Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005

The Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005 (Act No. 5 of 2005) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which altered the way in which the Constitution and its amendments are numbered and referred to.

Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005
Parliament of South Africa
  • Act to change the manner of referring to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and to laws amending it; to substitute the short titles of laws amending the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
CitationAct No. 5 of 2005
Enacted byParliament of South Africa
Assented to23 June 2005
Commenced27 June 2005
Legislative history
Bill titleCitation of Constitutional Laws Bill
Bill citationB5—2005
Introduced byBrigitte Mabandla, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Introduced10 February 2005
Status: In force

An ordinary act of Parliament is referred to by the year in which it is passed and an identifying number within that year; the identifying number is allocated by the Presidency when the act is signed by the President.[1] The Constitution was originally numbered as "Act No. 108 of 1996". Various jurists, including Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, expressed the opinion that the Constitution should not be treated as an ordinary act of Parliament, because it was enacted by the Constitutional Assembly rather than by Parliament and because it was supreme over all other law.[1][2] The Citation of Constitutional Laws Act put this suggestion into effect, removing the Constitution's act number and determining that it was to be referred to only by its title, "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996".

The act also dealt similarly with the eleven (at the time) acts amending the constitution. They had originally been given titles of the form "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa [Second] Amendment Act, [year]" and act numbers in the ordinary sequence. The Citation Act removed their act numbers, and retitled them in a single chronological sequence. The following table makes it clear:

Old act no.Old titleNew title
35 of 1997Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1997Constitution First Amendment Act of 1997
65 of 1998Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1998Constitution Second Amendment Act of 1998
87 of 1998Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1998Constitution Third Amendment Act of 1998
3 of 1999Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 1999Constitution Fourth Amendment Act of 1999
2 of 1999Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1999Constitution Fifth Amendment Act of 1999
34 of 2001Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 2001Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001
61 of 2001Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 2001Constitution Seventh Amendment Act of 2001
18 of 2002Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 2002Constitution Eighth Amendment Act of 2002
21 of 2002Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 2002Constitution Ninth Amendment Act of 2002
2 of 2003Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Act, 2003Constitution Tenth Amendment Act of 2003
3 of 2003Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 2003Constitution Eleventh Amendment Act of 2003

It also decreed that subsequent constitutional amendment acts should be named similarly.

References
  1. van Heerden, Mike (2007). "The 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa: Ultimately supreme without a number" (PDF). Politeia. University of South Africa. 26 (1): 33–44. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  2. "Memorandum on the objects of the Citation of Constitutional Laws Bill, 2005". Government of South Africa. 10 February 2005. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
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