Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 drafted by the Multiparty Negotiating Forum and enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

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related portals: Constitutional documents of South Africa, Acts of the Parliament of South Africa. sister projects: Wikipedia article. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993, also known as the "Interim Constitution", was the constitution of South Africa from 27 April 1994 to 4 February 1997. It enumerated a bill of rights for the people of South Africa. It described the division of South Africa into nine provinces, and established the structure of national, provincial and local spheres of government and the principles that governed the interaction between the spheres. It established a single independent national judiciary along with various other independent organisations to support democracy and the constitution. The Interim Constitution was drafted in 1993 by the "Multiparty Negotiating Forum" and came into effect on the day of the elections of 1994. It required the two houses of Parliament to sit jointly as the "Constitutional Assembly" to draft the text of a new constitutional text. This new constitutional text came into force on 4 February 1997 as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, at which time the Interim Constitution was repealed. From its enactment to its repeal, the Interim Constitution was amended ten times. Most of these amendments were technical, but some were of great political significance, such as the first and second amendments of 1994, which implemented the constitutional consequences of the compromise which, at the last minute, convinced the Inkatha Freedom Party to participate in the 1994 election. Other significant amendments included the renaming of five of the nine provinces. This is the text as originally enacted and does not incorporate any amendments. A series of other versions incorporating amendments are also available on Wikisource; the version as amended up to 24 April 1996 is the text of the act as it was immediately before it was repealed.

Act

To introduce a new Constitution for the Republic of South Africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

Table of Contents

		Sections
Chapter 1	Constituent and Formal Provisions	1–4
Chapter 2	Citizenship and Franchise	5–6
Chapter 3	Fundamental Rights	7–35
Chapter 4	Parliament	36–39
	—The National Assembly	40–47
	—The Senate	48–54
	—The National Assembly and the Senate	55–67
Chapter 5	The Adoption of the new Constitution	68–74
Chapter 6	The National Executive	75–95
Chapter 7	The Judicial Authority and the Administration of Justice	96–109
Chapter 8	The Public Protector, Human Rights Commission, Commission on Gender Equality and Restitution of Land Rights
	—The Public Protector	110–114
	—Human Rights Commission	115–118
	—Commission on Gender Equality	119–120
	—Restitution of Land Rights	121–123
Chapter 9	Provincial Government	124
	—Provincial Legislative Authority	125–143
	—Provincial Executive Authority	144–154
	—Provincial Finance and Fiscal Affairs	155–159
	—Provincial Constitutions	160–162
	—Commission on Provincial Government	163–173
Chapter 10	Local Government	174–180
Chapter 11	Traditional Authorities	181–184
Chapter 12	Finance
	—General Financial Affairs	185–190
	—Auditor-General	191–194
	—South African Reserve Bank	195–197
	—Financial and Fiscal Commission	198–206
	—Commission on Remuneration of Representatives	207–208
Chapter 13	Public Service Commission and Public Service
	—Public Service Commission	209–211
	—The Public Service	212
	—Provincial Service Commissions	213
Chapter 14	Police and Defence
	—South African Police Service	214–223
	—National Defence Force	224–228
Chapter 15	General and Transitional Provisions	229–251
Schedule 1	Part 1: Definitions of Provinces
	Part 2: Contentious Areas
Schedule 2	System for Election of National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures
Schedule 3	Oaths and Affirmations of Office
Schedule 4	Constitutional Principles
Schedule 5	Procedure for Election of President
Schedule 6	Legislative Competences of Provinces
Schedule 7	Repeal of Laws

Preamble

In humble submission to Almighty God,
We, the people of South Africa declare that—

Whereas there is a need to create a new order in which all South Africans will be entitled to a common South African citizenship in a sovereign and democratic constitutional state in which there is equality between men and women and people of all races so that all citizens shall be able to enjoy and exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms;

And whereas in order to secure the achievement of this goal, elected representatives of all the people of South Africa should be mandated to adopt a new Constitution in accordance with a solemn pact recorded as Constitutional Principles;

And whereas it is necessary for such purposes that provision should be made for the promotion of national unity and the restructuring and continued governance of South Africa while an elected Constitutional Assembly draws up a final Constitution;

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(Afrikaans text signed by the State President.)
(Assented to 25 January 1994.)

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Now therefore the following provisions are adopted as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa:

This work is in the public domain because it was created and first published in South Africa and it is an official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or an official translation of such a text. According to the Copyright Act, 1978, § 12 (8) (a), "No copyright shall subsist in official texts of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, or in official translations of such texts."