President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as leader of the governing ANC, has announced that his party will spearhead an amendment to section 25 of the country’s constitution to "outline more clearly the conditions under which expropriation of land without compensation can be effected". He emphasised that the property clause in the constitution already enables expropriation of land without compensation in the public interest. The proposed amendment would be aimed at putting this beyond any doubt. But what is the process that would have to be followed for such an amendment to be passed? Like all modern constitutions, the South African constitution provides for its own amendment by parliament and prescribes special procedures to effect them. The constitution has already been amended 17 times since it came into force in 1996, following this prescribed procedure. The procedure for amending the constitution differs from the procedure to pass or amend ordinary legislation. It is more dif...
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