# Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983

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The Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983 was the constitution of South Africa from 1984 to 1994. It replaced and repealed the previous Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961; the main change was that it added two new Houses of Parliament alongside the whites-only House of Assembly: the House of Representatives for coloured people and the House of Delegates for Indians. Certain topics were designated "own affairs" which each House would administer separately for its "population group", while other topics were designated "general affairs" in which all three Houses would be involved.
This new system, however, still provided no representation for the black majority; and in practice the relative sizes of the Houses meant that the House of Assembly could dominate the other two when electing the President or dealing with general affairs. The House of Representatives and the House of Delegates also lacked electoral credibility, as an election boycott led to extremely low voter turnout. The introduction of the new constitution was the catalyst for the foundation of the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front.
The 1983 constitution was enacted on 28 September 1983, and came into force on 3 September 1984 in terms of Proclamation No. 119 of 1984. It was amended thirteen times before being repealed on 27 April 1994 by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993, which introduced a non-racial system of government.
This is the text as originally enacted and does not incorporate any amendments.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 6 July 1984 is the text of the act as it was when coming into force; the version as amended up to 1 April 1994 is the text of the act as it was immediately before it was repealed.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.
(English text signed by the State President.) (Assented to 22 September 1983.)
Who gathered our forebears together from many lands and gave them this their own, Who has guided them from generation to generation, Who has wondrously delivered them from the dangers that beset them,
We declare that we Are conscious of our responsibility towards God and man; Are convinced of the necessity of standing united and of pursuing the following national goals:
To uphold Christian values and civilized norms, with recognition and protection of freedom of faith and worship, To safeguard the integrity and freedom of our country, To uphold the independence of the judiciary and the equality of all under the law, To secure the maintenance of law and order, To further the contentment and the spiritual and material welfare of all, To respect and to protect the human dignity, life, liberty and property of all in our midst, To respect, to further and to protect the self-determination of population groups and peoples, To further private initiative and effective competition;
Are prepared to accept our duty to seek world peace in association with all peace-loving peoples and nations; and
are desirous of giving the Republic of South Africa a Constitution which provides for elected and responsible forms of government and which is best suited to the traditions, history and circumstances of our land:
Be it therefore enacted by the State President and the House of Assembly of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—
Part I
The Republic
1. The Republic of South Africa, consisting of the provinces of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, shall continue to exist as a republic under that name.
2. The people of the Republic of South Africa acknowledge the sovereignty and guidance of Almighty God.
Part II
National Flag and Anthem
3. There shall be a National Flag of the Republic of which the design shall be as set out in section 4.
4. (1) The National Flag of the Republic shall be a flag consisting of three horizontal stripes of equal width from top to bottom orange, white and blue on which there shall appear―
(a)
(b)
(i)
(ii)
(2) The flags referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) shall all be of the same size and of a shape proportionally the same as that of the National Flag, the width of each of such flags shall be equal to one-third of the width of the white stripe on the National Flag, and the flags referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall be equidistant from the margins of the said white stripe.
5. The National Anthem of the Republic shall be “The Call of South Africa/Die Stem van Suid-Afrika”.
Part III
The State President
6. (1) The head of the Republic shall be the State President.
(2) The command-in-chief of the South African Defence Force is vested in the State President.
(3) The State President shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have power―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(4) The State President shall in addition as head of the State have such powers and functions as were immediately before the commencement of this Act possessed by the State President by way of prerogative.
7. (1) (a) The State President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college present at a meeting called in accordance with the provisions of this section and presided over by the Chief Justice or a judge of appeal designated by him.
(b) An electoral college referred to in paragraph (a) shall be constituted whenever necessary in terms of this Act, and shall consist of―
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
or, in the case of a particular House, such smaller number of members thereof, if any, as may be so designated by it.
(c) A member of a House referred to in section 41 (1) (b) or (c), 42 (1) (b) or (c) or 43 (1) (b) or (c) may not be designated as a member of an electoral college or participate in the voting or other proceedings of the House in question in connection with a resolution contemplated in paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(d) A House shall designate the relevant members of a particular electoral college as often as it may deem necessary.
(e) An electoral college shall dissolve after disposing of the matters for which it is constituted in terms of this Act.
(2) The election of a State President shall be held, subject to the provisions of subsection (4), at a time and place fixed by the Chief Justice and made known by notice in the Gazette not less than 14 days before the election.
(3) The date so fixed shall―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(4) If any electoral college removes the State President from office in terms of section 9, it shall forthwith proceed to elect a State President.
(5) No person may be elected or serve as State President unless he is qualified to be nominated or elected and take his seat as a member of a House.
(6) Any person who holds a public office in respect of which he receives any remuneration or allowance out of public funds, and who is elected as State President, shall vacate such office with effect from the date on which he is elected.
8. (1) Nominations of candidates for election as State President shall be called for at the meeting of the electoral college at which the election is to take place, by the person presiding at the meeting.
​(2) Every nomination shall be submitted in the form prescribed and shall be signed by two members of the electoral college and also by the person nominated, unless he has in writing or by telegram signified his willingness to accept nomination.
(3) The names of the persons duly nominated as provided in subsection (2) shall be announced at the meeting at which the election is to take place by the person presiding at the meeting, and no debate shall be allowed at the election.
(4) If in respect of any election only one nomination has received, the person presiding at the meeting shall declare the candidate in question to be duly elected.
(5) Where more than one candidate is nominated for election, a vote shall be taken by secret ballot, each member of the electoral college present at the meeting in question having one vote, and any candidate in whose favour a majority of all the votes cast is recorded shall be declared duly elected by the person presiding at the meeting.
(6) (a) If no candidate obtains a majority of all the votes so cast, the candidate who received the smallest number of votes shall be eliminated and a further ballot taken in respect of the remaining candidates, this procedure being repeated as often as may be necessary until a candidate receives a majority of all the votes cast and is declared duly elected.
(b) Whenever two or more candidates being the lowest on the poll have received the same number of votes, the electoral college shall by separate vote, to be repeated as often as may be necessary, determine which of those candidates shall for the purposes of paragraph (a) be eliminated.
(7) (a) Whenever―
(i)
(ii)
and there is an equality of votes between candidates, a further meeting shall be called in accordance with the provisions of section 7, and the provisions of this section shall apply as if such further meeting were the first meeting called for election in question.
(b) If at the third meeting there is again an equality of votes, the electoral college shall dissolve, an electoral college shall again be constituted and the provisions of section 7 and this section shall apply mutatis mutandis as if the newly constituted electoral college were the first electoral college constituted for the purposes of the election in question.
(8) (a) The Chief Justice shall make rules in regard to the procedure to be observed at a meeting of any electoral college constituted as provided in section 7, including rules prescribing the form in which any nomination shall be submitted and rules defining the duties of the presiding officer and of any person appointed to assist him, and prescribing the manner in which a ballot at any such meeting shall be conducted.
(b) Such rules shall be made known in such manner as the Chief Justice may consider necessary.
9. (1) The State President shall hold office, subject to the other provisions of this section―
(a)
(b)
but shall be eligible for re-election.
(2) The State President shall vacate his office―
(a)
(b)
(3) (a) The State President shall cease to hold office on a resolution adopted by a majority of the members present at a meeting of an electoral college constituted as prescribed in section 7 and convened, as so prescribed, by the Chief Justice at the request of each of the three Houses, and declaring him to be removed on the ground of misconduct or inability to perform efficiently the duties of his office.
(b) In connection with a resolution contemplated in paragraph (a) no debate shall be allowed in the electoral college.
(c) No request in terms of paragraph (a) shall be made by any House, except after consideration of a report of a committee of Parliament appointed in accordance with rules and orders contemplated in section 64.
(d) A House shall not adopt a resolution that such a committee of Parliament be appointed, unless there has been previously submitted to the Speaker of Parliament a petition signed by not less than half of the members of each House and requesting that such a committee be appointed.
(e) In connection with a resolution contemplated in paragraph (d) no debate shall be allowed in the House in question.
(4) The State President may resign by lodging his resignation in writing with the Chief Justice.
10. (1) Whenever the State President is for any reason unable to perform the duties of his office, a member of the Cabinet nominated by the State President shall serve as Acting State President.
(2) Whenever―
(a)
(b)
(c)
a member of the Cabinet designated by the remaining members thereof shall serve as Acting State President during the incapacity of the State President or of the member nominated by him, as the case may be, or until a State President has assumed office.
(3) (a) If a member of the Cabinet serves as Acting State President in terms of a designation under subsection (2) during the incapacity of the State President or of the member nominated by him, and the Speaker of Parliament is at any time of the opinion that neither the State President nor his nominee will be able to resume the duties of his office within 60 days from the date on which his incapacity set in, the Speaker shall in writing inform the Acting State President and the Chief Justice accordingly, and thereupon a member of the Cabinet shall without delay be designated as Acting State President by an electoral college mutatis mutandis in accordance with sections 7 and 8.
(b) When the Acting State President so designated by the electoral college assumes office, any nomination or designation made under subsection (1) or (2) shall lapse.
(c) The Acting State President so designated by the electoral college shall serve as such during the incapacity of the State President or until a State President has been elected and has assumed office, as the circumstances may require.
​(4) Whenever it is in any of the circumstances mentioned above not possible to nominate or designate an Acting State President, the Speaker of Parliament shall serve as Acting State President.
11. (1) The State President and any Acting State President shall when assuming office make and subscribe an oath of office in the following form before the Chief Justice or any other judge of the Supreme Court:
In the presence of Almighty God and in full realization of the high calling I assume as State President/Acting State President in the service of the Republic, I, A.B., do swear to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and do solemnly and sincerely promise at all times to promote that which will advance and to oppose all that may harm the Republic; to obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other Law of the Republic; to discharge my duties with all my strength and talents to the best of my knowledge and ability and true to the dictates of my conscience; to do justice unto all; and to devote myself to the well-being of the Republic and its people.
May the Almighty God by His grace guide and sustain me in keeping this oath with honour and dignity.
So help me God.
(2) In the case of the State President the oath shall be made and subscribed by him at a formal function where the Seal of the Republic is handed over to him by the outgoing State President or Acting State President, unless he already has the Seal in his custody.
12. There shall be paid to the State President out of and as a charge on the State Revenue Fund and apart from any privilege which he may enjoy, such salary and allowances as may be determined from time to time by resolution of Parliament.
13. (1) There shall be paid out of and as a charge on the State Revenue Fund―
(a)
(b)
(2) A pension in terms of subsection (1) shall be payable―
(a)
(b)
Part IV
Own Affairs and General Affairs
14. (1) Matters which specially or differentially affect a population group in relation to the maintenance of its identity and the upholding and furtherance of its way of life, culture, traditions and customs, are, subject to the provisions of section 16, own affairs in relation to such population group.
(2) Matters coming within the classes of subjects described in Schedule 1 are, subject to the provisions of section 16, own affairs in relation to each population group.
15. Matters which are not own affairs of a population group in terms of section 14 are general affairs.
16. (1) (a) Any question arising in the application of this Act as to whether any particular matters are own affairs of a population group shall be decided by the State President, who shall do so in such manner that the governmental institutions serving the interests of such population group are not by the decision enabled to affect the interests of any other population group, irrespective of whether or not it is defined as a population group in this Act.
(b) All such questions shall be general affairs.
(2) The State President may, if he deems it expedient, but subject to the provisions of section 31―
(a)
(b)
and shall advise the Chairman of each Ministers’ Council of every such decision.
(3) When the State President assigns the administration of a law to a Minister of a department of State for own affairs of a population group under section 26 or 98 he shall do so in pursuance of a decision under this section that the law, in so far as its administration is so assigned, deals with own affairs of the population group in question.
17. (1) The State President may refer any question which is being considered by him in terms of section 16 to the President’s Council for advice.
(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.
18. (1) Any division of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall be competent to inquire into and pronounce upon the question as to whether the provisions of section 17 (2) were complied with in connection with a decision of the State President contemplated in those provisions.
(2) Save as provided in subsection (1), no court of law shall be competent to inquire into or pronounce upon the validity of a decision of the State President that matters mentioned in the decision are own affairs of a population group, or are not own affairs of a population group, as the case may be.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the matters dealt with in any bill which, when introduced in a House, is not endorsed with or accompanied by a certificate contemplated in section 31, shall be deemed to be matters which are not own affairs of any population group by virtue of a decision of the State President.
Part V
The Executive Authority
19. (1) The executive authority of the Republic―
(a)
(b)
(2) Except in sections 20 (c) and (d), 21 (2), 24, 25, 26, 27, 33, 39 (3), 66 and 98 (3) (b), or where otherwise expressly stated or necessarily implied, any reference in this Act to the State President is a reference to the State President acting as provided in subsection (1).
20. The Cabinet shall consist of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
21. (1) A Ministers’ Council shall consist of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(2) The State President shall designate a Minister who is a member of a Ministers’ Council and who, at the time of the designation, in the opinion of the State President has the support of the majority in the House consisting of members of the population group in question, as the Chairman of such Ministers’ Council.
22. (1) There shall be a Seal of the Republic, showing the coat of arms of the Republic with the circumscription “Republic of South Africa—Republiek van Suid-Afrika”.
(2) The Seal shall be in the custody of the State President and shall, save in so far as may be otherwise determined by the State President, be used on all public documents on which it was required to be used immediately before the commencement of this Act.
23. (1) The will and pleasure of the State President as head of the executive authority of the Republic shall be expressed in writing under his signature.
(2) Any instrument signed by the State President acting on the advice of a Ministers’ Council or in consultation with the Ministers who are members of the Cabinet, shall be countersigned by a Minister who is a member of the Ministers’ Council in question or, as the case may be, a member of the Cabinet.
(3) The signature of the State President on any instrument shall be confirmed as provided in section 22.
24. (1) The State President may appoint as many persons as he may from time to time deem necessary to administer such departments of State of the Republic as the State President may establish, or to perform such other functions as the State President may determine.
(2) Persons appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office during the State President’s pleasure and shall be the Ministers of the Republic.
​(3) (a) No Minister shall hold office for a longer period than 12 months unless he is or becomes a member of a House.
(b) A Minister of any department of State for own affairs of a population group shall―
(i)
(ii)
(4) A Minister shall before assuming his duties make and subscribe an oath before the Chief Justice or any other judge of the Supreme Court in the following form:
I, A.B., do hereby swear to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and undertake before God to honour this oath; to hold my office as Minister with honour and dignity; to respect and uphold the Constitution and all other Law of the Republic; to be a true and faithful counsellor; not to divulge directly or indirectly any matters which are entrusted to me under secrecy; and to perform the duties of my office conscientiously and to the best of my ability.
So help me God.
25. Whenever a Minister is for any reason unable to perform any of the functions of his office, or whenever any Minister has vacated his office and a successor has not yet been appointed, the State President may appoint any other Minister to act in the said Minister’s stead or office, either generally or in the performance of any specific function.
26. The State President may assign the administration of any provision in any law which entrusts to a Minister any power, duty or function, to any other Minister―
(a)
(b)
27. (1) (a) The State President may, subject to subsection (2), appoint any person to hold office during the State President’s pleasure as Deputy Minister of any specified department of State or Deputy Minister of such other description as the State President may determine, and to exercise or perform on behalf of a Minister any of the powers, functions and duties entrusted to such Minister in terms of any law or otherwise which may, subject to the directions of the State President, be assigned to him from time to time by such Minister.
(b) Any reference in any law to a deputy to a Minister shall be construed as including a reference to a Deputy Minister appointed under this subsection, and any such reference to a Minister shall be construed as including a reference to a Deputy Minister acting in pursuance of an assignment under paragraph (a) by the Minister for whom he acts.
(2) (a) No Deputy Minister shall hold office for a longer period than 12 months unless he is or becomes a member of a House.
(b) The provisions of section 24 (3) (b) shall apply mutatis mutandis to a Deputy Minister appointed to exercise or perform any powers, functions and duties on behalf of a Minister of a department of State for own affairs of a population group.
(3) A Deputy Minister shall before assuming his duties make and subscribe an oath, in the form prescribed in ​section 24 (4) but with reference to his office as Deputy Minister, before the Chief Justice or any other judge of the Supreme Court.
(4) Whenever any Deputy Minister is for any reason unable to perform any of the functions of his office, the State President may appoint any other Deputy Minister or any other person to act in the said Deputy Minister’s stead, either generally or in the performance of any specific function.
28. The appointment and removal of persons in the service of the Republic shall be vested in the State President, unless the appointment or removal is delegated by the State President to any other authority or is in terms of this Act or any other law vested in any other authority.
29. Save as is otherwise provided in section 36, Pretoria shall be the seat of the Government of the Republic.
Part VI
The Legislature
The Legislature and its Powers
30. The legislative power of the Republic is vested in the State President and the Parliament of the Republic, which, as the sovereign legislative authority in and over the Republic, shall have full power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Republic: Provided that the powers of Parliament in respect of any bill contemplated in section 31 shall be exercised as provided by that section.
31. (1) A bill which, when introduced in a House, is endorsed with or accompanied by the certificate of the State President that the bill deals with matters which are own affairs of the population group in question, shall be disposed of by that House, and shall not be required to be, or be, introduced in or dealt with by any other House.
(2) If an amendment of any such bill is proposed in the House in question or adopted by it, and the certificate of the State President that such amendment deals with matters which are not own affairs of the population group in question, is at any time, whether before the bill is passed by the House or after it has been passed by it but before the State President has assented to it, laid upon the Table of the House, the bill shall not or, as the case may be, not again be presented to the State President for his assent unless―
(a)
(b)
(3) A bill passed by a House under subsection (1) or passed by a House and thereafter amended in accordance with subsection (2) (b), shall, when it is presented to the State President for his assent, be endorsed with the certificate of the Chairman of the House that it has been passed and is presented for assent in accordance with this section or, as the circumstances may require, that it has been passed and amended and is presented for assent in accordance with this section.
32. (1) If during the same session of Parliament―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
the State President may during that session refer the bill or the different versions thereof which have been passed, as the case may be, to the President’s Council for its decision: Provided that the State President may withdraw the reference at any time before the President’s Council gives its decision.
(2) (a) If―
(i)
(ii)
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 of a bill shall be deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to have rejected the bill.
(3) When a recommendation of the President’s Council has been laid upon the Table of a House as provided in section 78 (8), the House may deal with the recommendation.
(4) A bill which was referred to the President’s Council under subsection (1) and which, in terms of a decision of that Council given during the session of Parliament in which the bill was so referred, is to be presented to the State President for his assent, shall be deemed to have been passed by Parliament.
(5) A bill which is deemed in terms of subsection (4) to have been passed by Parliament shall, when it is presented to the State President for his assent, be endorsed with the certificate of the Speaker of Parliament that the bill is by virtue of a decision of the President’s Council so deemed to have been passed by Parliament.
33. (1) When a bill which―
(a)
(b)
(c)
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.
34. (1) A bill referred to in section 33 (1) to which the State President has assented shall be an Act of Parliament.
​(2) (a) Any division of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall, subject to the provisions of section 18, be competent to inquire into and pronounce upon the question as to whether the provisions of this Act were complied with in connection with any law which is expressed to be enacted by the State President and Parliament or by the State President and any House.
(b) Rules and orders of a House and joint rules and orders of the Houses shall not be regarded as provisions of this Act for the purposes of paragraph (a).
(3) Save as provided in subsection (2), no court of law shall be competent to inquire into or pronounce upon the validity of an Act of Parliament.
35. As soon as may be after any law has been assented to by the State President, the Secretary to Parliament shall cause two fair copies of such law, one being in the English and the other in the Afrikaans language (one of which copies shall have been signed by the State President), to be enrolled of record in the office of the Registrar of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, and such copies shall be conclusive evidence as to the provisions of every such law, and in case of conflict between the two copies so enrolled that signed by the State President shall prevail.
36. Cape Town shall be the seat of the Legislature of the Republic.
Parliament
37. (1) Parliament shall consist of three Houses, namely, a House of Assembly, a House of Representatives and a House of Delegates.
(2) If and for as long as any House is unable, during a session of Parliament, to meet for the performance of its functions or to perform its functions―
(a)
(b)
Parliament shall consist of the Houses that are or, according to the circumstances, the House that is able to perform their or its functions, and the provisions of this Act and any other law shall be construed accordingly.
38. (1) The State President may appoint such times for the sessions of Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also from time to time, by proclamation in the Gazette or otherwise, prorogue Parliament.
(2) There shall be a session of Parliament at least once in every year, so that a period of 13 months shall not intervene between the commencement of one session and the commencement of the next session.
(3) The first session of Parliament after the general election of members of the Houses held in pursuance of a dissolution of Parliament, shall commence within 30 days after the polling day of the election.
39. (1) Every Parliament shall continue for five years from the day on which its first session commences.
(2) The State President―
(a)
(b)
(i)
(ii)
(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2)―
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(b)
(i)
(ii)
40. Notwithstanding the dissolution of any House in terms of this Act, whether by a dissolution of Parliament or otherwise and whether by effluxion of time or otherwise―
(a)
(b)
(c)
during the period following such dissolution up to and including the day immediately preceding the polling day for the election held in pursuance of such dissolution, in the same manner in all respects as if the dissolution had not occurred.
The Houses
41. (1) The House of Assembly shall consist of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) The number of members of the House of Assembly to be elected as provided in subsection (1) (a) in each province, shall be as follows:―
| Cape of Good Hope | 56 |
| Natal | 20 |
| Orange Free State | 14 |
| Transvaal | 76 |
42. (1) The House of Representatives shall consist of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) The number of members of the House of Representatives to be elected as provided in subsection (1) (a) in each province, shall be as follows:―
| Cape of Good Hope | 60 |
| Natal | 5 |
| Orange Free State | 5 |
| Transvaal | 10 |
43. (1) The House of Delegates shall consist of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) The number of members of the House of Delegates to be elected as provided in subsection (1) (a) in a province, shall be as follows:―
| Cape of Good Hope | 3 |
| Natal | 29 |
| Transvaal | 8 |
44. Any reference in this Part to a directly elected member, a nominated member and an indirectly elected member of a House, shall be construed as a reference to a member of such House who, as the case may be and as the context may require, has been elected or nominated or is to be elected or nominated as provided in section 41 (1) (a), (b) and (c), respectively, or section 42 (1) (a), (b) and (c), respectively, or section 43 (1) (a), (b) and (c), respectively.
45. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this Act, the number of members of any House to be elected in the various provinces as provided in section 41 (2), 42 (2) or 43 (2), as the case may be, shall not be altered until―
(a)
(b)
46. (1) The State President may make regulations in regard to the election of indirectly elected members of a House, including regulations prescribing the manner of voting and of the transfer and counting of votes and the duties of returning officers in connection with such election.
(2) A casual vacancy in the seat of a nominated or an indirectly elected member of a House shall be filled by the nomination or election of a member for the unexpired portion of the term of office of the member in whose stead he is nominated or elected, and in the same manner in which the last-mentioned member was nominated or elected.
​(3) A nominated or indirectly elected member of a House who―
(a)
(b)
shall, during the period which in terms of subsection (4) of this section is applicable in his case, be deemed to have been nominated or elected on that polling day as a nominated member or, as the case may be, as an indirectly elected member of that House, and, in the case of a nominated member of the House of Assembly, from the province from which he was in fact nominated.
(4) Any person who is a member of a House in terms of the provisions of subsection (3) shall cease to be a member of such House in terms of those provisions―
(a)
(b)
47. (1) At any general election of members of the Houses held in pursuance of a dissolution of Parliament, all polls shall be taken on one and the same day in all the electoral divisions of all three Houses throughout the Republic, such day to be appointed by the State President.
(2) At any general election of members of a House held in pursuance of its dissolution otherwise than at a dissolution of Parliament, all polls shall be taken on one and the same day in all the electoral divisions of that House throughout the Republic, such day to be appointed by the State President.
(3) The day appointed by the State President in terms of sub-section (1) or (2), shall be a day not more than 180 days after the dissolution of Parliament or the House in question, as the case may be.
48. (1) At intervals of not less than five years and not more than 10 years, commencing, in the case of the House of Assembly, from the last delimitation of its electoral divisions in terms of the previous Constitution, and, in the case of the House of Representatives or the House of Delegates, from the first delimitation of electoral divisions of the House in question in terms of this Act, the State President shall appoint a delimitation commission consisting of three judges of the Supreme Court of South Africa, which shall, subject to the provisions of section 41 (2), 42 (2) or 43 (2), as the case may be, divide the Republic, for the purpose of the election of directly elected members of the ​House in question, into the same number of electoral divisions as the number of such members of that House, in such a manner that no electoral division is situated partly in one province and partly in another province.
(2) No judge shall be appointed under subsection (1) as a member of a delimitation commission unless he has served as a judge, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity, for a total period of not less than five years.
(3) In dividing the Republic into electoral divisions in terms of subsection (1) the delimitation commission shall act in accordance with the provisions of section 49.
49. (1) For the purposes of the division of a province into electoral divisions of a House, the quota of the province for the House shall be obtained, subject to the provisions of subsection (4), by dividing the number of voters of the House in the province in terms of the current voters’ lists, duly corrected up to the latest possible date, by the number of members of the House to be elected in the province in terms of section 41 (2), 42 (2) or 43 (2), as the case may be.
(2) A province shall be divided into electoral divisions of a House in such a manner that each such electoral division shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4), contain a number of voters as nearly as may be equal to the quota of the province for the House.
(3) The delimitation commission shall give due consideration to―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
in such manner that, while taking the quota of voters as the basis of division, the commission may depart from the quota whenever it is deemed necessary, but in no case to a greater extent than 15 per cent more or 15 per cent less than the quota: Provided that in the case of an electoral division with an area of 25 000 square kilometres or more, the commission may reduce the number of voters to a number equal to 70 per cent of the quota.
(4) (a) The port and settlement mentioned in the Walfish Bay and St John’s River Territories Annexation Act, 1884, of the Cape of Good Hope, and the territory surrounding it and bounded as described in that Act, shall be one of the electoral divisions into which the province of the Cape of Good Hope shall be divided for the election of members of the House of Assembly, and, as such electoral division, it shall be called Walvis Bay until different provision is made under section 50.
(b) The boundaries of such electoral division, as described in paragraph (a), shall not be altered by any delimitation commission, but in so far as may be necessary for the purposes of any provision of this Act or any other law those boundaries shall be deemed to have been settled by such commission.
(c) The provisions of this section in regard to the quota of a province and the number of voters of an electoral division shall not apply in connection with the electoral division referred to in paragraph (a), and in their application at any delimitation of the other electoral divisions in the province of the Cape of Good Hope for the election of members of the House of Assembly—
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
50. (1) A delimitation commission, having delimited the electoral divisions of a House, shall submit to the State President―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) The State President may refer to the commission for its consideration all matters relating to such list or arising out of the powers or duties of the commission.
(3) The State President shall by proclamation in the Gazette make known the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions as finally settled and certified by the commission, or a majority thereof, and thereafter, until there shall be a redivision, the electoral divisions so named and defined shall be the electoral divisions of the House in question in the Republic and the provinces.
(4) If any discrepancy arises between the description of the divisions and the aforesaid map or maps, the description or, if the description has been amended in terms of subsection (5), the description as so amended shall prevail.
(5) (a) If the commission is satisfied that any such discrepancy as aforesaid is due to an error in the description of the boundaries of any electoral division, it shall in writing inform the State President accordingly, and submit an amendment of the relevant description, correcting the error and certified by the commission, to the State President, unless the period allowed in terms of paragraph (c) for such an amendment has expired.
(b) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (c), the State President shall by proclamation in the Gazette make known any amendment submitted to him in terms of paragraph (a), and thereafter, until there shall be a redivision, the boundaries as so amended shall be the boundaries of the electoral division in question, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3).
(c) No description of the boundaries of any electoral division shall be amended under this subsection after the date on which the proclamation in respect of the first general election for members of the House in question held after the completion of the relevant redivision is published in the Gazette in terms of section 34 of the Electoral Act, 1979.
(6) (a) The State President may by proclamation in the Gazette alter the name of any electoral division as made known under subsection (3).
(b) The name given to any electoral division under paragraph (a) shall, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), be the name of that electoral division until there shall be a redivision.
51. Any alteration in the number of members of a House to be elected in the several provinces, and any redivision of the provinces into electoral divisions of a House, shall come into operation at the next general election of directly elected members of the House in question held after the completion of the redivision or of any allocation consequent upon such alteration, and not earlier.
52. Every White person, Coloured person and Indian who―
(a)
(b)
(c)
shall, on compliance with and subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 1979, be entitled to vote at any election of a member of the House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the House of Delegates, respectively, in the electoral division of the House in question determined in accordance with the last-mentioned Act.
53. No person shall be qualified to be a member of a House under this Act unless he―
(a)
(b)
54. No person shall be capable of being elected or nominated or of sitting as a member of a House if he―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
55. (1) A member of a House shall vacate his seat if he―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2) A member of a House who―
(a)
(b)
56. Any person who is by law incapable of sitting as a member of a House and who, while so incapable and knowing or having reasonable grounds for knowing that he is so incapable, sits or votes as a member of the House in question, shall be liable to a penalty of R200 for each day on which he so sits or votes, which may be recovered on behalf of the Treasury of the Republic by action in any division of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
57. Every member of a House shall, before taking his seat, make and subscribe before the Chief Justice, any other judge of the Supreme Court, the Speaker of Parliament or the Chairman of the House in question an oath in the following form:
I, A.B., do swear to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and solemnly promise to perform my duties as a member of the House of Assembly/House of Representatives/House of Delegates to the best of my ability.
So help me God.
58. (1) An electoral college referred to in subsection (1) of section 7 shall, after having elected a State President at a meeting called in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) (a) or (b) of that section or those provisions as applied by subsection (7) of section 8, proceed to elect a Speaker of Parliament, who shall be a member of a House.
(2) The provisions of sections 7 and 8 shall apply mutatis mutandis and subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section in respect of the election of a Speaker.
(3) (a) The Speaker shall hold office until his successor is elected in terms of subsection (1), but shall be eligible for re-election.
(b) The Speaker shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the House of which he was a member at the time of his election as Speaker, and may resign his office or his seat by lodging his resignation in writing with the Chief Justice.
(c) The provisions of subsection (3) of section 9 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Speaker, but for the purpose of such application the words “every Chairman of a House” shall be deemed to have been substituted for the words “the Speaker of Parliament” in paragraph (d) of that subsection.
(4) (a) When the Speaker is for any reason unable to perform the functions of his office, he shall designate a member of a House to perform those functions as Acting Speaker during his absence or inability.
​(b) If the Speaker is unable to designate an Acting Speaker under paragraph (a) or when the office of Speaker is vacant and there is no Acting Speaker so designated, the State President shall designate a member of a House to perform the functions of the Speaker during his absence or inability or, notwithstanding the provisions of section 7 (3) (c) as applied by subsection (2) of this section but subject to the provisions of paragraph (c) of this subsection, until a Speaker is elected.
(c) If the office of Speaker is vacant, the functions of that office may not during a session of Parliament be performed by an Acting Speaker for longer than a month unless it is the last session before a dissolution of Parliament, or a session contemplated in section 40.
59. (1) The Speaker of Parliament shall be the Speaker of each of the respective Houses and shall preside at a meeting of a House whenever he deems it necessary or desirable.
(2) The Speaker shall, when presiding at a meeting of a House, be vested with all the powers, duties and functions of the Chairman of the House in question, in so far as they are consistent with any functions assigned to the Speaker by rules and orders approved by all three Houses: Provided that the Speaker may only vote in the House of which he is a member.
60. (1) Every House shall at its first meeting, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, elect a member to be the Chairman of the House, and, as often as the office becomes vacant, the House shall again elect a member to be the Chairman.
(2) The Chairman of a House shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the House in question and may be removed from office by resolution of that House, and may resign his office or his seat by lodging his resignation in writing with the Speaker of Parliament.
(3) Before or during the absence of its Chairman, a House may elect a member to perform his functions during his absence.
61. To constitute a meeting of a House for the exercise of its powers, the presence shall be necessary of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
62. All questions in a House shall be determined by a majority of votes of members present other than the Chairman or the presiding member, who shall, however, have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
63. A House may make rules and orders in connection with the order and conduct of its business and proceedings.
64. (1) In this section―
(a)
(b)
(i)
(ii)
(c)
(2) Joint rules and orders may provide for any or all of the following matters, namely―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
but the preceding provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as defining or limiting in any manner the matters or any matter that may be dealt with or provided for in joint rules and orders or as requiring any matter to be dealt with or provided for in such rules and orders.
(3) Joint rules and orders shall provide for at least one standing committee on bills dealing with general affairs.
65. (1) A Minister who is a member of the Cabinet, and any deputy to such a Minister, has the right to sit and to speak in any House, but may only vote if he is a member of a House and only in the House of which he is a member.
(2) A member of a Ministers’ Council who is not a member of any House or of the Cabinet has the right to sit and to speak in the House of which the members are of the same population group as the members of the Ministers’ Council in question, but may not vote therein.
66. The State President may by proclamation in the Gazette summon any House for the dispatch of business in connection with own affairs when Parliament is not in session, and may prorogue the House in like manner before the commencement of the next ensuing session of Parliament.
67. (1) A joint sitting of the Houses shall be called by the State President by message to the Houses.
(2) The State President may call such a joint sitting whenever he deems it desirable, and shall call such a joint sitting if requested to do so by all three Houses.
(3) The Speaker of Parliament shall preside at such a joint sitting.
(4) The Speaker shall determine the rules and orders for the order and conduct of the proceedings of such a joint sitting.
(5) No resolution shall be adopted at any such joint sitting.
Part VII
Administration of Justice
68. (1) The judicial authority of the Republic is vested in a Supreme Court to be known as the Supreme Court of South Africa and consisting of an Appellate Division and such provincial and local divisions as may be prescribed by law.
(2) The Supreme Court of South Africa shall, subject to the provisions of sections 18 and 34, have jurisdiction as provided in the Supreme Court Act, 1959.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in the Supreme Court Act, 1959, Bloemfontein shall be the seat of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
69. All administrative powers, duties and functions affecting the administration of justice shall be under the control of the Minister of Justice.
Part VIII
President’s Council
70. (1) There shall be a President’s Council consisting of―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
or, in the case of members contemplated in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), such smaller number of members, if any, as may have been so designated by the House in question.
(2) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (f) of this sub-section, the members of the President’s Council appointed under subsection (1) (d) shall include 10 persons of whom―
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(b) Any nomination contemplated in paragraph (a) shall be made by election, according to the principle of proportional representation whereby each voter has one transferable vote, by the members of the House in question who are supporters of opposition parties in the House and who are present at a meeting of such members called in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (c): Provided that any nomination made in pursuance of an agreement among such members of the House who are present at the meeting shall be a valid nomination for all purposes.
(c) A meeting contemplated in paragraph (b) shall take place during a session of Parliament or of the House in question and under the chairmanship of the Speaker of Parliament or the Chairman of the House, at a time and place fixed by the Speaker and made known by him or that Chairman at a sitting of the House, and the date so fixed shall―
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(d) The regulations which apply in terms of this Act to an election of members of a House in terms of section 41 (1) (c), 42 (1) (c) or 43 (1) (c) at a meeting of members of the House who may vote at such an election, shall apply mutatis mutandis to an election contemplated in paragraph (b) of this subsection, except in so far as they are amended or replaced by regulations made by the State President for the purposes of an election so contemplated.
(e) The Speaker shall submit to the State President in writing―
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
and the State President shall appoint the nominated person as a member of the President’s Council.
(f) If the Speaker advises the State President―
(i)
(ii)
the State President may appoint any person deemed fit by him as a member of the President’s Council in the seat in question: Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall again apply to any subsequent appointment to the seat in question.
(3) A casual vacancy in the President’s Council shall he filled by the designation or appointment of a member in the same manner as that in which the member whose office is vacant was designated or appointed.
71. (1) No person shall be qualified to be designated or appointed as a member of the President’s Council―
(a)
(b)
(c)
Provided that the provisions of section 54 (e) shall not apply with reference to the qualification of a person to be designated or appointed as a member of the President’s Council or to be such a member.
(2) A member of the President’s Council shall hold office until the next ensuing dissolution of that Council in terms of section 77, but shall be eligible for redesignation or reappointment.
(3) A member of the President’s Council shall vacate his office―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(i)
(ii)
(e)
(f)
(4) A member of the President’s Council may resign as such member by lodging his resignation in writing with the State President, who shall, in the case of a member designated by a House, forthwith notify the Chairman of the House in question of the resignation.
(5) The designation or redesignation of a person as a member of the President’s Council by a House during the period in which a member’s designation may be withdrawn under subsection (3) (d) (i) of this section, shall take effect on the day on which the then existing President’s Council dissolves in terms of section 77, and shall be a designation as a member of the President’s Council constituted on or after that day.
72. (1) The President’s Council shall elect a Chairman from among its members at its first meeting after its constitution, at which a person designated by the State President shall preside until a Chairman is elected.
(2) The Chairman of the President’s Council shall hold office until the dissolution of that Council in terms of section 77 unless he―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(3) The President’s Council shall at its first meeting elect one of its members as Deputy Chairman, who shall act in the stead of the Chairman when the Chairman is unable to perform the functions of his office.
​(4) When neither the Chairman nor the Deputy Chairman is able to act, the President’s Council shall elect one of its members to act in the stead of the Chairman.
73. (1) The members of the President’s Council shall receive such remuneration and allowances as the State President may determine, as well as such other benefits as he may determine by proclamation in the Gazette.
(2) Such remuneration, allowances or benefits may differ according to the offices held by members in the Council, and according to whether the functions performed by members or attached to such offices are in the opinion of the State President of a full-time or part-time nature.
74. The presence of at least 30 members of the President’s Council shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the President’s Council for the exercise of its powers.
75. All questions at a meeting of the President’s Council shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present other than the presiding member, who shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
76. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the President’s Council may make rules and orders in connection with the order and conduct of its business and proceedings, the establishment, constitution and powers of committees of the Council and the order and conduct of their business and proceedings.
(2) Any Minister or Deputy Minister has the right to sit and to speak in the President’s Council, but shall not vote therein.
77. The President’s Council shall be dissolved by the first dissolution of Parliament following the constitution of that Council, but the dissolution of the President’s Council shall take effect on the day on which the State President elected after such dissolution of Parliament assumes office.
78. (1) The President’s Council shall at the request of the State President advise him on any matter referred to it by the State President for its advice, and may, in its discretion, advise him on any matter (excluding draft legislation) which, in its opinion, is of public interest.
(2) Whenever a matter is referred to the President’s Council for its advice or when that Council is of the opinion that a matter is of public interest, it may refer such matter to a committee contemplated in section 76 for advice, and if the Council is not in session, reference of such matter to such a committee for its advice may be effected in accordance with rules and orders made by the Council.
(3) The President’s Council may transmit any advice received by it in terms of subsection (2) to the State President as the advice of the Council, whether with or without its comments thereon.
(4) (a) When any bill or bills are referred for decision to the President’s Council under section 32, it may refer such bill or bills to a committee contemplated in section 76 for investigation and report, and if the Council is not in session, reference of such bill or bills to such a committee for investigation and report may be effected in accordance with rules and orders made by the Council, and the Council may take any such report and any recommendation contained therein into consideration when acting in terms of paragraph (b) of this subsection or in terms of subsection (5) of this section.
(b) The President’s Council may from time to time advise the State President that any bill or bills so referred to it, be amended or otherwise dealt with in the manner recommended by the President’s Council.
(5) Unless the State President withdraws the reference, the President’s Council shall decide―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(6) The President’s Council or a committee thereof may, for the purposes of the performance of its functions and in its discretion, consult with any person or State institution on any matter, and may for such purpose establish consultative committees consisting of members of the President’s Council or such committee, as the case may be, and members of any council established by the State President in terms of any other law.
(7) Advice received by the State President in terms of subsection (1) shall be laid upon the Table in every House that has an interest in it within 14 days after its receipt, if Parliament is then in session, or, if Parliament is not then in session, within 14 days after the commencement of its next ensuing session.
(8) Advice received by the State President in terms of subsection (4) (b) and accepted by him, and any decision of the President’s Council in terms of subsection (5), shall be laid upon the Table of every House within 14 days after its receipt by the State President.
Part IX
Finance
79. Nothing in this Act contained shall affect any assets or rights belonging to the State or any debts or liabilities of the State as existing immediately before the commencement of this Act, and all such assets, rights, debts and liabilities shall remain assets, rights, debts and liabilities of the Republic, subject, notwithstanding any other provisions contained in this Act, to the conditions imposed by any law under which such debts or liabilities were raised or incurred, and without prejudice to any rights of security or priority in respect of the payment of principal, interest, sinking fund and other charges conferred on the creditors concerned, and the Republic may, subject to such conditions and rights, convert, renew or consolidate such debts.
80. All revenues of the Republic, from whatever source arising, shall vest in the State President.
81. (1) There shall be a State Revenue Fund, into which shall be paid all revenues as defined in section 1 of the Exchequer and Audit Act, 1975.
(2) No moneys shall be withdrawn from the State Revenue Fund, except in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
82. (1) In respect of the State Revenue Fund there shall be―
(a)
(b)
(2) Where any law dealing with own affairs of a population group provides that revenue mentioned therein shall be paid into the State Revenue Fund or that expenditure so mentioned shall be defrayed from that fund, such revenue shall be paid into, and such expenditure shall be defrayed from, the appropriate account contemplated in subsection (1) (b).
83. The accounts of the State Revenue Fund shall be investigated, examined and audited in terms of the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Act, 1975.
84. In respect of every financial year there shall be paid from the State Revenue Fund into its relevant account―
(a)
(b)
(c)
85. Any bill which appropriates revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the State shall deal only with such appropriation.
86. A House shall not consider any proposal, whether by way of a vote or by way of a resolution, address or bill, for the appropriation of any part of the public revenue or of any tax or impost to any purpose and which has not been initiated by a Minister, unless such appropriation has been recommended by message from the State President during the session in which the proposal is made.
Part X
General
87. Subject to the provisions of this Act, all laws which were in force in any part of the Republic or in any territory in respect of which Parliament is competent to legislate, immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall continue in force until repealed or amended by the competent authority.
88. The constitutional and parliamentary conventions which existed immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue to exist, except in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
89. (1) English and Afrikaans shall be the official languages of the Republic, and shall be treated on a footing of equality, and possess and enjoy equal freedom, rights and privileges.
(2) All records, journals and proceedings of Parliament shall be kept in both the official languages and all bills, laws and notices of general public importance or interest issued by the Government of the Republic shall be in both the official languages.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) an Act of Parliament or a proclamation of the State President, issued under an Act of Parliament, whereby a Black area is declared to be a self-governing territory in the Republic, or a later Act of Parliament or a later proclamation of the State President (which in the absence of any other empowering provision may be issued under this subsection) may―
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(b)
90. All records, journals and proceedings of a provincial council shall be kept in both the official languages, and all draft ordinances, ordinances and notices of public importance or interest issued by a provincial administration, and all notices issued and all regulations or by-laws made and all town-planning schemes prepared by any institution or body contemplated in section 84 (1) (f) of the previous Constitution, shall be in both the official languages.
91. Whenever anything is published in a newspaper at the instance of the State or by or under the directions of any institution or body contemplated in section 84 (1) (f) of the previous Constitution, the publication shall take place simultaneously in both the official languages and, in the case of each language, in a newspaper circulating in the area of jurisdiction of the authority concerned which appears mainly in that language, and the publication in each language shall as far as practicable occupy the same amount of space: Provided that where in the area in question any newspaper appears substantially in both the official languages, publication in both languages may take place in that newspaper.
92. (1) Any person who―
(a)
(b)
(c)
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R10 000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years.
(2) If in any prosecution for an offence referred to in subsection (1) it is alleged that the flag in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed is or was the National Flag of the Republic as described in section 4, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the flag in question complies or, as the case may be, complied with the description of the National Flag in that section.
93. The control and administration of Black affairs shall vest in the State President, who shall exercise all those special powers in regard to Black administration which immediately before the commencement of this Act were vested in him, and any lands which immediately before such commencement vested in him for the occupation of Blacks in terms of any law shall continue to vest in him with all such powers as he may have in connection therewith, and no lands which were set aside for the occupation of Blacks and which could not at the establishment of the Union of South Africa have been alienated except by an Act of the Legislature of a Colony which became part of the Union of South Africa in terms of the South Africa Act, 1909, shall be alienated or in any way diverted from the purposes for which they were set aside, except under the authority of an Act of Parliament.
94. All rights and obligations under conventions, treaties or agreements which were binding on any of the Colonies incorporated in the Union of South Africa at its establishment, and were still binding on the Republic immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall be rights and obligations of the Republic, just as all other rights and obligations under conventions, treaties or agreements which immediately before the commencement of this Act were binding on the Republic.
95. All powers, authorities and functions which immediately before the commencement of the previous Constitution were in any of the provinces vested in the Governor-General or in the Governor-General-in-Council or in any authority of the province, shall as far as they continue in existence and are capable of being exercised after the commencement of this Act, be vested in the State President, or in the authority exercising similar powers under the Republic, as the case may be, except such powers, authorities and functions as are by this Act or any other law vested in some other authority.
96. Any person who is in terms of any provision of this Act required to make and subscribe an oath may in lieu of such oath make and subscribe a solemn affirmation in corresponding form.
97. Any reference in any law in force in any part of the Republic, or in any territory in respect of which Parliament is competent to legislate, immediately before the commencement of this Act―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
98. (1) Any Act of Parliament or other law which at the commencement of this Act is administered by a Minister of the Republic or in a department of State controlled by such a Minister and which relates to a matter referred to in section 14 shall, notwithstanding the fact that it relates to such matter, be regarded as a general law for the purposes of this Act until, and except in so far as, its administration is assigned under section 26 to a Minister of a department of State for own affairs of a population group.
(2) Any ordinance of a province or other law which entrusts any power, duty or function to the executive committee or other ​executive authority of such province established by the previous Constitution and which relates to a matter referred to in section 14 shall, notwithstanding the fact that it relates to such matter, be administered according to its provisions unless, and except in so far as, its administration is assigned to a Minister under subsection (3) (b).
(3) The State President may by proclamation in the Gazette―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(4) Section 26 shall apply mutatis mutandis to an assignment under subsection (3) (b) of this section, but in such application any reference in that section to a Minister to whom a provision in a law entrusts any power, duty or function shall be construed as a reference to the relevant executive committee or other executive authority referred to in subsection (2) of this section.
99. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), Parliament may by law repeal or amend 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 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), (2), (3) or (4), 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 70 (1), section 71 (1) or (3) (b) or (c), section 77, section 78 (5), this subsection, subsection (4) of this section or Schedule 1 shall be valid unless the bill embodying such repeal or amendment 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 any provision mentioned in subsection (2) or (3) of this section shall not be referred to the President’s Council for its 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.
100. (1) In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise―
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(ix)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(x)
(xi)
(xii)
(xiii)
(2) In this Act and in any other law, except where it is inconsistent with the context or clearly inappropriate, any reference to a resolution or the approval of, or any other act of or with reference to, Parliament (except any act constituting a law of Parliament), or to a member or a committee or the Tables of Parliament, or to any other matter in relation to Parliament (except ​any law of Parliament), shall be construed as a reference to a resolution or the approval or other act of, or with reference to, each of the different Houses, a member of a House, a joint committee contemplated in section 64, the Tables of the Houses or such other matter relating to the different Houses as the case may be.
101. (1) The laws mentioned in Part 1 of Schedule 2 are hereby repealed or amended as set out in that Part, and the laws mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 2 are hereby repealed to the extent set out in the third column of the last-mentioned Part.
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 15 and 15A of the previous Constitution, any pension which but for such repeal would have been payable shall continue to be payable as if such repeal had not been effected.
(3) Notwithstanding the repeal of section 116 of the previous Constitution, any of its provisions which but for such repeal would have been applicable to any matter or person, shall continue to be applicable to such matter or person as if the repeal had not been effected.
(4) Any authority constituted or person appointed or power conferred or anything done in pursuance of powers conferred by or by virtue of any provision of a law repealed or amended by subsection (1), shall be deemed to have been constituted, appointed, conferred or done in pursuance of powers conferred by or by virtue of the corresponding provision of this Act or the relevant provision of such law as so amended, as the case may be.
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 except in so far as the State President assigns the administration of such law to a Minister mutatis mutandis under section 26.
(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 and published in the Gazette before such commencement by the Secretary to Parliament, 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 published 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.
(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”.
(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.
(11) At the commencement of this Act the President’s Council established in terms of the previous Constitution shall cease to exist and every person who immediately before such commencement is a member of that Council shall cease to be such a member.
(12) The first meeting of the first President’s Council established under this Act shall be convened by the State President in such manner and at such time and place as he thinks fit.
103. (1) This Act shall be called the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, and shall, save in so far as may be otherwise required in order that effect may be given to any provision thereof, come into operation on a date fixed by the State President by proclamation in the Gazette.
(2) Different dates may be so fixed in respect of different provisions of this Act or in respect of section 101 in so far as it relates to different laws mentioned in Schedule 2 or to different provisions of any law so mentioned.
(3) A reference in this Act to its commencement shall be construed as a reference to the applicable date so fixed.
(4) The State President referred to in subsection (1) may exercise any power vesting in the State President in terms of any provision of this Act, in so far as it is necessary in order to give effect to such provision or any other provision of this Act as contemplated in subsection (1) or, as the case may be, if the relevant provision has been put into operation as contemplated in subsection (2).
Schedule 1
Subjects referred to in section 14
1. Social welfare, but subject to any general law in relation to―
(a)
(b)
(c)
2. Education at all levels, including―
(1)
(2)
(3)
but subject to any general law in relation to―
(a)
(b)
(c)
3. Art, culture and recreation (with the exception of competitive sport) which affect mainly the population group in question.
4. Health matters, comprising the following, namely―
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
but subject to any general law in relation to such matters.
5. Community development, comprising the following, namely―
(1)
(2)
(3)
but subject to―
(a)
(b)
6. Local government within any area declared by or under any general law as a local government area for the population group in question, but subject to any general law in relation to matters to be administered on local government level on a joint basis, and excluding―
(a)
(b)
7. Agriculture, comprising the following, namely―
(1)
(2)
(3)
8. Water supply, comprising the following, namely―
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
9. Appointment of marriage officers under any general law.
10. Elections of members of the House of Parliament in question, excluding matters prescribed or to be prescribed by or under any general law.
11. Finance in relation to own affairs of the population group in question, including―
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
but excluding the levying of taxes and the raising of loans.
12. Staff administration in terms of the provisions of any general law in relation to staff in the employment of the State.
13. Auxiliary services necessary for the administration of own affairs of the population group in question, including the planning of and control over the work connected with the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions in a department of State for such affairs, and the services provided by or in such a department, and the acquisition, alienation, provision and maintenance of and the control over land, supplies, services, buildings, works and accommodation, transport and other facilities for the purposes of the performance or rendering of such work and services, but subject to any general law in relation to such matters.
14. The rendering of services, either with the approval of the State President acting as provided in section 19 (1) (b) or in terms of arrangements made between Ministers with such approval, to persons who are not members of the population group in question.
Schedule 2
Part I
A.
1. Repeal of the Preamble, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V.
2. Amendment of Part VI―
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
70. (1) The provisions of section 54, section 55 (1) and (2) (a) and section 56 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, shall apply mutatis mutandis to members of provincial councils as they are applicable to members of the House of Assembly.
(2) Any member of a provincial council who becomes a member of the House of Assembly shall cease to be a member of such provincial council.";
(f)
(g)
“except in so far as such powers are assigned to a Minister by the State President under the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983”; and
(h)
“Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Financial Relations Act, 1976 (Act No. 65 of 1976), and the assent of the State President as hereinafter provided, and except in so far as the provisions of Part IV of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, have under section 98 (3) (a) of the last-mentioned Act been declared to apply to any ordinance or other law of the province, a provincial council may make ordinances in relation to matters coming within the following classes of subjects, namely—”;
and the substitution in paragraphs (b) and (g) of that subsection for the words the “House of Assembly” of the word “Parliament”.
3. Repeal of Part VII, Part VIII and Part VIIIA,
4. Repeal of sections 107 and 108.
5. Repeal of section 109.
6. Amendment of section 110 by the deletion of the words “at the instance of the State or”, the words “of any body referred to in paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section eighty-four or”, the words “circulating in the area of jurisdiction of the authority concerned” and the words “in the area in question”.
7. Repeal of sections 111, 112 and 113.
8. Amendment of section 114 by the deletion in paragraph (h) of the words “or abridge the powers conferred on provincial councils under section eighty-four”.
9. Repeal of sections 115, 116, 117 and 118.
10. Amendment of section 119 by the deletion of the words “‘Afrikaans’ includes Dutch”.
11. Substitution for section 121 of the following section:
121. This Act shall be called the Provincial Government Act, 1961.”.
12. Substitution for the long title of the following long title:
“To provide for provincial councils and their powers and the administration of provincial matters, and for matters connected therewith.”.
B.
(a)
(b)
“(5A) The provisions of subsection (5) shall apply in so far as the State President does not determine otherwise in the assignment concerned and, if the administration of a provision of any law has been assigned to any other Minister as contemplated in that subsection, but in relation to a category of persons or some other matter specified in the assignment, the provisions of that subsection shall apply accordingly.”; and
(c)
“(5B) Whenever the administration of a law referred to in subsection (2) of section 98 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, has been assigned to a Minister of State under subsections (3) (b) and (4) of that section, the provisions of subsections (5) and (5A) of this section shall apply mutatis mutandis as if the relevant executive committee or other executive authority referred to in the said subsection (2), the department or division of the relevant provincial administration in which the law was administered, and an officer of that administration, were a Minister of State, the department of State controlled by him , and an officer in the public service, respectively.”.
C.
(a)
(b)
4A. The repeal of section 17 of the Coloured Persons Representative Council Act, 1964 (Act No. 49 of 1964), and section 5 of the South African Coloured Persons Council Act, 1980 (Act No. 24 of 1980), in terms of section 101 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, shall not affect the provisions of sections 1 (g) (ii), 2 (l) (ii) and 3 (h) of this Act as amended by the said section 101, or the validity of any proclamation or notice published in the Gazette under the said section 17 which was in force immediately before the date of such repeal.”.
Part 2
| Number and year of law | Title | Extent of repeal |
| Act No. 65 of 1962 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1962 | The whole. |
| Act No. 9 of 1963 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1963 | The whole. |
| Act No. 49 of 1964 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Act, 1964 | The whole. |
| Act No. 83 of 1965 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1965 | The whole. |
| Act No. 29 of 1966 | Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 1966 | The whole. |
| Act No. 37 of 1966 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1966 | The whole. |
| Act No. 9 of 1967 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1967 | The whole. |
| Act No. 31 of 1968 | South African Indian Council Act, 1968 | The whole. |
| Act No. 50 of 1968 | Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968 | The whole. |
| Act No. 52 of 1968 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1968 | The whole. |
| Act No. 101 of 1969 | General Law Amendment Act, 1969 | Sections 20, 23 and 24. |
| Act No. 87 of 1970 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1970 | The whole. |
| Act No. 91 of 1970 | Powers and Privileges of the Coloured Persons Representative Council Act, 1970 | The whole. |
| Act No. 1 of 1971 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1971 | The whole. |
| Act No. 67 of 1972 | South African Indian Council Amendment Act, 1972 | The whole. |
| Act No. 99 of 1972 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1972 | The whole. |
| Act No. 102 of 1972 | General Law Amendment Act, 1972 | Section 20. |
| Act No. 62 of 1973 | General Law Amendment Act, 1973 | Sections 22 and 30. |
| Act No. 79 of 1973 | Constitution and Elections Amendment Act, 1973 | The whole. |
| Act No. 33 of 1974 | Parliamentary Service Act, 1974 | Sections 8, 9 and 10. |
| Act No. 48 of 1974 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1974 | The whole. |
| Act No. 94 of 1974 | Second General Law Amendment Act, 1974 | Section 47. |
| Act No. 32 of 1975 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1975 | The whole. |
| Act No. 66 of 1975 | Exchequer and Audit Act, 1975 | So much of the Schedule as relates to the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, and the Coloured Persons Representative Council Act, 1964. |
| Act No. 60 of 1976 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1976 | The whole. |
| Act No. 65 of 1976 | Financial Relations Act, 1976 | So much of Schedule 3 as relates to the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961. |
| Act No. 94 of 1976 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1976 | The whole. |
| Act No. 123 of 1977 | South African Indian Council Amendment Act, 1977 | The whole. |
| Proclamation No. R. 249 of 1977 | Amendment of (1) the South-West Africa Affairs Amendment Act, 1949, (2) the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, and (3) the South-West Africa Constitution Act, 1968 | So much as relates to the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961. |
| Act No. 83 of 1978 | South African Indian Council Amendment Act, 1978 | The whole. ​ |
| Act No. 84 of 1978 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1978 | The whole. |
| Act No. 57 of 1979 | Coloured Persons Representative Council Amendment Act, 1979 | The whole. |
| Act No. 99 of 1979 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1979 | The whole. |
| Act No. 100 of 1979 | Pension Laws Amendment Act, 1979 | Section 1. |
| Act No. 13 of 1980 | Period of Office of Members of the South African Indian Council Extension Act, 1980 | The whole. |
| Act No. 24 of 1980 | South African Coloured Persons Council Act, 1980 | The whole. |
| Act No. 28 of 1980 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Third Amendment Act, 1980 | The whole. |
| Act No. 67 of 1980 | Railways and Harbours Acts Amendment Act, 1980 | Section 13. |
| Act No. 70 of 1980 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, 1980 | Sections 1 and 2. |
| Act No. 74 of 1980 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Fourth Amendment Act, 1980 | The whole. |
| Act No. 101 of 1980 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Fifth Amendment Act, 1980 | The whole, except sections 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33. |
| Act No. 40 of 1981 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, 1981 | The whole. |
| Act No. 70 of 1981 | South African Indian Council Amendment Act, 1981 | The whole. |
| Act No. 101 of 1981 | Republic of South Africa Constitution Second Amendment Act, 1981 | The whole, except sections 7, 8 and 9. |
| Act No. 99 of 1982 | Constitution Amendment Act, 1982 | The whole, except section 4. |
| Act No. 104 of 1982 | Elections Amendment Act, 1982 | Sections 1 and 2. |
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