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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | 'Perfecting Imperfections': Developing Procedures for Amending Constitutions in Commonwealth Africa |
Author: | Hatchard, John |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
Volume: | 36 |
Issue: | 3 |
Period: | September |
Pages: | 381-398 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | English-speaking Africa |
Subjects: | Commonwealth constitutional amendments Law, Human Rights and Violence Politics and Government |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/161789 |
Abstract: | This article critically analyses the various formal amendment procedures adopted in the new constitutions of Commonwealth African countries, and the extent to which they protect the document itself from being 'undermined'. It considers at the outset the need for a power to amend a constitution at all, then examines the amendment procedure contained in some constitutions. The Westminster model amendment procedure, which requires approval by a special parliamentary majority, still forms the basis for formal constitutional amendment in most Commonwealth countries. The Zimbabwean and South African experiences show that the current amendment provisions in the new constitutions of Commonwealth Africa are generally unsatisfactory, in that they do not adequately protect the document from retrogressive amendment. The article considers the possible replacement of the SPMP (Special Parliamentary Majority Procedure), paying attention to alternative approaches adopted in Namibia, Malawi and Uganda, and discusses whether parliament is the appropriate body for amending the constitution at all. It concludes that the critical issue is to provide a clear distinction between the procedure for amending the constitution, which requires a high level of public debate and participation, and that for the passing of 'ordinary' legislation. Notes, ref. |