Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023

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Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012

Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023
enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

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The Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 2023 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa amending the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. When it comes into force it will make South African Sign Language an official language of the country.

Note that [words in bold type in square brackets] indicate omissions from existing enactments, while words underlined with a solid line indicate insertions in existing enactments.

4259431Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act of 20232023enacted by the Parliament of South Africa

(English text signed by the President.)
(Assented to 19 July 2023.)

Act

To amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, so as to recognise South African Sign Language as one of the official languages of the Republic; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:—

Amendment of section 6 of Constitution

1. Section 6 of the Constitution is hereby amended—

(a)

by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

(1) “The official languages of the Republic are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, South African Sign Language, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.”; and

(b)

by the substitution for paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of the following paragraph:

“(a)

promote, and create conditions for, the development and use of—

(i)

all official languages; and

(ii)

the Khoi, Nama and San languages; and

[(iii)

sign language; and]”.

Short title and commencement

2. This Act is called the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act, 2023, and comes into operation on a date ﬁxed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.