South African Constitution of 1996

South Africa’s supreme law, adopted in 1996, establishes democratic institutions, distributes public power, and protects fundamental rights.

Constitutional supremacy: The principle that a constitution is the highest law and invalidates inconsistent laws or government conduct. It makes the Constitution binding on every branch and level of South African government.
Apartheid: South Africa’s system of legally enforced racial segregation and white minority rule, formally established in 1948. The Constitution repudiated apartheid’s racial hierarchy and its denial of equal citizenship.
South African electoral system: The rules and institutions through which South Africa elects representatives to public office. Constitutional provisions establish national and provincial elections and universal adult suffrage.
Apartheid constitution: The constitutional and statutory order that entrenched white minority rule in South Africa before democratic transition. The 1996 Constitution replaced a system that denied political equality on racial grounds.
Constitutional transformation in South Africa: The legal and institutional effort to remake South African society in accordance with constitutional values. The Constitution frames transformation as a continuing duty, not a completed political event.
Bill of Rights: A constitutional catalogue of rights and freedoms that government must respect and protect. Chapter 2 sets out the rights central to the Constitution’s post-apartheid settlement.
Negotiations to end apartheid: The political negotiations that dismantled apartheid and established the framework for democratic government in South Africa. Negotiators agreed on principles guiding the drafting of a new democratic constitution.
South African local government: The municipal sphere of government responsible for local services and governance in South Africa. The Constitution recognizes municipalities as a distinct sphere with elected councils and assigned powers.
Parliamentary sovereignty: The doctrine that Parliament may make or repeal any law without being legally subordinate to a written constitution. South Africa’s Constitution places legislation under judicially enforceable constitutional limits.
Equality before the law in South Africa: The constitutional guarantee that people receive equal protection and benefit of the law in South Africa. Section 9 supplies a legal basis for challenging discrimination and pursuing substantive equality.

Linked from 18 pages