI.

numberstringRequired

Number component of the work FRBR URI.

frbr_uristringRead-onlyRequired

FRBR URI that uniquely identifies this work.

expression_frbr_uristringRequired

FRBR URI that uniquely identifies this work expression.

publication_datestring · dateRead-onlyRequired

Date of original publication of the work.

publication_namestringRead-onlyRequired

Name of the publication in which the work was originally published.

publication_numberstringRead-onlyRequired

Number of the publication in which the work was originally published.

commencedbooleanRequired

Whether this work has commenced.

commenced_in_fullbooleanRead-onlyRequired

Do all the provisions at the curernt expression date have a related commencement?

commencement_datestring · dateRequired

Date on which the bulk of the work commences.

assent_datestring · dateRead-onlyRequired

Date when the work was assented to.

expression_datestring · dateRead-onlyRequired

Date of publication or latest amendment

languagestringRequired

Three letter ISO-639-2 language code for this work expression.

stubbooleanRequired

A stub work has no content, only metadata.

principalbooleanRequired

A principal work is a main work and not just a repealing, commencing or amending work.

numbered_titlestringRead-onlyRequired

Alternative title for the work, using the document type and number.

taxonomy_topicsstring[]Read-onlyRequired

Slugs of the taxonomy topics applicable to this work.

as_at_datestring · dateRequired

The date at which this work is known to be up-to-date.

custom_propertiesanyRequired

type_namestringRead-onlyRequired

Human-friendly version of doctype and/or subtype.

amendments_madestringRead-onlyRequired

enacted_asstringRead-onlyRequired

repeals_madestringRead-onlyRequired

commencements_madestringRead-onlyRequired

disclaimerstringRead-onlyRequired

Disclaimer text about this work

aliasesstring[]Read-onlyRequired

Well-known alternative names for this work.

get

/v3/{frbr_uri}

HTTPcURLJavaScriptPython

GET /v3/{frbr_uri} HTTP/1.1
Accept: */*

200Success

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "title": "text",
  "created_at": "2026-03-09T14:54:46.755Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-03-09T14:54:46.755Z",
  "country": "text",
  "locality": "text",
  "nature": "text",
  "subtype": "text",
  "actor": "text",
  "year": "text",
  "number": "text",
  "frbr_uri": "text",
  "expression_frbr_uri": "text",
  "publication_date": "2026-03-09",
  "publication_name": "text",
  "publication_number": "text",
  "publication_document": {
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "filename": "text",
    "mime_type": "text",
    "size": 1
  },
  "commenced": true,
  "commenced_in_full": true,
  "commencement_date": "2026-03-09",
  "commencing_work": {
    "frbr_uri": "text",
    "title": "text"
  },
  "assent_date": "2026-03-09",
  "repeal": {
    "date": "2026-03-09",
    "repealing_title": "text",
    "repealing_uri": "text"
  },
  "parent_work": {
    "frbr_uri": "text",
    "title": "text"
  },
  "expression_date": "2026-03-09",
  "language": "text",
  "points_in_time": [
    {
      "date": "2026-03-09",
      "expressions": [
        {
          "url": "https://example.com",
          "language": "text",
          "expression_frbr_uri": "text",
          "expression_date": "2026-03-09",
          "title": "text"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "amendments": [
    {
      "date": "2026-03-09",
      "amending_title": "text",
      "amending_uri": "text"
    }
  ],
  "work_amendments": [
    {
      "date": "2026-03-09",
      "amending_title": "text",
      "amending_uri": "text"
    }
  ],
  "stub": true,
  "principal": true,
  "numbered_title": "text",
  "taxonomy_topics": [
    "text"
  ],
  "as_at_date": "2026-03-09",
  "custom_properties": null,
  "type_name": "text",
  "amendments_made": "text",
  "enacted_as": "text",
  "repeals_made": "text",
  "commencements_made": "text",
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "text",
      "title": "text",
      "href": "https://example.com",
      "media_type": "text"
    }
  ],
  "disclaimer": "text",
  "aliases": [
    "text"
  ]
}

Supported content types: JSON, HTML, PDF, ePub, zip.

Query Parameters for HTML Content

When fetching HTML content (using the .html endpoint), you can control some aspects of how the HTML is generated using query parameters.

For example, usually you will want to make links to other legislation relative to your website. You can do this by using ?resolver=none when fetching the HTML.

Name	Type	Description
coverpage	string	Should the response include a generated coverpage? Use 1 for true, anything else for false. Default: 1. HTML-only.
media-url	string	The fully-qualified URL prefix to use when generating links to embedded media, such as images.
resolver	string	The fully-qualified URL to use when resolving references to other Akoma Ntoso documents. Use no or none to disable. Defaults to using the Laws.Africa resolver.
standalone	number	If this is 1 , the response will be a complete HTML document, including CSS, that can stand on its own. Otherwise it will be an HTML fragment. Default: false. HTML-only.

Expressions at specific points in time

Works may be amended and change over time. You can fetch different amended versions of a work by specifying the language and date in the FRBR URI of the request.

The available points in time of a work are listed in the points_in_time field of the JSON description of the work. Each point in time includes a date and a list of expressions available at that date, one for each available language.

To fetch the very first expression of a work, use frbr-uri/:language@, for example: /akn/za/act/1998/5/eng@.

To fetch a specific point in time, use frbr-uri/:language@:date, for example: /akn/za/act/1998/5/eng@2014-01-17.

To fetch the most recent point in time at or before a specific date, use frbr-uri/:language::date, for example /akn/za/act/1998/5/eng:2014-01-17.

The .format part of the FRBR URI is placed after the @YYYY-MM-DD part.

If you use @ to specify a particular date and the API doesn't have a version at exactly that date, it will return a 404 response. If you need the expression of the work closest to a particular date, use : instead.

Date formats for specific points in time

Date Format	Meaning	Example Expression FRBR URI
@	Very first expression of a work.	/akn/za/act/1998/55/eng@
@YYYY-MM-DD	Expression at the specific date.	/akn/za/act/1998/55/eng@2014-01-17
:YYYY-MM-DD	Most recent expression at or before a date.	/akn/za/act/1998/55/eng:2015-01-01
(none)	The most recent expression at or before today's date. Equivalent to using : with today's date.	/akn/za/act/1998/55/eng