Internal Security Act, 1982

The Internal Security Act, 1982 (Act No. 74 of 1982) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa that consolidated and replaced various earlier pieces of security legislation, including the Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, parts of the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956, the Unlawful Organizations Act, 1960 and the Terrorism Act, 1967.^[1] It gave the apartheid government broad powers to ban or restrict organisations, publications, people and public gatherings, and to detain people without trial. The Act was passed as a consequence of the recommendations of the Rabie Commission, which had enquired into the state of security legislation.^[2][3]

Internal Security Act, 1982
Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to provide for the security of the State and the maintenance of law and order; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
Citation	Act No. 74 of 1982
Enacted by	Parliament of South Africa
Assented to	1 June 1982
Commenced	2 July 1982
Repealed	various dates from 31 July 1991 to 20 May 2005
Administered by	Minister of Law and Order, Minister of Justice
Repeals
Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 Unlawful Organizations Act, 1960 Terrorism Act, 1967
Repealed by
Internal Security and Intimidation Amendment Act, 1991 Abolition of Restrictions on Free Political Activity Act, 1993 Regulation of Gatherings Act, 1993 Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004
Status: Repealed

It took over from the Suppression of Communism Act as the basis for serving banning orders on people. It also provided for house arrest.^[4]

Most of the Act was progressively repealed during the transitional period between 1990 (when in October, the last of five successive years of states of emergency concluded) and 1996, with the last remaining sections repealed in 2005.^[5]