Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953

The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953 (Act No. 49 of 1953) was a South African law from the apartheid era that legalized the racial segregation of public facilities, even if the facilities provided for different races were not equal.

The act came into force when it was published on 9 October 1953. It was amended once on 25 March 1960 by the Reservation of Separate Amenities Amendment Act, 1960, and repealed on 15 October 1990 by the Discriminatory Legislation regarding Public Amenities Repeal Act, 1990. This is the text as originally enacted and does not incorporate the amendment; a version incorporating the amendment is also available on Wikisource.

To provide for the reservation of public premises and vehicles or portions thereof for the exclusive use of persons of a particular race or class, for the interpretation of laws which provide for such reservation, and for matters incidental thereto.

(English text signed by the Governor-General.)
(Assented to 5th October, 1953.)

“public premises” includes any land, enclosure, building, structure, hall, room, office or convenience to which the public has access, whether on the payment of an admission fee or not but does not include a public road or street; “public vehicle” includes any train, tram, bus, vessel or aircraft used for the conveyance for reward or otherwise of members of the public.

(a) no such premises or vehicle or portion thereof or no such counter, bench, seat or other amenity or contrivance as the case may be, has similarly been set apart, demarcated or reserved for the exclusive use of persons belonging to any other race or class; or (b) any such premises or vehicle or portion thereof or any such counter, bench, seat or other amenity or contrivance, as the case may be, similarly set apart, demarcated or reserved for the use of persons belonging to any other race or class, is not substantially similar to or of the same character, standard, extent or quality as the premises, vehicle or portion thereof or the counter, bench, seat or other amenity or contrivance, as the case may be, set apart, demarcated or reserved as aforesaid.

(a) is a representative in the Union of a foreign government or a member of his family; or (b) is a national of a foreign country travelling within or through the Union on official business; and (c) is in possession of a certificate issued to him by or under the authority of the Secretary for External Affairs for the purposes of this section.

This work is in the public domain because it was created and first published in South Africa and it is an official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or an official translation of such a text. According to the Copyright Act, 1978, § 12 (8) (a), "No copyright shall subsist in official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or in official translations of such texts."