Section 31: Cultural, religious and linguistic communities – Legal Fundi

Chapter 1

More From this Chapter

The spheres of government

What is a democracy?

Chapter 1: Founding provisions

SUMMARY OF THE CONSTITUTION

The separation of powers

Changing or amending the Constitution

The relationship between the Constitution and other laws

THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION

The Constitutional Assembly

The multi-party negotiating process

DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

What is a Constitution?

Introduction to the Constitution and Bill of Rights

Problem 1: Taking a case to the South African Human Rights Commission

Chapter 9: State institutions that support constitutional democracy

Indivisibility of rights

Chapter 8: Courts and administration of justice

Section 8: Application of the Bill of Rights

Section 9: Right to equality

Section 10: right to human dignity

Section 11: Right to life

Section 12: Freedom and security of the person

Section 13: Slavery, servitude and forced labour

Section 14: Right to privacy

Section 15: Freedom of religion, belief and opinion

Section 16: Freedom of speech and expression

Section 17: Freedom of assembly, demonstration, picket and petition

Section 18: Freedom of association

Section 19: Political rights

Section 20: Citizenship

Section 21: Freedom of movement and residence

Section 22: Freedom of trade, occupation and profession

Chapter 10: Public administration

Chapter 11: Security services

Chapter 12: Traditional authorities

Chapter 13: Finance

Chapter 14: General provisions

What are human rights?

Rights and responsibilities

Conflicts in rights

International documents on human rights

Creating a human rights culture in south africa

SUMMARY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 7: Introduction

Chapter 7: Local government

Chapter 8: Courts and administration of justice

Section 38: Enforcing rights

Section 39: Interpreting the Bill of Rights

PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS

The Public Protector

South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)

Commission on Gender Equality (CGE)

The Auditor General

Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (Cultural Rights Commission)

Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

Land Claims Commission (LCC)

Problem 2: Making a complaint to the Public Protector

Problem 3: Taking a case to the Commission on Gender Equality

Checklist: Reporting human rights complaints

Chapter 2: The Bill of Rights

Chapter 3: Co-operative government

Chapter 5: The president and the national executive

Chapter 6: Province

Section 23: Labour relations

Section 24: Environment

Section 25: Property

Section 26: Right of access to housing

Section 27: Right of access to health care, food, water and social security

Section 28: Children’s rights

Section 29: Education

Section 30: Language and culture

Section 31: Cultural, religious and linguistic communities

Section 32: Access to information

Section 33: Just administrative action

Section 34: Access to courts

Section 35: Arrested, detained and accused persons

Section 36: Limitations on rights

Section 37: States of emergency

Section 31: Cultural, religious and linguistic communities

Communities have the right to enjoy a shared culture, practice a shared religion and use their language. But they cannot do anything that goes against the rights that other people have.

© 2025

About

T&C's & Privacy Policy

Get involved

Our resources

AI Legal Advisor

Legal information

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Necessary

Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Others