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Tanzania: IALS Library Guides

Guide last updated by Katie Radford, October 2024

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This guide was created by Katie Radford, Access Librarian at the IALS Library.

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Introduction

Tanzania is a country in East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean. The United Republic of Tanzania was formed in 1964, when the states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar unified. Today, Tanzania is made up of 31 regions, 26 on the mainland and 5 on the islands of Zanzibar. 

The region was previously part of the Sultanate of Oman before European explorers arrived in the 1800s. In 1885, Germany established control over mainland Tanzania as part of German East Africa, which they called Tanganyika. Great Britain took control over Zanzibar, which become a British protectorate in 1890. Following the German defeat in World War I, Great Britain governed the mainland as Tanganyika, with Zanzibar remaining a separate jurisdiction. 

Tanganyika gained independence from Great Britain in 1961 but joined the British Commonwealth, becoming a democratic republic in December 1962. Zanzibar gained independence from Great Britain in 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. In 1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined to form one sovereign united republic: the United Republic of Tanzania.

The former ruling parties of Tanganyika and Zanzibar combined in 1977 to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, which which was the only legal political party until the Constitution of Tanzania was amended in 1992 to allow multiple political parties. Tanzania held its first multi-party elections in 1995. 

The government of the United Republic of Tanzania has authority over all matters relating to the Union, as well as other matters on Mainland Tanzania. Zanzibar remains a semi-autonomous region with its own government. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has authority over non-Union matters in Zanzibar. 

Constitution

Since independence in 1961, there have been several different constitutions for the United Republic of Tanzania, and the individual states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The Independence Constitution was passed in 1961 following the Tanganyika (Constitution) Order in Council of 1961 which granted independence to Tanganyika. Following this, the Republican Constitution of Tanganyika was passed in 1962. This established an executive president as the head of state and government. In December 1963, Zanzibar gained independence from Great Britain and the Constitution of the State of Zanzibar of 1963 was passed. This lasted until 1964 when the Government and State were overthrown by revolution.

In 1964, the states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to become one sovereign united republic. The two laws which constituted the Union are known together as the Acts of Union. These are the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar Act, 1964 (Tanganyika) and the Union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika Law, 1964 (Zanzibar). Following the union, there were two interim constitutions passed. Firstly, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964, followed by the Interim Constitution of Tanzania in 1965. The Interim Constitution of 1965 lasted for 12 years during which time there were many amendments made. The current constitution, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, was passed in 1977. 

Since 1977, several amendments have been applied to the original Constitution of Tanzania, many relating to the transition from a single party to a multi-party system, such as the Eight Amendment in 1992. Further amendments have been made in 2000 and 2005. Following the Constitutional Review in 2011, a new Draft Constitution was submitted to the National Constituent Assembly in 2013 but it did not reach sufficient votes to pass. 

In addition to the 1977 Constitution, a separate Constitution of Zanzibar was passed in 1979. A second Zanzibar Constitution was subsequently passed in 1984 which is still current though there have been several amendments, including notably in 2002. 

IALS library holds a number of these documents in the print collections:

In addition to the print copies listed above, IALS library has access to the current and previous constitutions of Tanzania available from World Constitutions Illustrated, a module of the HeinOnline subscription database. It is possible to view the original text of the current constitution and all amendments to date, as well as selected journal articles, a short bibliography, and other materials relating to the constitution. The current version of the constitution is also freely available online via sources including the Constitute Project, and WIPO Lex. There is also more information available about constitutional law in Tanzania via Constitution.net.

Legislation

Legislative power in Tanzania is vested in the National Assembly, which is unicameral and has 393 members elected from constituencies across mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. The president of Tanzania and the members of the National Assembly are elected by direct popular vote for five-year terms. The president appoints a prime minister from among the members of the National Assembly to serve as the leader of the government.

Legislation in Tanzania is made up of principal legislation (Acts of Parliament) and subsidiary legislation. Acts of Parliament are published in the Government Gazette once they have received presidential assent. Subsidiary legislation is published in a supplement to the Government Gazette. Acts and bills can be accessed freely online via the Tanzanian Parliament website. Acts, bills, subsidiary legislation and Government Gazettes are also freely available online via TanzLII. 

Additionally, IALS library holds the following Tanzanian legislation in print: 

Laws of Tanzania: Principal legislation (2010)

Laws of Zanzibar (2016)

Tanzania criminal statutes (2009)

Laws of Tanzania. Principal legislation (2002)

Laws of Tanzania. Subsidiary legislation (2002) 

Acts (1965-1992)

Subsidiary legislation (1965-1992)

To find the full holdings of legislation from Tanzania in IALS library, you can run a classmark search on the library catalogue for the classmark GI9.E.

IALS library also has a collection of historical legislation from Tanganyika and Zanzibar dating back to the British and German colonial administrations. For Tanganyika, these holdings include Ordinances (as Acts were formerly known) and subsidiary legislation from 1916 to the union in 1964. For Zanzibar, the library has principal and subsidiary legislation dating back to 1891. You can run a classmark search on the library catalogue to find all historical legislation in the collections, using the classmark GI4.E for Tanganyika, or GI5.E for Zanzibar.

Law Reports

The legal system in Tanzania is based on English common law. Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar have their own judicial systems. 

In Mainland Tanzania, the lowest-level court is the Primary Court. Appeal is to either the District Court or the Resident Magistrates Court. From there, appeal is to the High Court of Mainland Tanzania. In Zanzibar, the lowest-level court is the Primary Court. Appeal is to either the District Court or the Resident Magistrates Court. There is also the Kadhi’s Court for Islamic family matters, from which appeal is to the Chief Kadhi's Court. From there, appeal is to the High Court of Zanzibar which is the highest court for Islamic family matters. In both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, final appeal is to the Court of Appeal of the United Republic of Tanzania which hears cases from both the High Courts of Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. 

Law reporting in Tanzania dates back to the British colonial rule. Early cases in were reported in a supplement to the Government Gazette. The official reports, the Tanzania Law Reports, started in the early 1980s. IALS library has the Tanzania Law Reports in print from 1980 to date at FOL GI9.G.2, though holdings are not complete. Decisions from Tanzanian courts are also reported in the East Africa Law Reports which are also held at IALS library at GI1.G.4.

Prior to the publication of the Tanzania Law Reports, there were a number of other series of reports for Tanzania and the formerly independent states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. IALS library holds several of these series, including:

Law Reports of Tanzania (1973-1979)

Law reports of cases determined by the High Court of Tanganyika (1921-1967)

Law reports containing cases determined by the High Court for Zanzibar... (1868-1956)

IALS library also has the East Africa Court of Appeal Reports (1934-1956) and the East Africa Protectorate Reports (1897-1921) which contain some cases from pre-independence Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Some judgments from Tanzanian courts, such as the Court of Appeal, are also freely available online via TanzLII. There is also a limited number of Court of Appeal judgments included in the database SCC Online, to which IALS library has a subscription. Cases from the East African Court of Justice can also be found freely available online via AfricanLII. 

Books

The following are a selection of books from among IALS library's holdings for Tanzania on a range of subjects.

Bendera, I.M. Admiralty and maritime law in Tanzania (LawAfrica Publishing 2017)

Boos, E.J. Property rights, pastoral people and problems with privatization in Tanzania (Salvatorian Institute of Philosophy and Theology 2004)

Kijo-Bisimba, H. and Peter, C.M. Justice and rule of law in Tanzania: selected judgements and writings of Justice James L. Mwalusanya and commentaries (Legal and Human Rights Centre 2005)

Maalim, M.J. The United Republic of Tanzania in the East African Community: legal challenges in integrating Zanzibar (Dar es Salaam University Press 2014)

Mashamba, C.J. Annotated civil procedure and practice in the Court of Appeal of Tanzania (LawAfrica Publishing 2016)

Mirindo, F., Introduction to law in mainland Tanzania (Juris Publishers Limited 2019)

Mramba, S.J. and Mugambila, E.A. Principles of law of torts in Tanzania: text and cases (Juris Publishers Limited 2020)

Mramba, S.J. and Rwebangira, G.K. Labour law and practice in Tanzania: cases and materials (Juris Publishers Limited 2023)

Saiteu, B.M. Tax law and practice in Tanzania (Juris Publishers Limited 2023)

Shivji, I.G., et al (eds) Constitutional and legal system of Tanzania: A civics sourcebook (Mkuki na Nyota Publishers 2004)

Tenga, W.R. and Mramba, S.J. Land law in Tanzania: theory and practice (Juris Publishers Limited 2020)

Twaib, F. The legal profession in Tanzania: the law and practice (LawAfrica Publishing 2008)

Twaib, F and Kinywafu, D.P. Law of evidence in Tanzania: a case digest (Juris Publishers Limited 2023)

Websites

The following are websites with useful information that is freely available about the law in Tanzania.

TanzLII for Tanzanian judgments, legislation and Government Gazette 

CommonLII Tanzania section for legislation and links to other legal resources

AfricanLII for access to judgments from the East African Court of Justice

Parliament of Tanzania website for information about Tanzanian parliament, legislation and other documentation

Law Reform Commission of Tanzania website for Commission information and documents and some legislation, as well as access to their journal The Law Reformer Journal (2020-present)

GlobaLex research guide on the Tanzania Legal System and Legal Research

Guide to Law Online: Tanzania from the Library of Congress research guides