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The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994. It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993. The first constitution was enacted by the South Africa Act 1909, the longest-lasting to date. Since 1961, the constitutions have promulgated a republican form of government.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to many other upper houses of legislatures throughout the world, in that its purpose is to represent the governments of the provinces, rather than directly representing the people.
The Parliament of Pakistan is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as the upper house and the National Assembly as the lower house. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of Pakistan is also a component of the Parliament. The National Assembly is elected for a five-year term on the basis of adult franchise and one-man one-vote. The tenure of a Member of the National Assembly is for the duration of the house, or sooner, in case the Member dies or resigns. The tenure of the National Assembly also comes to an end if dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister or by the president in his discretion under the Constitution.
Floor crossing was a system introduced to the post-apartheid South African political system in 2002, under which members of Parliament, members of provincial legislatures and local government councillors could change political party and take their seats with them when they did so. Floor crossing in South Africa was abolished in January 2009.
The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully implemented.
In re Article 26 and the Regulation of Information Bill 1995 [1995] 1 IR 1 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Ireland after a referral by President Mary Robinson under Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland. This is a procedure whereby the constitutionality of a bill is considered by the Supreme Court before it is signed into law, similar to the concept of a facial challenge in the United States. If the Court finds that it is constitutional, it may not later be challenged after its enactment.
The 2007 floor crossing window period in South Africa was a period of 15 days, from 1 to 15 September 2007, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, and municipal councils were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa, which scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election. The previous general election had been held on 14 April 2004, and a previous window period had occurred in September 2005.
The 2003 floor crossing window period in South Africa was a period of 15 days, from 21 March to 4 April 2003, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the passage of the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election, but the second and fourth Septembers after the 1999 election had already passed, so it included provision for a special window period starting fifteen days after the amendment came into effect.
The 2005 floor crossing window period in South Africa was a period of 15 days, from 1 to 15 September 2005, in which members of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures were able to cross the floor from one political party to another without giving up their seats. The period was authorised by the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa, which scheduled regular window periods in the second and fourth September after each election. The previous general election had been held on 14 April 2004.
The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made various changes involving the financial management of national and provincial government. Most of its provisions came into force on 26 April 2002, and the remainder on 1 December 2003.
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa allowed members of municipal councils to cross the floor from one political party to another without losing their seats. It came into force on 20 June 2002, and was effectively repealed on 17 April 2009 by the Fifteenth Amendment.
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa modified the scheme for the allocation of seats in the National Council of Provinces, to account for the possibility of changes in the party makeup of provincial legislatures. This was necessary because of other legislation which had been introduced to allow members of the provincial legislatures to cross the floor without losing their seats. It came into force on 20 June 2002, and was effectively repealed on 17 April 2009 by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa altered the provisions relating to membership of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, to allow members of those bodies to cross the floor at certain times without losing their seats. It came into force on 20 March 2003, and was effectively repealed on 17 March 2009 by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
The Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa altered the boundaries of seven of South Africa's nine provinces. It also redefined all of the provinces' geographical areas in terms of the areas of district and metropolitan municipalities, and repealed the provisions introduced by the Third Amendment that allowed municipal areas to cross provincial boundaries. A number of the boundary changes were highly controversial and led to popular protest and court challenges.
The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa re-enacted provisions of the Twelfth Amendment which the Constitutional Court ruled had not been validly enacted. These provisions transferred the Matatiele Local Municipality from KwaZulu-Natal province to the Eastern Cape province.
The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa repealed some of the provisions inserted into the Constitution by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments which allowed for floor-crossing, that is, allowed members of legislative bodies to move from one political party to another without losing their seats. The remaining floor-crossing provisions were repealed by the Fifteenth Amendment, which was enacted at the same time.
The Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa transferred Merafong City Local Municipality from North West to Gauteng, altering the boundary between the two provinces. It alters the sections of Schedule 1A to the Constitution that define the geographical areas of the two provinces. The amendment came about in response to the ongoing, and sometimes violent, protests by the people of Khutsong, which had previously been transferred from Gauteng to the North West by the Twelfth Amendment.
The Civil Union Amendment Act, 2020 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which repealed section 6 of the Civil Union Act, 2006, a section which had allowed civil marriage officers to opt out of solemnising same-sex marriages on the grounds of conscience, religion or belief.
References
- ↑ "General Laws (Loss of Membership of National Assembly, Provincial Legislature or Municipal Council) Amendment Bill; Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Bill; Constitution Fifteenth Amendment Bill (Second Reading debate)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Republic of South Africa: National Assembly. 20 August 2008. p. 44. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ↑ "Constitution Fifteenth Amendment Act of 2008" (PDF). www.justice.gov.za. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
