Verbatim text
appointed as a judicial officer. Any person to be appointed to the Constitutional
Court must also be a South African citizen.
(2) The need for the judiciary to reflect broadly the racial and gender composition of
South Africa must be considered when judicial officers are appointed.
(3) The President as head of the national executive, after consulting the Judicial Service
Commission and the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly,
appoints the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice and, after consulting the
Judicial Service Commission, appoints the President and Deputy President of the
Supreme Court of Appeal.
[Sub-s. (3) substituted by s. 13 of the Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001.] Chapter 8: Courts and Administration of Justice
(4) The other judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the President, as head
of the national executive, after consulting the Chief Justice and the leaders of parties
represented in the National Assembly, in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) The Judicial Service Commission must prepare a list of nominees with three
names more than the number of appointments to be made, and submit the list
to the President.
(b) The President may make appointments from the list, and must advise
the Judicial Service Commission, with reasons, if any of the nominees are
unacceptable and any appointment remains to be made.
(c) The Judicial Service Commission must supplement the list with further
nominees and the President must make the remaining appointments from the
supplemented list.
[Sub-s. (4) substituted by s. 13 of the Constitution Sixth Amendment Act of 2001.]
(5) At all times, at least four members of the Constitutional Court must be persons who
were judges at the time they were appointed to the Constitutional Court.
(6) The President must appoint the judges of all other courts on the advice of the
Judicial Service Commission.
(7) Other judicial officers must be appointed in terms of an Act of Parliament
which must ensure that the appointment, promotion, transfer or dismissal of,
or disciplinary steps against, these judicial officers take place without favour or
prejudice.
(8) Before judicial officers begin to perform their functions, they must take an oath
or affirm, in accordance with Schedule 2, that they will uphold and protect the
Constitution.
Appointment of acting judges
What this means
- The index files this text under article 174 of the Constitution of South Africa.
- The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER 6 — PROVINCES”.
- The passage runs to about 378 words.
- Read plainly, it mentions assembly and association — it protects gathering together or joining a group, union or party (the words used: “Assembly”).
The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) Any appropriately qualified woman or man who is a fit and proper person may be”), 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 174, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/fb03752c-49bf-4a92-adc1-e09cb111c257 (accessed 25 October 2026).
Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/fb03752c-49bf-4a92-adc1-e09cb111c257
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