pass law

pass law, law that required nonwhites in South Africa to carry documents authorizing their presence in restricted areas. Pass laws were among the main instruments of apartheid until the government ended the requirement to carry documentation in 1986.

The pass law system arose out of a series of regulations, beginning with those enacted by the Dutch East India Company in the 18th century, that restricted the settlement and movement of nonwhites in Southern Africa. Many Africans were forcibly expelled from the Cape Colony, especially as British settlers acquired more land in the early 19th century. But even as the colony experienced chronic labour shortages, they envisioned a colony that did not include Black African citizens. So Cape authorities enacted policies that allowed labourers from outside the Cape Colony to enter for work but with restricted rights. Among the earliest of these “pass” policies was Ordinance 49 (1828), which permitted Black labourers from east of the Keiskamma River to enter the colony for work if they possessed the proper contracts and passes.

The practice of racial segregation by law was further codified in South Africa in the 20th century, particularly after the National Party, led by Daniel F. Malan, gained office in 1948, and implemented its vision of apartheid. The Population Registration Act of 1950 classified all South Africans as either Bantu (all Black Africans), Coloured (those of mixed race), or white. A fourth category—Asian (Indian and Pakistani)—was later added. The Group Areas Act of 1950 established residential and business sections in urban areas for each race, and members of other races were barred from living, operating businesses, or owning land in them—which led to thousands of people assigned “Coloured,” “Black,” or “Asian” labels being removed from areas classified for white occupation.

The pass laws were strengthened to enforce the segregation of the races and prevent Blacks from entering into white areas. The Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, enacted in 1952, replaced passes with “reference books” that included detailed information, including employment information and evaluations from employers, as well as fingerprints. Every Black man of at least 16 years of age was required to carry a reference book at all times.

In the late 1970s the daily average prison population in South Africa was almost 100,000, one of the highest rates in the world. Of these, the majority were imprisoned for statutory offenses against the pass laws. By the end of the pass law system, over 17 million arrests had been made. In 1986, under pressure from international sanctions, the South African government abolished the pass laws; the broader system of legislated apartheid was not dismantled until 1990–91.