Repeal of Provisions of Interim Constitution Still in Operation; Public Submissions Proposing Changes to Constitution; Nominatio

Meeting report

CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW JOINT COMMITTEE
12 August 2005
REPEAL OF PROVISIONS OF INTERIM CONSTITUTION STILL IN OPERATION; PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS PROPOSING CHANGES TO CONSTITUTION; NOMINATION OF A DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON

Chairperson: Dr E Schoeman (ANC)[NA}

Documents handed out:
Index of submissions received from the public
Provisions of the Interim Constitution that are still in operation

SUMMARY
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development briefed the Committee on its recommendations regarding the referral by the Joint Rules Committee on repealing and removing provisions of the Interim Constitution that are still in operation. The Committee also received opinions from Parliamentary Legal Services on the public submissions proposing changes to the Constitution. Mr S Shiceka was nominated as Deputy Chairperson by NCOP Members, but this could not become official due to a lack of quorum.

MINUTES
Nomination of a Deputy Chairperson
The Chairperson asked Mr M Mokoena (ANC) from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) contingent for a report-back on the appointment of a Deputy Committee Chairperson representing the NCOP. Mr Mokoena said that the NCOP had consulted widely with leadership and had decided to nominate Mr S Shiceka (ANC).

The Chairperson suggested that a quorum was necessary for an official decision on the appointment. However, he would in the meantime consult with Mr Shiceka as the Deputy Chair elect.

Repeal of Provisions of Interim Constitution still in Operation
Mr J Labuschagne (the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: Legislation Section) reported on progress that the Department had made in getting comments from all departments on the Parliamentary Legal Services document Provisions of the Interim Constitution that are still in operation. This task had been assigned to the Department by the Joint Rules Committee. Mr Labuschagne explained that all departments had commented on the provisions that affected them except the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG). A finalised report could only be written once all the departmental comments had been received.

Mr Shicela (ANC) commented that a higher-level intervention was needed to get the comments from DPLG. He undertook to communicate directly with the Department and to report back at the next meeting.

Public Submissions Proposing Changes to Constitution
The Chairperson expressed his disappointment at the non-attendance of Members at this meeting which had been attended by Dr Palmer (Parliamentary Legal Services) and his entire legal team. The submissions had been divided into 11 subjects and opinions had been given on each subject. The Chairperson requested that Members study the opinions and the Legal Team only be called in once Members had familiarised themselves with the contents of the submissions.

The Committee agreed to next meet at 9.30 am on 26 August 2005. The Deputy-Chairperson position would only be made official at the next meeting when at least 12 Members were present.

The meeting was adjourned.