What every practitioner
must know before using
CASEBOOK

CASEBOOK is an AI-assisted legal research platform providing access to South African case law sourced from the Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII). It enables practitioners to search, retrieve, and analyse judgments using natural language queries and artificial intelligence tools.

CASEBOOK is designed for use by:

• Admitted attorneys and advocates in active practice
• Candidate attorneys under the supervision of a principal
• Academics and legal researchers
• Law students for educational purposes

Use by members of the public seeking legal guidance on their own matters is strongly discouraged. CASEBOOK cannot replace a consultation with a qualified legal practitioner.

CASEBOOK is not:

• A legal advice service
• An authoritative repository of South African law
• A replacement for LexisNexis, Jutastat, or primary law databases
• A guarantee of the current, correct, or complete state of the law
• A law firm or professional services entity regulated by the Legal Practice Act

AI hallucination refers to the phenomenon where large language models (LLMs) generate plausible-sounding but factually incorrect content — including fabricated case citations, invented legal principles, or inaccurate summaries of judgments.

Yes, this risk exists on CASEBOOK. While CASEBOOK grounds its AI features in real judgments from its database, AI-generated summaries and research memos remain susceptible to error. The AI may:

• Mischaracterise the ratio decidendi of a judgment
• Incorrectly state the outcome of a case
• Attribute statements to the wrong judge or court
• Omit material qualifications or distinguishing facts
• Generate plausible-sounding but incorrect legal principles

CASEBOOK implements several safeguards:

• Source grounding: AI summaries are generated from the actual judgment text, not from the AI's training data alone
• SAFLII attribution: Every case includes a direct link to the original judgment on SAFLII for verification
• Full judgment access: The complete verbatim judgment text is available on every case page under the "Judgment" tab
• Clear labelling: All AI-generated content is explicitly labelled as such
• No legal advice framing: The AI is instructed not to provide legal advice or definitive legal conclusions

These safeguards reduce but do not eliminate the risk of error. Independent verification remains mandatory.

No — not without independent verification.

A Research Memo generated by CASEBOOK is a starting point for research, not a finished work product. Before incorporating any content from a Research Memo into pleadings, heads of argument, legal opinions, or client correspondence, you must:

• Read the full judgment of every case cited
• Verify the accuracy of every legal proposition stated
• Confirm that every cited case is still good law and has not been overruled
• Apply your own professional judgment to the legal analysis

CASEBOOK's database contains 79,319+ judgments sourced from SAFLII as at the date of last update. However:

• Not all South African judgments are published on SAFLII
• There is an inherent time lag between judgment delivery and database inclusion
• Unreported judgments are not included
• Citation relationships may be incomplete for older cases

Always verify currency. Check whether more recent authority exists before advising a client or making a submission to court.

No. Unequivocally no.

Nothing on CASEBOOK — including search results, AI summaries, Research Memos, citation analysis, precedent status indicators, or any other feature — constitutes legal advice. CASEBOOK does not:

• Create a lawyer-client relationship between myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd and any user
• Provide advice on any specific legal matter or dispute
• Constitute a legal opinion for any purpose
• Represent the views of any attorney, advocate, or legal practitioner

Legal advice may only be provided by a person admitted and enrolled under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. CASEBOOK is not such a person.

CASEBOOK is accessible to the public but is not designed for self-represented litigants seeking to conduct their own legal proceedings. The platform assumes a level of legal training sufficient to critically evaluate case law.

Members of the public with legal problems should consult a qualified attorney or, if they cannot afford one, the Legal Aid South Africa helpline: 0800 110 110.

All case law in the CASEBOOK database is sourced from the Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) at saflii.org. SAFLII makes South African court judgments freely available in the public interest.

Full judgment texts displayed on CASEBOOK are reproduced verbatim from SAFLII and attributed accordingly. The "View on SAFLII" link on every case page directs users to the original source document.

AI summaries are generated by processing the judgment text through a large language model. They are intended to assist with rapid case identification — not to replace reading the judgment itself.

Summaries are explicitly labelled as AI-generated on the platform. The full verbatim judgment text is always available and should be read before any professional reliance is placed on a case.

CASEBOOK's citation relationships are extracted computationally from judgment texts. While this captures the majority of citation relationships, it may:

• Miss citations in older judgments with inconsistent formatting
• Miss citations in judgments not yet in the database
• Incorrectly classify the nature of a citation in rare cases

Overrule detection uses AI analysis of judgment text and is provided as a research indicator only. Always independently confirm whether a case remains good law before relying on it in any legal matter.

CASEBOOK implements the following security measures:

• Authentication: Secure OAuth 2.0 via Google and Microsoft. Passwords are never stored on CASEBOOK servers
• Encryption in transit: All data is transmitted over TLS 1.3 (HTTPS). Unencrypted HTTP connections are not permitted
• Encryption at rest: User data is stored in Supabase (hosted on AWS infrastructure) with encryption at rest
• Access controls: Row-level security (RLS) policies ensure users can only access their own data
• No password storage: CASEBOOK does not store user passwords. Authentication is delegated to Google and Microsoft

Search queries may be retained for service improvement, abuse prevention, and analytics purposes. They are not sold to third parties and are not used to train AI models on an individually identifiable basis.

Query data is subject to our retention and deletion policies as set out in our Privacy Policy. You may request deletion of your data at any time under POPIA.

AI processing on CASEBOOK is performed via the Anthropic API (Claude). Anthropic's enterprise data policies prohibit the use of API data to train their models without express consent. CASEBOOK does not grant such consent.

For the avoidance of doubt: your searches and queries are not used to train the underlying AI models.

CASEBOOK should be used with appropriate professional judgment in relation to confidential matters. We strongly advise:

• Do not paste confidential client facts into the search bar or AI features
• Do not upload confidential documents to the platform
• Use CASEBOOK for case law research only — keep client facts off the platform

CASEBOOK is a growing platform. While we implement security best practices, we have not yet undergone a formal third-party penetration test or security audit. A formal audit is planned for the 2025/2026 financial year.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it immediately to security@casebook.co.za. We operate a responsible disclosure policy.

Yes. CASEBOOK is operated in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). As a responsible party, myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd:

• Processes personal information only for lawful, specific, and legitimate purposes
• Collects only the minimum personal information necessary for the provision of the service
• Does not sell personal information to third parties
• Implements appropriate technical and organisational security measures
• Provides data subjects with the right to access, correct, and delete their personal information

CASEBOOK collects the following personal information:

• Account data: Name and email address (provided via Google/Microsoft OAuth)
• Usage data: Search queries, pages visited, features used, timestamps
• Device data: IP address, browser type, device type (for security and analytics)
• Payment data: Processed by our payment provider (DPO Pay / Paddle). CASEBOOK does not store card numbers

We do not collect: identity numbers, biometric information, health information, or any special personal information as defined under POPIA.

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Request access to your personal information
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account and personal data
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@casebook.co.za. We will respond within 30 days as required by POPIA.

The Information Regulator (South Africa): inforeg.org.za / complaints.IR@justice.gov.za

This limitation applies regardless of whether the claim is based in contract, delict, statute, or any other legal basis, and applies even if myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd has been advised of the possibility of such loss.

CASEBOOK is a research assistance tool. The professional obligation to verify, apply judgment, and take responsibility for legal work product remains entirely with the practitioner. Errors in CASEBOOK output do not relieve a practitioner of professional responsibility.

A practitioner who relies on unverified AI output without applying their own professional judgment bears the professional consequences of that decision. This is no different from relying on a junior clerk's research without verification.

No. Precedent status indicators on CASEBOOK are research aids, not authoritative determinations. The practitioner bears full responsibility for confirming the current status of any case before relying on it.

CASEBOOK's overrule detection is AI-assisted and database-dependent. It will miss cases not in the database and may err in classification. Never rely solely on CASEBOOK to confirm whether a case is good law.

South African law and Legal Practice Council rules impose the following obligations relevant to AI-assisted research:

• Competence: You must understand the limitations of any tool you use and apply appropriate skill and judgment (Legal Practice Act s 28)
• Supervision: You remain responsible for all work product regardless of how it was produced
• Accuracy: You may not knowingly present inaccurate law to a court (LPC Rules)
• Confidentiality: You must not disclose confidential client information to third-party services without authorisation
• Candour: Courts in several jurisdictions have sanctioned practitioners for submitting AI-hallucinated case citations. South African courts are likely to follow suit

Candidate attorneys may use CASEBOOK for research, subject to the supervision requirements applicable to all work performed during articles. All CASEBOOK output should be reviewed by the supervising principal before use in any matter. The candidate attorney's principal remains professionally responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of all work product.

• Judgment texts: South African court judgments are public documents. Their reproduction is governed by SAFLII's terms of use. Full judgments are displayed for research purposes
• AI-generated summaries and memos: Generated output belongs to myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd. You may use it for your professional purposes but may not resell or redistribute it
• Platform technology: The CASEBOOK platform, including its search technology, citation network, and AI features, is the proprietary intellectual property of myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd

Judgment text: You may quote from judgments in professional work as you would from any public domain court record, with proper attribution.

AI-generated summaries and memos: You may use these in your internal research and professional work, but must not pass them off as original legal analysis without independent verification and your own professional input. You may not resell or sublicense CASEBOOK content.

CASEBOOK subscriptions operate on the following basis:

• Trial: 14 days, full access, no charge
• Solo: Monthly subscription, billed in advance, cancel any time
• Firm: Monthly subscription, billed in advance, cancel any time

Subscriptions renew automatically. You may cancel at any time through your account settings. No refunds are provided for partial subscription periods already paid, except where required by the Consumer Protection Act.

myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to CASEBOOK immediately and without notice where a user:

• Attempts to scrape, copy, or systematically extract the case law database
• Uses CASEBOOK to provide legal services to third parties on a commercial basis without authorisation
• Attempts to reverse-engineer or circumvent the platform's security
• Shares account credentials with persons not covered by their subscription
• Uses the platform in violation of applicable law

These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute arising from your use of CASEBOOK shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Johannesburg, subject to your rights as a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.

If you identify an error in a case summary, citation relationship, precedent status indicator, or any other AI-generated content, please report it to:

errors@casebook.co.za

Please include the case citation, the nature of the error, and the correct information where known. We take accuracy seriously and will investigate all reports.

• General support: support@casebook.co.za
• Privacy / POPIA: privacy@casebook.co.za
• Security vulnerabilities: security@casebook.co.za
• Legal notices: legal@casebook.co.za
• Database errors: errors@casebook.co.za

Operator: myAIpartner (Pty) Ltd
Registration: [Registration number to be inserted]
Address: [Physical address to be inserted]
Website: casebook.co.za

Contact us at support@casebook.co.za. We will respond within 2 business days. For legal notices or formal correspondence, use legal@casebook.co.za.

These FAQs are updated periodically. The current version is always available at casebook.co.za/legal. The effective date is shown at the top of this document.