South AfricaZA

Article 172 of the Constitution of South Africa

Article
172
Chapter
CHAPTER 6 — PROVINCES
Index row title
(1) When deciding a constitutional matter within its power, a court—
Source document
The South Africa Constitution
Provision ID
2de55000-199d-46d0-bbbe-5f1284f6ca57

249 words

Verbatim text

(a) must declare that any law or conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid to the extent of its inconsistency; and (b) may make any order that is just and equitable, including— (i) an order limiting the retrospective effect of the declaration of invalidity; and (ii) an order suspending the declaration of invalidity for any period and on any conditions, to allow the competent authority to correct the defect. (2) (a) The Supreme Court of Appeal, the High Court of South Africa or a court of similar status may make an order concerning the constitutional validity of an Act of Parliament, a provincial Act or any conduct of the President, but an Chapter 8: Courts and Administration of Justice 86order of constitutional invalidity has no force unless it is confirmed by the Constitutional Court. [Par (a) substituted by s. 7 of the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012.] (b) A court which makes an order of constitutional invalidity may grant a temporary interdict or other temporary relief to a party, or may adjourn the proceedings, pending a decision of the Constitutional Court on the validity of that Act or conduct. (c) National legislation must provide for the referral of an order of constitutional invalidity to the Constitutional Court. (d) Any person or organ of state with a sufficient interest may appeal, or apply, directly to the Constitutional Court to confirm or vary an order of constitutional invalidity by a court in terms of this subsection. Inherent power

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 172 of the Constitution of South Africa.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 6 — PROVINCES”.
  • The passage runs to about 249 words.

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) When deciding a constitutional matter within its power, a court—”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.

The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.

No rights vocabulary from our fixed word list appears in this passage, so no plain-language reading is offered for it.

This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

How to cite this

Constitution of South Africa, article 172, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/2de55000-199d-46d0-bbbe-5f1284f6ca57 (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/2de55000-199d-46d0-bbbe-5f1284f6ca57

Accessed 25 October 2026.

Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.

Machine-readable versions