The series CODESA 1 contains Preparatory Meetings in addition to the plenary documents. 

During the Preparatory Meeting (29 to 30 November 1991), three task groups were created to facilitate planning and creating an agenda and aims under the direction of the Steering Committee. 

During the Plenary (20 and 21 December 1991), five working groups were established, each with their own terms of reference and specific tasks related to the agenda of CODESA. Material created by the working groups can be found in the series CODESA 2.

The series CODESA 2 contains all meetings post CODESA 1 and preparatory to CODESA 2 and the associated plenary documents.

The Post-CODESA 2 phase was short-lived. Despite the establishment of several Sub-committees and Task Groups, and the allocation of tasks, all CODESA meetings were suspended at the end of June 1992. This decision was made after a general request for the suspension of meetings, due to the unstable political situation in the country at that stage.

The series Annexure A: Various CODESA Records contains transcripts of plenary proceedings, terms of reference for working groups and ephemera from CODESA plenaries.

The series Constitutional Assembly contains materials produced by departments and units of the Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of South Africa between 1994 and 1996. While this series does contain some general documents from the Constitutional Assembly, the majority cover public participation in the constitution writing process.

The material was collected by Edward Shalala during his time as the head of the Constitutional Assembly Community Liaison Department (CLD) with some later additions.

Synnøve Skjelten used Edward Shalala’s papers additionally to other primary and secondary resources for her Masters thesis Democracy and communication: an analysis and assessment of the public participation programme of the Constitutional Assembly, and her book A People's Constitution: Public Participation in the South African Constitution-making Process. 

This series contains Skjelten’s Masters thesis as presented to the Department of Political Studies, University of Cape Town and primary material significant to her research for A People's Constitution.

The series Miscellaneous contains material in three groups covering the 1994 election process, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, and a portable exhibition on the life of Nelson Mandela.

The Constitutional Assembly was tasked with writing a new constitution for a non-racial South Africa within two years of its first sitting. It was the final deciding body of the contents of the new constitutional text.

This series includes audio recordings of Constitutional Assembly meetings, submission, reports, draft constitutional texts, bills and other materials from the structures of the Constitutional Assembly. Many if these materials were prepared by the Constitutional Committee.

The Constitutional Assembly created several structures to assist in fulfilling its mandate, of which the Constitutional Committee was primary. The Constitutional Committee functioned as the primary negotiating and driving body of the Constitutional Assembly. Other structures were outlined and required by the Interim Constitution (Act 200 of 1993: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa).

The Constitutional Assembly determined that the constitution-making process would be an integrated and transparent one. Integration required that the ideas of political parties in the Constitutional Assembly, civil society and the broader public be considered.

Integration was a significant task of the theme committees in receiving and processing public submissions. Transparency was facilitated by requiring all meetings of the Constitutional Assembly and its structures to be open to the public and the media.

Membership for the Constitutional Committee and theme committees were drawn directly from the Constitutional Assembly.

The Constitutional Committee was responsible for creating refined working drafts of the constitution and incorporating amendments adopted by the Constitutional Assembly. The Constitutional Committee acted as both a negotiating forum and a driving body of the Constitutional Assembly.

The series Constitutional Committee contains the working documents of the Constitutional Committee, audio recordings of Constitutional Committee meetings and reports submitted to it from all other structures of the Constitutional Assembly. Drafts bills, amendments, and reports on contentious issues and debates can be found in this series.

As a negotiating body the Constitutional Committee created sub-committees and ad hoc committees to assist in negotiating and drafting. Primary among these was the Constitutional Committee Sub-committee which dealt with substantive issues that the Constitutional Committee was unable to process because of time constraints.

As the driving body of the constitution-making process, it supervised the establishment of the theme committees and related structures such as technical committees, formed the Management Committee, and outlined the work plan for the Constitutional Assembly and its structures.

The Constitutional Committee Sub-committee was created by and reported directly to the Constitutional Committee. The Sub-committee was created to deal with substantive issues that the Constitutional Committee was unable to process because of time constraints. These issues largely relate to specific formulations - of principle previously agreed to - into the constitutional text. Its tasks included facilitating drafting, negotiating and the formation of further sub-committees as required.

The series Constitutional Committee Sub-committee contains the working documents of the committee, draft formulations and audio recordings of their meetings.