Question

What was the new constitution of south africa about and why it is said that it was not so easy to frame the constitution

Answer 1

The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rightsand duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994. It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18th December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993.[1]

Since 1996, the Constitution has been amended by seventeen amendment acts. The Constitution is formally entitled the "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996." It was previously also numbered as if it were an Act of Parliament—Act No. 108 of 1996—but, since the passage of the Citation of Constitutional Laws Act,[2] neither it nor the acts amending it are allocated act numbers.


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Answer 2

South Africa’s Constitution is the result of remarkably detailed and inclusive negotiations that were carried out with an acute awareness of the injustices of the country’s non-democratic past. It is the highest law of the land and no other law or government action can supersede it.

An interim constitution was first drafted as the country made its transition from apartheid to democracy. Then, in after the April 1994 elections, a new constitution was written in consultation with the public as well as elected public representatives.This was approved by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, signed into law by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December, and took effect on 4 February 1997. It is widely regarded as the most progressive constitution in the world, with a Bill of Rights second to none.

Among the rights stipulated are those of equality, freedom of expression and association, political and property rights, housing, health care, education, access to information, and access to courts.

And all are taken extremely seriously by the citizens of the country.

There must be few places in the world where constitutional rights feature as much in public and private discourse, and there has been no hesitation in testing the provisions and implications of the Bill of Rights in the Constitutional Court.

Some of the more unusually progressive rights have come under particular spotlight, such as the unqualified “Everyone has the right to life”, and the inclusion of sexual orientation as one of the grounds upon which discrimination is forbidden.

Any limitation of rights must be “reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society” and must take several factors into consideration. And although Chapter 2 also acknowledges the possible need to derogate certain rights under states of emergency, it lists a number of non-derogable rights.

The remaining three Founding Provisions of the Constitution reaffirm South Africa’s determination to build on a bedrock of equality, law and democracy. They are:

1.Non-racialism and non-sexism.

2.Supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

3.The provision that lays down South Africa’s democratic philosophy by stipulating “universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness”.