Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012
Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to further define the role of the Chief Justice as the head of the judiciary; to provide for a single High Court of South Africa; to provide that the Constitutional Court is the highest court in all matters; to further regulate the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal; to provide for the appointment of an Acting Deputy Chief Justice; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
Passed by	National Assembly
Passed	20 November 2012
Assented to	1 February 2013
Commenced	23 August 2013
Legislative history
Bill title	Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill
Bill citation	B6—2011
Introduced by	Jeff Radebe,Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Introduced	2 June 2011
Amends
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Related legislation
Superior Courts Act, 2013
Status: In force

TheSeventeenth Amendment of theConstitution of South Africa (formally theConstitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012) made a number of changes to the structure of the South Africanjudiciary. The bill for the amendment was passed by theNational Assembly on 20 November 2012 with the required two-thirds majority;^[1] because it is a constitutional amendment not affecting the provinces it was not required to be voted on by theNational Council of Provinces. The act was signed byPresidentJacob Zuma on 1 February 2013, and a presidentialproclamation brought it into force on 23 August 2013.^[2] The amendment came into force simultaneously with theSuperior Courts Act, 2013, which implemented a major rationalisation and restructuring of the judicial system.

The amendment declares that theChief Justice is the head of the judiciary and is responsible for administrative oversight of thecourts. It allows the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge asactingDeputy Chief Justice (DCJ) if the position is vacant or the DCJ is absent. It expands the jurisdiction of theConstitutional Court so that, as well as constitutional matters, the court will also have jurisdiction over other matters of general public importance that it chooses to hear. It also removes the jurisdiction of theSupreme Court of Appeal over appeals from theLabour Appeal Court and theCompetition Appeal Court. It alters references to the High Courts so that they are regarded as divisions of a singleHigh Court of South Africa rather than separate courts.

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Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012

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