The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can shape or reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and of the country of South Africa Coordinates: 29°02′46″S 25°03′47″E / 29.046°S 25.063°E The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic of South Africa, sets out the rights and duties of the citizens of South Africa, and defines the structure of the Government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority is vested in the President of South. The current Constitution of South Africa was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly on 11 October 1996, certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December, signed by President The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President Nelson Mandela Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island on 10 December, and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing and repealing the Interim Constitution of 1993. Since its adoption, the Constitution has been amended sixteen times.[1]

The Constitution is formally an Act An act of Parliament is a statute (commonly called a law) enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament of the Parliament of South Africa; its short title is Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and its long title is "An Act to introduce a new Constitution for the Republic of South Africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto"[2]. It was formerly also numbered as Act No. 108 of 1996, but since the passage of the Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005 it has had no associated Act number.[3]

Contents

History

The South African Constitutional Court played an important role in the adoption of the 1996 Constitution. In terms of the interim constitution, the Parliament sitting as the Constitutional Assembly was required to produce a new constitution. In turn, the court was required to certify that the new constitution complied with the 34 constitutional principles agreed upon in advance by the negotiators of the Interim Constitution. The court ruled that the constitutional text adopted by the Constitutional Assembly in May 1996 could not be certified. The court identified the features of the new text that did not in its view comply with the Constitutional Principles and gave its reasons for that view. The Constitutional Assembly then had to reconsider the text, taking the court’s reasons for non-certification into account.

The Constitutional Assembly reconvened and on 11 October 1996, it adopted an amended constitutional text containing many changes from the previous text, some dealing with the court’s reasons for non-certification and others tightening up the text. The amended text was then sent to the Constitutional Court for certification. In its judgement in the Certification of the Amended Text of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (4 December 1996) the court held that all of the grounds for non-certification of the earlier text had been eliminated in the new draft and accordingly certified that the text complied with the requirements of the Constitutional Principles. The text duly became the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in 1996 and came into effect in February 1997. It has been amended sixteen times since its adoption. On 8 May 2006 the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the constitution was celebrated in Parliament.

Features

The constitution consists of a preamble, fourteen chapters followed by seven schedules. Each chapter and schedule focus on a specific topic. The following is a list of chapters and schedules and the focus of each.

Chapters

Chapter 1 of the Constitution is entitled "Founding Provisions." It enshrines in the constitution key national principles The scientific process generally consists of establishing a cause by analyzing its effect upon objects. In this way, a description can be established to explain what principle brought about the change-effect. For this reason the principle of cause is considered to be a determining factor in the production of facts, identifies the flag of South Africa The current flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, during the 1994 general election. A new national flag was adopted to represent the new democracy and lists the official languages An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language a legal status, even if that language is not. By virtue of section 2 of chapter 1, all statutes that conflict with the Constitution are of no force or effect.

South Africa is defined in this chapter as being a democratic Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) &, independent republic A republic is a form of government in which at least a part of its people have some element of formal control over its government,, and in which the head of state is not a monarch The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair" based upon the principles of protecting dignity Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. It is an extension of Enlightenment-era beliefs that individuals have inherent, inviolable rights, and thus is closely related to concepts like virtue, respect, self-respect, autonomy, human rights, and, human rights Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human and the rule of law While the rule of law has been described as "an exceedingly elusive notion" giving rise to a "rampant divergence of understandings", a dichotomy can be identified between two principal conceptions of the rule of law: a formalist or "thin" and a substantive or "thick" definition of the rule of law. Formalist. Values of dignity and human rights are repeated in Chapter 2.

The official languages are identified by section 6 as being Sepedi, Sesotho Sesotho is a Bantu language spoken primarily in South Africa, where it is one of the 11 official languages, and in Lesotho, where it is the national language. It is an agglutinative language which uses numerous affixes and derivational and inflexional rules to build complete words, Setswana Tswana , is a language of Southern Africa, spoken by more than 4 million people and written in the Latin alphabet. Tswana is a Bantu language, belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. It is most closely related to two other languages in the Sotho language group, Sesotho (Southern Sotho) and Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa). It has also been, siSwati The Swati or Swazi language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 3 million. The language is taught in Swaziland and some South African schools in Mpumalanga and KaNgwane areas. Swati is an official language of Swaziland, (along with English), and is, Tshivenda Venda, also known as Tshivenḓa, or Luvenḓa, is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe. During the Apartheid era of South Africa, the bantustan of Venda was set up to cover the Venda speakers of South Africa, Xitsonga Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo languages. The language of the Tsonga people is wrongly called Xichangana because the people were under the Leadership of Soshangana "Manukusa" (Zulu). Shangaan has different variants, some of which are considered different languages by some linguists : e.g. Tsonga, Ndawu, Ronga and, Afrikaans Elsewhere in Africa, notably Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland, English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa (24% of the population) as well as being understood by over 50% of the population (Ethnologue 2005). It became one of South Africa's eleven official. The government of South Africa is also required to promote usage of native languages. Choice of language by national or municipal government should take into consideration the most relevant language to the area affected. Section 6 also requires that a Pan South African Language Board must advance the use of all official languages, and to respect the citizens' use of other languages such as German German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers, Portuguese Portuguese ( português or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated from a fusion of the dialect spoken in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal with closely related dialects spoken in territories to the south which had not yet been reconquered by the Christians to the Arabs by the time Portugal was born as a Christian kingdom, or Urdu Urdu (Urdu: اردو, IPA: [ˈʊrduː] ) is a standardised register of Hindustani. It is the national language and one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and one of 22 scheduled languages of India, as an official language of five Indian states. Its vocabulary developed under Persian, Turkic, and Pashto[citation.

Other chapters are,

Schedules

Amendments to the current constitution

Section 74 of the Constitution says that if Parliament wants to change the Constitution then at least two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly (i.e. at least 267 of the 400 members) must vote to change it. If the amendment affects provicial boundaries or other matters related to provincial boundaries, or if it amends the Bill of Rights, at least six of the nine provinces in the National Council of Provinces must also vote to change it. To amend Section 1 of the Constitution, which establishes the existence of South Africa as a sovereign, democratic state, and lays out the country's founding values, would require the support of three-quarters of the members of the National Assembly.

There have been sixteen amendments since 1996.

Amendment Act Date assented Brief description of issues dealt with
1 Constitution First Amendment Act of 1997 (previously referred to as Act 35 of 1997) 1997-08-28 Oath for acting presidents. Extended amnesty.
2 Constitution Second Amendment Act of 1998 (previously referred to as Act 65 of 1998) 1998-09-28 Extend terms of municipal councils. Commissions. Transition arrangement for local government.
3 Constitution Third Amendment Act of 1998 (previously referred to as Act 87 of 1998) 1998-10-20 Cross border municipalities.
4 Constitution Fourth Amendment Act of 1999 (previously referred to as Act 3 of 1999) 1999-03-17 Provincial election dates. NCOP seat allocation.
5 Constitution Fifth Amendment Act of 1999 (previously referred to as Act 2 of 1999) 1999-03-17 Election dates. Financial and fiscal commission chairperson.
6 Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001 (previously referred to as Act 34 of 2001) 2001-11-20 Title of Chief Justice. Appointment of deputy ministers. Municipal borrowing.
7 Constitution Seventh Amendment Act of 2001 (previously referred to as Act 61 of 2001) 2001-12-07 Cabinet member responsible for financial matters.
8 Constitution Eighth Amendment Act of 2002 (previously referred to as Act 18 of 2002) 2002-06-19 Municipal floor-crossing
9 Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002 (previously referred to as Act 21 of 2002) 2002-06-19 NCOP delegates (floor-crossing)
10 Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003 (previously referred to as Act 2 of 2003) 2003-03-19 National assembly and provincial legislature floor-crossing
11 Constitution Eleventh Amendment Act of 2003 (previously referred to as Act 3 of 2003) 2003-04-09 Financial matters. Name of Limpopo province Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal. The following year, it was renamed Northern Province, which remained the name until 11 June 2003, when the name of the. National/provincial intervention in provincial/local affairs.
12 Constitution Twelfth Amendment Act of 2005 2005-12-22 Provincial South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution changed the borders of seven of the provinces. The borders
13 Constitution Thirteenth Amendment Act of 2007 2007-12-13 Reconfirming the Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province. Landing place and home of the 1820 settlers. It is partly the traditional home of the Xhosa, and the birthplace of many prominent and Kwa-Zulu Natal borders altered by the 12th amendment after the Constitutional Court found that aspect of that amendment procedurally invalid (after a successful application by Matatiele).
14 Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Act of 2008 2009-01-06 Repeal of floor crossing in the National Assembly, National Council of Provinces, and provincial legislatures.
15 Constitution Fifteenth Amendment Act of 2008 2009-01-06 Repeal of floor crossing in municipal councils.
16 Constitution Sixteenth Amendment Act of 2009 2009-03-25 Transfer of Merafong from North West to Gauteng Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (or PWV) and was renamed 'Gauteng' in December 1994.

* The Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, No. 5 of 1999 provides that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and Acts which amend it, are not to be associated with Act numbers.

Previous constitutions of South Africa

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Constitution: The certification process". Constitutional Court of South Africa. http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/theconstitution/thecertificationprocess.htm. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996". Government Gazette of South Africa (Cape Town) 378 (17678). 18 December 1996. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_South_Africa_1996_from_Government_Gazette.djvu.
  3. ^ "Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005". Government Gazette of South Africa (Cape Town) 480 (27722). 27 June 2005. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Citation_of_Constitutional_Laws_Act_2005_from_Government_Gazette.djvu.

External links

Wikisource Wikisource is an online library of free content textual sources, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to harbour all forms of free text, in many languages. It also provides translation efforts to this end has original text related to this article: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Constitution of South Africa
Text As originally adopted · As amended
Chapters 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14
Schedules 1 · 1A · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 6A · 6B · 7
Amendments 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 ·
Previous 1909 · 1961 · 1983 · 1993
Related Constitutional Court · Chapter nine institutions · Negotiations to end apartheid Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island
South Africa Coordinates: 29°02′46″S 25°03′47″E / 29.046°S 25.063°E The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent topics Categories: South Africa-related lists | Outlines of countries
History The history of South Africa is marked by immigration and ethnic conflict. The Khoisan peoples are the aboriginal people of the region who have lived there for millennia. Black South Africans are believed to originate from the Great Lakes region of Africa in prehistoric times. White South Africans, descendants of later European migrations, regard Cape Colony The written history of Cape Colony South Africa began when Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese navigator, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed along the whole coast of South Africa on his way to India. The Portuguese, attracted by the riches of Asia, made no permanent settlement at the Cape Colony. However, the Dutch · Orange Free State The Republic of the Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province. Extending between the Orange and Vaal rivers, its borders were · Transvaal The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African province of Transvaal. The ZAR was established in · First Boer War The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 · Second Boer War The Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War (outside South Africa), the Anglo-Boer War (among most South Africans) and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog ("Second War of Liberation"), or the Engelse oorlog (English War)[citation needed] was fought from 11 · Apartheid Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island · Foreign relations · Nuclear weapons programme From the 1960s to the 1980s, South Africa pursued research into weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Six nuclear weapons were assembled. With the anticipated changeover to a majority-elected government in the 1990s, the South African government dismantled all of its nuclear weapons, the first nation in
Geography Provinces South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution changed the borders of seven of the provinces. The · Municipalities · Cities Prior to 1994, the term "city" was reserved for certain municipalities that formally achieved city status from government. Following South Africa's first universal suffrage election in 1994, and following the redivision of South Africa from 4 provinces into 9 provinces, the municipalities prior to 1994 ceased to exist and new · Towns See also: List of cities in South Africa, List of cities and towns in the Eastern Cape, List of cities and towns in the Free State, List of cities and towns in Gauteng, List of cities and towns in KwaZulu-Natal, List of cities and towns in Limpopo, List of cities and towns in Mpumalanga, List of cities and towns in the Northern Cape, List of · National parks · Rivers · Postal codes · Telephone codes
Politics The African National Congress is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces, having received 65.9% of the vote during the 2009 general election and 66.3% of the vote in the 2006 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance, led by Helen Zille, which received 16.66% Constitution · Political parties · Diplomatic missions This is a list of diplomatic missions of South Africa. South Africa dramatically expanded its diplomatic presence globally, especially in Africa, in the immediate years after the end of apartheid. It was the only country to have embassies in the various bantustan states of Transkei, Venda, Bophuthatswana and Ciskei that South Africa established · Elections · Military The South African National Defence Force is the name of the armed forces of South Africa. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution. It replaced the South African Defence Force (SADF), and included personnel and equipment from the · Police The SAP was renamed the South African Police Service , and the Ministry of Law and Order was renamed the Ministry of Safety and Security, in keeping with these symbolic reforms. The new minister of safety and security, Sydney Mufamadi, obtained police training assistance from Zimbabwe, Britain and Canada and proclaimed that racial tolerance and
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