NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Constitution of South Africa

The current and official Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 8 May 1996. It is the supreme law of South Africa. The President of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africas Constitution. ... Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (born June 18, 1942) is the President of the Republic of South Africa. ... The Deputy President of South Africa is appointed by the President of South Africa. ... Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (born November 3, 1955) is the current Deputy President of South Africa. ... Ministers, in the South African government, are Members of Parliament who hold a ministerial warrant to perform certain functions of government. ... The Parliament of South Africa is South Africas legislature and is composed of the National Assembly of South Africa and the National Council of Provinces. ... 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. ... The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. ... The Speaker of the National Assembly presides over the South African National Assembly. ... Tony Leon Anthony James Leon (born 15 December 1956) is a South African politician and the leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africas main opposition party and current leader of the opposition. ... Tony Leon Anthony James Leon (born 15 December 1956) is a South African politician and the leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africas main opposition party. ... The Judiciary of South Africa is an independent branch of government, subject only to the South African Constitution and the laws of the country. ... The South African Constitutional Court was established in 1994 by South Africas first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. ... The South African Supreme Court of Appeal (Afrikaans; Hoogste Hof van Appel van Suid Afrika) is the South African court that has the final say on all matters other than those that involve the interpretation of the constitution. ... The High Court of South Africa is a court of law in South Africa. ... Magistrates Courts in South Africa are the lower courts and the courts of of first instance and decide all matters as provided for by an act of parliament. ... Elections in South Africa gives information on election and election results in South Africa. ... Political parties in South Africa lists political parties in South Africa. ... A map of the nine provinces of South Africa South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. ... Foreign Relations of South Africa South African forces fought on the Allied side in both World War I and World War II, and it participated in the postwar United Nations force in the Korean War. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... South Africa has a number of sources of legislation and law. ...

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 South African Constitutional Court was established in 1994 by South Africas first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. ... The Parliament of South Africa is South Africas legislature and is composed of the National Assembly of South Africa and the National Council of Provinces. ...

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 twelve 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, identifies the flag of South Africa and lists the official languages. By virtue of section 2 of chapter 1, all statutes that conflict with the Constitution are of no force or effect. A principle (not principal) is something, usually a rule or norm, that is part of the basis for something else. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The current design of the National Flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, the end of apartheid prompting the widespread conviction that a new national flag must include the cultures of all South Africans. ... An official language is a language that is given a privileged legal status in a state, or other legally-defined territory. ...

South Africa is defined in this chapter as being a democratic, independent republic based upon the principles of protecting dignity, human rights and the rule of law. Values of dignity and human rights are repeated in Chapter 2. Democracy (literally rule by the people, from the Greek demos, people, and kratos, rule) is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have an equal vote or voice in shaping policy or electing government officials. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state or country that is led by people whose political power is based on principles that are not beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedure. ...

The official languages are identified by section 6 as being Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu. 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 or Urdu. Northern Sotho, Sepedi, or Sesotho sa Leboa, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people (2001 Census Data), mostly in the provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo Province and Mpumalanga. ... Sesotho is a language spoken in southern Africa. ... Tswana, also known as Setswana, is a Bantu language. ... Swati (also known as siSwati and Swazi) is a Bantu language spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. ... Venda, also known as Tshivenda or Chivenda, is a Bantu language. ... The Tsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... There are two versions of Ndebele in South Africa, they both belong to the Nguni group of Bantu Languages. ... Xhosa is a language of South Africa. ... Zulu, also known as isiZulu, is a language of the Zulu people with about 9 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95%) of whom live in South Africa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Schedules

Amendments to the current constitution

There have been twelve amendments since 1996, and amendments No 13 and 14 currently being considered.

* Act 3 of 1999 is known as the "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act 1999" and Act 2 as the "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act 1999". They are therefore listed here as the fourth and fifth amendments of the Constitution respectively. As they were assented to on the same day, presumably this is the order in which the president signed them. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Capital Polokwane Largest city Polokwane Area - Total Ranked 5th 123,900 kmÂ² Premier Mbhazima Shilowa (ANC) Population - 2001 - 1996 - Density (2001) Ranked 4th 5,273,637 4,929,368 43/kmÂ² (Ranked 3rd) Languages Races Black (97. ... A map of the nine provinces of South Africa South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. ...

Previous constitutions of South Africa

The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the British Parliament which created the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal. ... Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or parliamentary chambers. ...

External links

See also

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South African topics

History
Cape Colony • Apartheid • Foreign relations • Nuclear programme South Africa has a number of sources of legislation and law. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... South Africa History History of South Africa Events Zulu War (see also Anglo-Zulu War) Boer War Pretoria Convention Sharpeville Massacre Rivonia Trial Historical Groups Azanian Peoples Liberation Army Democratic Party (South Africa) (DP) Dutch East India Company National Party Umkhonto we Sizwe Places Robben Island Bantustan Bophuthatswana Ciskei QwaQwa... The history of South Africa is viewed differently by various scholars and by its various population groups because South Africa is a multicultural country. ... History of Cape Colony via a written history of the area known as Cape Colony, and later Cape Province in South Africa began when Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese navigator, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. ... Petty apartheid: sign on Durban beach in English, Afrikaans and Zulu Apartheid (literally apartness in Afrikaans and Dutch) was a system of racial segregation that was enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. ... Foreign Relations of South Africa South African forces fought on the Allied side in both World War I and World War II, and it participated in the postwar United Nations force in the Korean War. ... South Africa developed six or seven gun-type fission nuclear weapons in the 1980s. ...

Geography
Cities • National parks • Postal codes • Telephone codes Southern Africa seen from Aqua and Terra satellites. ... There are officially nine cities in South Africa (members of the South African cities network). ... Most of South Africas national parks are maintained by South Africa National Parks (SANPark) while the parks in KwaZulu-Natal are managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (an amalgamation of the former Natal Parks Board and KwaZulu Directorate of Nature Conservation). ... Post Codes were introduced in South Africa in 1975, with the introduction of automated sorting. ... South Africa has switched to a closed numbering system, although as of 2005 it still isnt mandatory to dial the three-digit area code. ...

Politics
Constitution • Political parties • Elections • Provinces • Military • Police // Constitution Following the 1994 elections, South Africa was governed under an interim constitution. ... Political parties in South Africa lists political parties in South Africa. ... Elections in South Africa gives information on election and election results in South Africa. ... A map of the nine provinces of South Africa South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. ...

Culture
South African English • Art • Cinema • Cuisine • Islam • Literature • Music • Poets • Public holidays • Television (TV series) • Scouts There is no single Culture of South Africa. ... South African English is a dialect of English spoken in South Africa and in neighbouring countries with a large number of Anglo-Africans living in them, such as Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. ... art forms of southern africa, is beautifully painted vases and wood made into animals Categories: Africa-related stubs ... South African cuisine varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people and of all those who have immigrated since. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... South Africa has a diverse literary history. ... The South African music scene includes both popular (jive) and folk forms. ... Lionel Abrahams Tatamkulu Afrika Shabbir Banoobhai Robert Berold Breyten Breytenbach Dennis Brutus Roy Campbell Jeremy Cronin Patrick Cullinan Sheila Cussons Achmat Dangor Ingrid de Kok Sandile Dikeni Modikwe Dikobe Isobel Dixon CJ Driver Jeremy Gordin Nadine Gordimer Stephen Gray Mafika Gwala Bruce Hewett Christopher Hope Fhazel Johennesse Sarah Johnson Keorapetse... Holidays in South Africa: The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will be a public holiday. ... The following is a partial list of South African television series. ... Emblem of the South African Scout Association The South African Scout Association organizes the Scouting movement in South Africa. ...

Other topics
Notable South Africans • HIV/AIDS • Communications • Transport • Companies South Africa History History of South Africa Events Zulu War (see also Anglo-Zulu War) Boer War Pretoria Convention Sharpeville Massacre Rivonia Trial Historical Groups Azanian Peoples Liberation Army Democratic Party (South Africa) (DP) Dutch East India Company National Party Umkhonto we Sizwe Places Robben Island Bantustan Bophuthatswana Ciskei QwaQwa... This is a list of notable South Africans with Wikipedia articles. ... HIV and AIDS in South Africa are a major health concern. ... // Telephone Telephones - main lines in use: 4. ... This is a list of companies in South Africa. ...

Contents

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