Constitutional amendment

A constitutional amendment is a change to a constitution. Often, amendments are woven directly into the existing text, altering it. Alternatively, they can be added at the end as separate supplements, changing how the government works without touching the original wording. Most constitutions require a stricter process for amendments than for regular laws.

This special process might involve a supermajority vote in the legislature, direct approval by voters in a referendum, or a combination of both. In some places, a referendum can be started by a popular initiative. For instance, in Australia and Ireland, all amendments must first pass the legislature before going to a public vote. In Ireland, a simple majority of voters is enough, while Australia requires a majority of voters nationwide and a majority in a majority of states. Switzerland has a similar procedure.

Some constitutions are so hard to change that very few amendments pass. Australia has passed only 8 out of 44 proposed amendments, and Japan has passed none over many decades. In contrast, the former constitution of the U.S. state of Alabama was amended 977 times between 1901 and 2022.

The way amendments are written and recorded varies. In places like Ireland, Estonia, and Australia, they start as bills and become acts of parliament, even though a special procedure (like a referendum) is needed to enact them. In the United States, a proposed amendment is a special joint resolution of Congress that the President cannot sign or veto.

How amendments are recorded takes two main forms. Most commonly, the original text is revised: articles are deleted or new ones inserted. Less commonly, amendments are appended at the end as separate articles, leaving the original text intact. In this case, the doctrine of implied repeal applies, meaning a later amendment overrides an earlier provision if they conflict. However, it can be unclear whether an amendment is meant to replace or add to an existing article. An amendment may explicitly state it repeals a specific article. This appended method is famous in the U.S. Constitution and also used in Venezuela.

Under Germany’s 1919 Weimar Constitution, any law passed with the required supermajorities could deviate from the constitution without becoming part of it. This broad idea of "amendment" helped Adolf Hitler rise to power, so the 1949 constitution explicitly forbids it, allowing amendments only by directly changing the text.

In Ethiopia, the constitution can be changed only by a two-thirds majority of the country's regions and a two-thirds majority of a joint session of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Chapter Three (on human and democratic rights) and Articles 104 and 105 are nearly unamendable, requiring total consensus from all regional states and two-thirds of each house of Parliament. Each region has an equal right to veto changes to those articles.

In South Africa, the constitution is amended by an Act of Parliament with special procedures. A bill must be introduced in the National Assembly and can only contain amendments and directly related matters. At least 30 days before introduction, the bill must be published for public comment, submitted to provincial legislatures, and, if not requiring passage by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), submitted to the NCOP for debate. When introduced, the comments must be tabled in the National Assembly and, where appropriate, the NCOP. All amendments require an absolute two-thirds supermajority in the National Assembly.