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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – STUDY GUIDE ANSWERS
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 8:
1. Section 43 – The highest legislative authority in the Republic on the national level vests in
Parliament.
Section 42(1) – Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of
Provinces.
2. Representative government: the persons who are members of parliament must be
representative of the people and must be elected by the electorate. Methods to ensure a
representative government are the protection of the right to vote, the right to regular
elections, the right to form political parties andthe right to engage in political activities.
Responsible government: this means that cabinet/executive authority can only remain in
power with the support of parliament (or at least that the cabinet is held accountable
toward the voters) and also that there are various methods of control over the government.
Examples of these methods of control are: motions of no-confidence, question time,
commissions of enquiry and institutions like the Public Protector.
3. Country A: one house of parliament
Country B: two (or more) houses of parliament
When a state’s population is very large and diverse, like that of country B, it may be
necessary to have more than one parliamentary house, since this would lead to better
representation for the population, more thorough consideration of matters before
parliament and alleviation of the parliament’s workload.
If a state’s population is small and homogenous, like that of country A, it may not be
necessary to have more than one parliamentary house.
4. The following limitations can be set on an individual’s parliamentary right to vote:
 Fraudulent registration application
 Mentally incompetent
 Not resident in the voting district
 Not registered as a voter
 No bar-coded ID
These limitations will have to comply with section 36, while the limitation on the voting age
of 18 years does not need to comply with this section.
Imprisonment is no longer a reasonable limitation on the right to vote – the section in the
Electoral Act that made provision for prisoners to be excluded, was declared invalid by the
court inMinister of Home Affairs v NICRO.

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5. The system of proportional representation according to the list system.
Disadvantages:
Leads to a proliferation of small parties and splinter groups that could lead to less
stable coalition governments. This disadvantage can be overcome by setting a
minimum threshold to qualify for seats in parliament, e.g. a minimum of 5% of the
total votes.
Leads to separation between the voters and their representatives. This disadvantage
can be overcome by using a combination of the constituency system and the system
of proportional representation system. This way proportionality is protected, but it
also creates a link between the specific constituencies and their representatives.
6. ANC – 50% = 200 seats
DA – 30% = 120 seats
IFP – 20% = 80 seats
7. Other functions of political parties:
 Mobilising voters
 Forming the opinions of the voters, influence public opinion and political tendencies
 Form a link between the people and the government
 Uphold the multi-party system of democratic government
8. The term of parliament will be shorter in the following circumstances:
 If the NA adopts a motion of no-confidence in the President – if no President is
elected within 30 days, parliament will be dissolved for an election.
 If a vacancy in the office of President exists for whatever reason and no President is
elected within 30 days.
 If the President dissolves parliament at the request of the majority and 3 years have
lapsed since the previous election.
9. Examples of privileges of parliament:
 Houses can regulate their own affairs/ procedures;
 Complete freedom of speech in parliament (subject to rules of debate);
 May summon any person to appear before it to give evidence or submit documents.
10. False,in SA the English enrolled bill rule is not followed. According to this rule the English
courts cannot assess the validity of the procedure that the parliament followed to adopt a
bill or investigate whether parliament complied with its own internal rules. In SA the
procedure followed by parliament may not deviate from the statutory procedure prescribed
in the constitution or other legislation and the courts may investigate whether these
procedures have been complied with.

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11. Examples of bills that can be considered by the SA parliament:
Bills affecting provinces (Section 76 bills)/concurrent matters
Bills not affecting provinces (Section 75 bills)
Constitutional amendments
Mixed section 75/section 76 bills
Money bills
12. a) Session: the period or periods of the year during which parliament is summoned for
the dispatch of business.
b) Bill: a detailed proposal by a competent institution or functionary for the enactment of a
law of which parliament has taken official notice.
c) Privileges: powers and privileges that parliament members enjoy in order to perform their
functions unhindered.
d) Committees: committees are a substructure of parliament consisting of a group of
members of parliament who are chosen to perform a particular task for parliament and, in
so doing, facilitate the effective performance of parliament’s functions.
13.a)Concurrent matters/section 76 bills: if the NCOP amends the bill and the NA rejects the
amendment the disagreement is referred to a mediation committee.If the committee does
not react within 30 days or if the NA rejects the amendments of the committee, the bill will
lapse, unless the NA adopts the bill again with a 2/3 majority.Thus the real resolution of a
disagreement between the houses is that the NA prevails with a 2/3 majority.
b) Ordinary/section 75 bills and money bills: if the NCOP amends or rejects the bill as
received from the NA, the NA will have to adopt the bill again with or without the
amendments (normal majority), or must allow the bill to lapse.
c) Constitutional amendments: there is no specific procedure for disagreements between
houses, mostly because both houseshave to agree on bills that amend the constitution –
otherwise the bill will lapse. Mediation committees could, however, be an option.
14. Reservations that the President may have about bills:
 Constitutionality
 Procedure for adoption
 Inconsistent with the Bill of Rights
 Inconsistent with the distribution of powers between the national and provincial
government.
If a bill is submitted to the President, and he has reservations about it, he may refer it back
to the NA (and the NCOP may also be involved if it is a bill affecting the provinces). If the
President still has reservations about the bill after it has been reconsidered by the NA, he
may refer it to the Constitutional Court for a decision. If the CC declares the bill
unconstitutional the bill will lapse, and if the bill is declared valid it will be referred to the
President for assent. This is an example of prior control by the courts.
15.Within 30 days after the President’s assent to a bill, the members of the FF-Plus who are
members of the NA (together with other members of the NA) may apply to the CC for an
order declaring the law unconstitutional.However, at least a 1/3 of the members must
support the application.If there is a reasonable prospect of success and it is in the interest of

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justice, the CC may order that the law has no force depending on the final verdict.This is
known as (ex post facto)abstract control.
16. The applicable majorities and arrangements are:
Sec 1 andsec 74(1) can only be amended by a ¾ majority (75%) in the NA and 6 of the
9 provinces in the NCOP
Chapter 2 (Bill of Rights) may be amended with a 2/3 majority in the NA and 6 of the
9 provinces in the NCOP
Amendments affecting the provinces or the NCOP, also requires a 2/3 majority in the
NA and 6 of the 9 provinces in the NCOP.
Amendments that affect specific provinces also need the agreement of the specific
provinces’ provincial legislators.
Any other provision in the Constitution – 2/3 majority in the NA.