The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
Fifth Amendment may refer to:
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 Constitution of Arkansas is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Arkansas delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Arkansas' original constitution was adopted at a constitutional convention held at Little Rock in advance of the territory's admission to the Union in 1836. The current constitution was ratified in 1874 following the Brooks–Baxter War.
A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a maximum number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa is South Africa's election management body, an independent organisation established under chapter nine of the Constitution. It conducts elections to the National Assembly, provincial legislatures and municipal councils.
The First Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made changes related to the oath of office of the Acting President and to the jurisdiction of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, and signed by President Mandela on 28 August 1997. However it was deemed to come into effect retroactively, from 4 February 1997, the date when the constitution itself came into force.
The Second Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa extended the terms of municipal councils and made various changes relating to certain independent commissions. It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, and signed by President Mandela on 28 September 1998. It came into force on 7 October of the same year.
The Constitution of 1962 was the fundamental law of Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 8 June 1962 until martial law was declared in 25 March 1969. It was abrogated on 25 March 1969 by President Yahya Khan.
The Third Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made changes to allow the creation of municipalities that cross provincial boundaries. It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, signed by President Mandela on 20 October 1998, and came into force on the 30th of the same month. The changes it made were reversed in 2005 by the Twelfth Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made two technical changes relating to the calling of provincial elections and the choice of delegates to the National Council of Provinces. It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, signed by Acting President Thabo Mbeki on 17 March 1999, and came into force two days later. It was signed and came into force simultaneously with the Fifth Amendment; the two amendments were separated because the Fourth involved provincial matters and had to be passed by the National Council of Provinces while the Fifth did not.
The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made a number of changes, most importantly giving the title of "Chief Justice" to the head of the Constitutional Court instead of the head of the Supreme Court of Appeal. It was passed by the National Assembly with the requisite two-thirds majority on 1 November 2001, and signed by President Thabo Mbeki on 20 November; it was published and came into force on the following day.
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 Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa renamed the Northern Province to Limpopo, altered the procedure for intervention by the national government in a failing provincial government and intervention by a provincial government in a failing municipality, and expanded the powers of the provincial executive when it intervenes in a municipality.
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.
