South AfricaZA

Article 209 of the Constitution of South Africa

Article
209
Chapter
CHAPTER 11 — SECURITY SERVICES
Index row title
(1) Any intelligence service, other than any intelligence division of the defence force
Source document
The South Africa Constitution
Provision ID
52b7d7a9-efcd-4990-8590-12a11038b2a8

82 words

Verbatim text

or police service, may be established only by the President, as head of the national executive, and only in terms of national legislation. (2) The President as head of the national executive must appoint a woman or a man as head of each intelligence service established in terms of subsection (1), and must either assume political responsibility for the control and direction of any of those services, or designate a member of the Cabinet to assume that responsibility. Powers, functions and monitoring

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 209 of the Constitution of South Africa.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 11 — SECURITY SERVICES”.
  • The passage runs to about 82 words.
  • Read plainly, it mentions police powers — it sets out what the police or other security services may do (the words used: “police”).

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) Any intelligence service, other than any intelligence division of the defence force”), 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.

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 209, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/52b7d7a9-efcd-4990-8590-12a11038b2a8 (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/52b7d7a9-efcd-4990-8590-12a11038b2a8

Accessed 25 October 2026.

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