Page:Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1993 from Government Gazette.djvu/21

40   No. 15466

(4) Subject to the rules and orders contemplated in section 70  and save where clearly inappropriate, sections  55  and  56  and the provisions of this Constitution with regard to joint sittings of the National Assembly and the Senate shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the Constitutional Assembly.

Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson

69. (1) At its first sitting and before proceeding to dispatch any other business, the Constitutional Assembly, with the President of the Senate presiding, shall elect one of the members of the Constitutional Assembly to be the Chairperson and another of its members to be the Deputy Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly.

(2) The provisions of Schedule 5  shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the election of the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly.

(3) The Chairperson shall be vested with all powers and functions assigned to him or her under this Constitution, an Act of Parliament and the rules and orders.

(4) Section 49  (4) to (10) shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly, and in any such application references in the said sections to the Senate and a senator shall be construed as references to the Constitutional Assembly and a member of the Constitutional Assembly, respectively.

Rules and orders

70. (1) The Constitutional Assembly may make rules and orders in connection with the conduct of its business and proceedings.

(2) The provisions of section 58  shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the Constitutional Assembly.

Constitutional Principles and certification

71. (1) A new constitutional text shall—

comply with the Constitutional Principles contained in Schedule 4  ; and be passed by the Constitutional Assembly in accordance with this Chapter.

(2) The new constitutional text passed by the Constitutional Assembly, or any provision thereof, shall not be of any force and effect unless the Constitutional Court has certified that all the provisions of such text comply with the Constitutional Principles referred to in subsection (1)(a).

(3) A decision of the Constitutional Court in terms of subsection (2) certifying that the provisions of the new constitutional text comply with the Constitutional Principles, shall be final and binding, and no court of law shall have jurisdiction to enquire into or pronounce upon the validity of such text or any provision thereof.

(4) During the course of the proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly any proposed draft of the constitutional text before the Constitutional Assembly, or any part or provision of such text, shall be referred to the Constitutional Court by the Chairperson if petitioned to do so by at least one fifth of all the members of the Constitutional Assembly, in order to obtain an opinion from the Court as to whether such proposed text, or part or provision thereof, would, if passed by the Constitutional Assembly, comply with the Constitutional Principles.

Appointment of commissions, committees and bodies

72. (1) The Constitutional Assembly shall, in addition to appointing committees of its members, be competent to appoint any commissions, technical committees and other advisory bodies to assist it in the performance of its functions.