Constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 the text below includes all amendments, up to and including the 17th amendment to the constitution disclaimer. Constitutional history of south africa constitutionnet. Constitution of the republic of south africa act 108 of 1996. South africas constitution of 1996 with amendments. Constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 housing. The amendments to the text of the constitution were inserted in the original text by staff of the government communication and information system gcis, as parliament does not publish updated official texts of the constitution. This is still very much in line with the position at time of the constitutional negotiations prior to the acceptance of the constitution of. South africa is a member of the international community, and since the advent of democracy has ratified, signed or acceded to many treaties, including the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. We now put more emphasis on a persons right to selfdetermination, autonomy privacy etc. 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.
In south africa, public confidence in the governments willingness to tackle human rights violations, corruption, and respect for the rule of law has eroded. That year, the constitutional court issued the second certification judgment, ruling that the constitution complied with the thirtyfour constitutional principles agreed upon in political negotiations that took place from 1991 to 1993. To obtain a harcopy of the constitution, please contact one of the following officials listed on the contacts page. Why the south african constitution is better than the united. South africas news media has become, in the post1994 democratic era, among the most. The constitution is a law agreed by the peoples representatives that sets out how the state will be constituted and run, our rights and responsibilities as citizens and the creation of particular institutions to support and safeguard our democracy. African constitution builders and politicians have since the beginning of the 1990s embarked on a process of constitutional reforms.
Local government was established in 1909 when the four former colonies became provinces. The bill of rights, section 2 of the south african. Why the south african constitution is better than the. A history of the south african constitution 19101996. The constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996, is the most important source of law and under our system of constitutional supremacy. Build a united and democratic south africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. The constitution is formally entitled the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996. Download a pdf of the constitution of south africa in a language of your choice. This constitution is the supreme law of the republic. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
The current constitution, the countrys fifth, was drawn up by the parliament elected in 1994 in. The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the bill of rights. This app of the constitution includes all amendments, up to and including the 17th amendment to the constitution. The entrance to south africas constitutional court flickr africa deluxe. The constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996, is the current constitution that forms the basis for the law and government of the nation of. This is still very much in line with the position at time of the constitutional negotiations prior to the acceptance of the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996. In south africa the introduction of a paramount constitution with an entrenched bill of rights2 has also brought about a shift in philosophy. The new constitution of south africa included in its text many of the demands called for in the freedom charter.
The text below includes all amendments, up to and including the 17th amendment to the constitution disclaimer. Section 1 of the constitution says that south africa is one sovereign, democratic state founded on values of human dignity, equality, human rights and freedoms. The constitution forms the basis of a democratic nation and the legal foundation for the existence of the republic of south africa. Constitutional documents of south africa sister projects. The constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996. The constitution of the united states preamble we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do.
It enumerates a bill of rights for the people of south africa. The provision of health services is largely dependent on the sufficiency of the health workforce in terms of numbers, the quality of skills they possess, how and where they are deployed and how they are managed. The administrator of each province was appointed by the central government and presided over an executive committee representing the majority party in the council. The constitution of south africa the highest law in the land, the constitution of south africa serves as the foundation for democratic south africa, a country free of oppression and discrimination. The constitution of a newly democratic south africa was promulgated by president nelson mandela in 1996. Nearly all the enumerated concerns regarding equality of race and language were directly addressed in the constitution, although the document included nothing to the effect of the. Constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 south. The south african constitution the south african constitution describes the social values of the country, and sets out the structures of government, what powers and authority a government has, and what rights citizens have.
Study unit 1 introduction to south african law tristan. Assessing the performance of the south african constitution. Before explaining that the state could partially reduce those costs it could tackle theif corruption problem effectively, we first briefly outline the. For the first time, all religions in south africa were guaranteed freedom of religion. This complete constitution has been generated from excerpts of texts from the repository of the. Constitutional reforms and constitutionalism in africa. It sets out the rights and duties of the citizens and the government. A highly accessible, easy to use app version of the constitution of south africa the supreme law of the republic of south africa. Section 25 of the constitution and land expropriation what. The constitution of the republic of south africa the constitution is the supreme law of the land. No other law or government action can supersede the provisions of the constitution. This bill of rights is a cornerstone of democracy in south africa.
These people were the british settlers and the boers. According to the bill of rights, as enshrined in the constitution, every south african citizen has the inalienable right to life, equality, human. Measuring the extent of emigration of south african health professionals remains a challenge. Many research studies have been based on incomplete data, as systematic data on international flows of health workers from south africa, and indeed from. Jun 11, 2017 the constitutional court in the constitution hill precinct, hillbrow image.
Nic dawes, responded that these sections contravene the constitution in that they allow for the suppression of information that is in the public interest. Constitutional documents of south africa wikisource, the. The developments in namibia and south africa reflect a growing concern over laws relating to obscenity in southern africa and their impact on the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The remaining sections of the paper discuss the conceptualization of customary law and how the courts llb zambia llm phd london. This constitution remained in force until 1996 when the current constitution of south africa was adopted the constitution of 1996 promulgated as the constitution of south africa act, it has been described as a masterpiece of post conflict constitutional engineering in the post cold war era.
Constitution south african legal research guides at georgetown. It is a constitution for every citizen of the country, and includes a bill of rights. It describes the division of south africa into nine. Pdf constitutional reforms and constitutionalism in africa. The current constitution, the countrys fifth, was drawn up by the parliament elected in 1994 in the south african general election, 1994. Mar 01, 2018 section 25 of the consitution sits within the bill of rights, together with rights such as the right to life, the right to an environment that is not harmful, the right to freedom and association and religion amongst others. African constitutionbuilders and politicians have since the beginning of the 1990s embarked on a process of constitutional reforms. There have been four constitutions in south africa. The bill of rights is a cornerstone to our democracy. It is unclear if the pdf has all the current amendments. The highest law of the land, it is widely regarded as the most progressive constitution in the world, with a bill of rights second to none.
To introduce a new constitution for the republic of south africa and to provide for matters incidental. It was previously also numbered as if it were an act of parliamentact no. Before explaining that the state could partially reduce those costs it could tackle theif corruption problem effectively, we. South africas current constitution was negotiated over a period of several years and formally adopted by the constitutional assembly on may 8, 1996. Click here to view the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996 in all official. The application of african customary law under the. In 1910 britain decided to withdraw from the government of south africa and handed the country over to the white residents of south africa. South africa, as one that systematically institutionalised divide and conquer by using customs, traditions, ethnic identity and legitimisation to impose government authority through indirect rule. Constitution, charter and religions in south africa. South africas constitution of 1996 with amendments through 2012. The republic of south africa is one, sovereign, democratic state founded on the following values. Pdf constitutional reforms and constitutionalism in. Functions of south african human rights commission. Brand south africa south africas constitution is the result of remarkably detailed and inclusive negotiations that were carried out with an acute awareness of the injustices of the countrys nondemocratic past.
Constitutional law and civil rights in south africa golegal. A history of the south african constitution 19101996 south. Constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996. The founding provisions of the constitution set out the principles and guarantees of democracy in south africa. The first constitution for the union of south africa was adopted in 1910. News, case law and analyses which examine constitutional law, civil rights and human rights. The constitution of the republic of south africa south. The constitution of south africa constitution hill. The current constitution, the countrys fifth, was drawn up by the parliament. 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. Wikipedia article, wikidata item the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996, is the current constitution that forms the basis for the law and government of the nation of south africa.
The constitution of south africa is the supreme law of the republic of south africa. Each was governed by a whiteelected provincial council with limited legislative powers. Cedaw which was ratified by south africa in 1996 without a single reservation. Like the 1994 elections the first ever in which the countrys black majority was able to vote, the adoption of the constitution was a milestone in the countrys transition from apartheid to democracy. Unfortunately, apart from namibia and south africa, which have radically revised their obscenity laws, other countries have retained restrictive laws on.
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