Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983/1993-07-01

as amended by

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 105 of 1984

Powers and Privileges of Parliament and the Constitution Amendment Act, No. 99 of 1985

Provincial Government Act, No. 69 of 1986

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 20 of 1987

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 50 of 1988

Constitution Third Amendment Act, No. 101 of 1988

Constitution Fourth Amendment Act, No. 71 of 1989

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 61 of 1990

Constitution Second Amendment Act, No. 146 of 1992

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 149 of 1992

Proclamation No. R. 19 of 1993

Proclamation No. R. 20 of 1993

Proclamation No. R. 21 of 1993

Constitution Amendment Act, No. 82 of 1993

17. (2) (a) Before the State President issues a certificate under section 31 in respect of a bill or an amendment or a proposed amendment thereof, he shall consult the Speaker of Parliament and the Chairmen of the respective Houses in such manner as he deems fit.

(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to the issue of a certificate in respect of a bill or an amendment thereof which has been altered as a result of the consultation in terms of that paragraph.

32. (1) If during the same session of Parliament―

one or two Houses pass a bill and the other Houses or House rejects it or is deemed in terms of subsection (2) to have rejected it; or two Houses pass different versions of a bill and the other House rejects it or is so deemed to have rejected it; or two Houses pass a bill and the other House passes a different version of it; or each of the Houses passes a different version of a bill,

the State President may during that session refer the bill and the different versions thereof which have been passed, as the case may be, to a joint sitting of the Houses contemplated in section 67(2)(b)(ii) for consideration: Provided that the State President may withdraw the reference at any time before the Houses at the joint sitting give a decision on the bill.

(1A) Unless the State President withdraws a reference in terms of subsection (1), the Houses may at the joint sitting by a majority of the members present reject the bill or pass it as introduced or as amended at such joint sitting.

(1B) A bill passed by the Houses at a joint sitting in terms of subsection (1A) shall be deemed to have been passed by Parliament.

(2) (a) If―

the State President, by message to a House, has requested that a bill passed by another House and introduced in the House in question or in respect of which notice of a motion for its introduction or consideration has been given in that House, be disposed of by that House before a date mentioned in the message, which may not be a date earlier than 14 days after the date of the message; and that House has not disposed of such bill before the date mentioned in the message,

that House shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to have rejected the bill, unless the State President by like message determines otherwise within seven days after the date so mentioned.

(b) A House which has rejected a motion for the introduction or the consideration of a bill shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to have rejected the bill.

33. (1) When a bill which―

has been passed by Parliament; or

has been passed by a House in accordance with section 31,

is presented to the State President for his assent, he shall declare that he assents thereto or that he withholds assent, but he shall not declare that he withholds assent unless he is satisfied that the bill has not been dealt with as provided in this Act.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not affect the State President’s powers in terms of subsection (2) of section 31 to issue a certificate contemplated in the last-mentioned subsection in respect of an amendment of a bill when the bill is presented to him for assent, and to return the bill to the House in question.

55. (1) A member of a House shall vacate his seat if he―

becomes subject to any disability mentioned in section 54; or ceases to be qualified as required by law; or fails for a whole ordinary session of Parliament or of the House of which he is a member to attend without the special leave of that House, unless his absence is due to his serving, while the Republic is at war, with the South African Defence Force or any other force or service established by or under the Defence Act, 1957.

(2) A member of a House who―

is appointed to the office of administrator of a province or of member of the executive committee of a province, shall vacate his seat as a member of such House with effect from the date on which he assumes such office.

67. (1) This section applies to joint sittings called thereunder, but does not otherwise derogate from the power of Parliament to regulate its business and proceedings.

(2) The State President―

may call a joint sitting of the Houses by message to them whenever he deems it desirable; and shall call such a joint sitting―

if requested to do so by all three Houses; or whenever he refers a bill to a joint sitting in terms of section 32(1).

(3) The Speaker of Parliament shall preside at such a joint sitting: Provided that in the case of such a sitting called in terms of subsection (2)(b)(ii) a Chairman of a House designated by the Speaker may preside thereat.

(4) The Speaker shall, subject to the other provisions of this section, determine the rules and orders for the order and conduct of the proceedings of such a joint sitting, and such rules and orders in respect of a joint sitting called in terms of subsection (2)(b)(ii) may differ from rules and orders in respect of any other joint sitting.

(5) No resolution shall be adopted at any joint sitting other than a joint sitting called in terms of subsection (2)(b)(ii).

(6) The quorum for a joint sitting called in terms of subsection (2)(b)(ii) shall be one half of the total number of members of the three Houses jointly.

[Part VIII repealed by s. 6 of Act No. 82 of 1993.]

99. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), Parliament may by law repeal or amend or authorize the repeal or amendment of any provision of this Act.

(2) No repeal or amendment of the provisions of section 89 or of this subsection or of any corresponding provisions of any law substituted for them, shall be valid unless the bill embodying such repeal or amendment has been agreed to in every House by not less than two-thirds of the total number of its members.

(3) No repeal or amendment of or authorization to repeal or amend section 7(1)(b), (5) or (6), section 8(5), section 9(1) or (3)(a), section 14 or 15, section 16(1), section 19, 20 or 21, section 23(2), section 30, section 31(1) or (2), section 32(1), (1A), (1B) or (2), section 33, section 34(2)(a), section 37(1), section 38(2), section 39(1) or (2), section 41(1), section 42(1), section 43(1), section 52, 53 or 54, section 64(3), section 67, this subsection, subsection (4) of this section or Schedule 1 shall be valid unless the bill embodying such repeal or amendment or authorization to repeal or amend has been agreed to in every House by a majority of the total number of its members.

(4) A bill embodying the repeal or amendment of or authorization to repeal or amend any provision mentioned in subsection (2) or (3) of this section shall not be referred to a joint sitting for decision under the circumstances contemplated in section 32(1).

(5) Any reference in a provision of this Act mentioned in sub-section (3) of this section, or in the definition in this Act of an expression used in any such provision, to any other provision of this Act not mentioned in that subsection or to any other law shall be construed as a reference to such other provision or other law as it exists from time to time after any amendment or replacement thereof, and the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not be construed as applying to any amendment or replacement of such other provision or other law.

102. (1) If section 19 (1) (b) comes into operation before the first State President has been elected in terms of this Act and has assumed office, a person designated by the Ministers referred to in subsection (2) of this section from among their number, shall serve as Acting State President, and such or any other Acting State President or the State President may exercise any power conferred upon the State President by this section or section 103 but not yet exercised by the State President referred to in section 103 (1) at the commencement of section 19 (1) (b).

(2) (a) The persons who immediately before the commencement of this Act are Ministers of the Republic or Deputy Ministers in terms of section 20 or 21 of the previous Constitution, shall be deemed to have been appointed as such Ministers or Deputy Ministers under section 24 or 27 of this Act, as the case may be, and the departments of State then administered by such Ministers shall be deemed to have been established under section 24 of this Act as departments referred to in section 20 and to be administered by them under the relevant provisions of this Act.

(b) A reference in any law to the Prime Minister which at the commencement of this Act is not in consequence of an assignment under section 20A of the previous Constitution to be construed as a reference to some other Minister, shall be deemed to be a reference to the State President acting under subsection (2) of section 26 of this Act, except in so far as the State President assigns the administration of such law to a Minister under subsection (1) of the last-mentioned section.

(3) Where any matter which, during the session of Parliament (as constituted under the previous Constitution) immediately preceding the commencement of this Act, was submitted to the said Parliament or the House of Assembly (as so constituted), has not been disposed of before such commencement, Parliament or the House of Assembly, as the case may be, constituted under this Act may continue with the disposal or consideration of that matter, and steps taken by the first-mentioned House of Assembly in connection with that matter, shall be deemed to have been taken by the House of Assembly constituted under this Act.

(4) The House of Assembly as constituted for the purposes of the previous Constitution and in existence immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall be deemed to have been duly constituted for the purposes of this Act, and any person elected or nominated as a member of that House of Assembly and holding office immediately before such commencement, shall be deemed to have been duly elected or nominated to the House of Assembly established by this Act.

(5) The regulations made under section 40 (1A) of the previous Constitution shall continue to be of force and to apply to the election of members of the House of Assembly in terms of section 41 (1) (c) of this Act, and shall apply mutatis mutandis to elections of members of the House of Representatives and members of the House of Delegates in terms of sections 42 (1) (c) and 43 (1) (c) of this Act, until they are replaced by regulations under section 46 (1) of this Act.

(6) (a) The rules and orders of the House of Assembly as they exist at the commencement of this Act, shall apply mutatis mutandis in connection with the functions and proceedings of the House of Representatives and the House of Delegates, unless and until the House in question provides otherwise.

(b) Rules and orders approved by the House of Assembly before the commencement of this Act as joint rules and orders of the Houses, shall after such commencement be deemed to be joint rules and orders approved by each of the Houses as contemplated in section 64, until, and except in so far as, they are replaced by rules and orders which have in fact been so approved: Provided that any rules and orders so approved by the House of Assembly shall lapse on the expiry of a period of two years after the commencement of the first session of the first Parliament constituted under this Act.

(7) The first session of the first Parliament constituted in terms of this Act shall commence within 21 days after the polling day or the last polling day of the first general election of members of the House of Representatives and the House of Delegates, according to whether the poll in respect of those Houses is held on the same day or on different days, and for the purposes of that session and until those Houses have been duly constituted (but not for a period longer than 14 days after the commencement of that session), each shall be deemed to consist of the members thereof elected at such general election.

(8) For the purposes of the application of section 39 (1) in relation to the first Parliament constituted in terms of this Act, its first session shall be deemed to have commenced on a date determined by the State President referred to in section 103 (1) by proclamation in the Gazette, which may not be a date earlier than the date of the first meeting of the House of Assembly which existed immediately before the commencement of this Act, or later than the day on which that first session actually commences.

(9) For the purposes of the first delimitation of electoral divisions of the House of Representatives and of the House of Delegates the words “voters of the House in the province in terms of the current voters’ lists, duly corrected up to the latest possible date” in section 49 (1) shall be deemed to be replaced by the words “persons who, according to the population register kept in terms of the Population Registration Act, 1950, and on a date not more than 30 days before the delimitation commission begins to perform its functions, would be entitled to be included in any lists of the voters contemplated in section 52 of the House in electoral divisions thereof in the province had the province been divided into electoral divisions of the House on the date in question”, and the references to voters in section 49 (2) and (3) shall be construed accordingly.

(10) (a) A person holding office as State President or Vice State President immediately before the commencement of this Act shall vacate his office at such commencement.

(b) The salary and allowances payable to the State President immediately before such commencement shall be deemed to have been determined in terms of section 12 as the salary and allowances payable to the State President, until they are altered under that section.

[Sub-ss. (11) and (12) deleted by s. 8 of Act No. 82 of 1993.]