The Constitution is Certified, Finally
4 December 1996
The amended text was returned to the Constitutional Court. On 18 November 1996, the Constitutional Court began its second hearing on the amended text. Again, the general public, political parties and the Constitutional Assembly (CA) were invited to make written representations to the Court about new issues or areas that they felt the Court had erred on in its previous judgment. After reviewing the submissions, the judges dismissed 16 objections from the Democratic Party (DP), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)and the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), as well as the complaints of 18 people and interest groups.
In their assessment of the nine provisions which had previously been an obstacle to certification, the judges gave particular consideration to the burning issue of the powers and functions of province. While there was consensus between the judges and objectors on most of the amendments, the Counsel for KZN contended that the amended text still failed to comply with Constitutional Principle XXIV, which provided for a ‘framework for local government powers, functions and structures’.
The Court dismissed the objection that the Constitution had not supplied enough detail about the structures of local government, holding that the language of the Constitutional Principles was not specific and that the level of detail being requested was a matter for legislation. The Court concluded that although the provinces’ powers were less than those specified in the Interim Constitution, the disparity was not significant and therefore not substantial.
In the final analysis the judges were unanimous that the defective provisions had been conscientiously dealt with in the amended text. On 4 December 1996, the Constitutional Court approved The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996:
We certify that all provisions of the amended constitutional text, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, passed by the Constitutional Assembly on 11 October 1996, comply with the Constitutional Principles contained in schedule 4 to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993.
From the Certification Judgment, 1996
The adoption of the Constitution to me represented the attainment of a life’s ambition. I had since my early days as a student of politics at Pretoria University been looking forward to the day where I could participate in a country where the rule of law was maintained, where there was separation of powers and where the judiciary fulfilled a proper role.
Justice Johann Kriegler
Shortly after certifying the Constitution, the Constitutional Court was firmly placed at the apex (although the constitutional amendment to this effect came much later). Justice Arthur Chaskalson’s title changed from President of the Constitutional Court to Chief Justice of South Africa.
