The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

Constitution of South Africa

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...

 (formally the Constitution Fourteenth Amendment Act of 2008) repealed some of the provisions inserted into the Constitution by the Ninth

Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

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...

 and Tenth

Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

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...

 Amendments which allowed for floor-crossing

Floor crossing (South Africa)

Floor crossing in South Africa was a controversial system 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...

, 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 The remaining floor-crossing provisions were repealed by the Fifteenth Amendment

Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa repealed some of the provisions inserted into the Constitution by the Eighth and Tenth Amendments which allowed for floor-crossing, that is, allowed members of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...

, which was enacted at the same time.

The Fourteenth Amendment contained the repeal provisions which affected the provincial legislatures

Provincial legislature (South Africa)

In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 to 80 members depending on the population of the province...

 and the National Council of Provinces

National Council of Provinces

The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997...

 (NCOP), and therefore had to be approved by six of nine provinces in the NCOP as well as by two-thirds of the National Assembly

National Assembly of South Africa

The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. It consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members...

, while the Fifteenth Amendment contained the remaining provisions which only had to be approved by the Assembly. Both amendments were signed by President

President of South Africa

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....

 Kgalema Motlanthe on 6 January 2009, and came into force on 17 April 2009, days before the 2009 general election

South African general election, 2009

South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....

.

External links

• Official text (PDF)