Eleanor Finch
An amendment is the process of altering or amending a law or document, such as a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments can be made to existing constitutions, statutes, and bills and are also commonly made to bills during their passage through a legislature. In the context of constitutions, an amendment is a correction or addition to the document, which can be proposed by a country's legislative body or through a constitutional convention. The process of amending a constitution varies across countries and is often a difficult and time-consuming process. For instance, in the United States, amendments to the Constitution are proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or by popularly elected conventions. Similarly, in Belgium, the federal legislative power, consisting of the King and the Federal Parliament, can amend the Constitution by declaring the reasons for revision and adopting two Declarations of Revision of the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | An addition or alteration made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution |
| Process | Altering or amending a law or document by parliamentary or constitutional procedure |
| Initiation | Proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures |
| Ratification | Three-fourths of the states must ratify it; Congress decides whether the ratification will be by state legislatures or popularly elected conventions in the states |
| Difficulty | Very difficult and time-consuming |
| Number of Amendments | 27 |
| Examples | The Turkish constitution has been amended 21 times as of July 2018; the Belgian constitution can be amended by the federal legislative power |
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What You'll Learn
The process of amending a constitution
An amendment refers to an addition or alteration made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments to a national constitution can fundamentally change a country's political system or governing institutions. Due to the potential for significant change, amendments to a constitution often require an exact and detailed process to be followed.
In Belgium, the federal legislative power, consisting of the King (or Federal Government) and the Federal Parliament, can amend the Constitution. To do so, they must declare the reasons for revising the Constitution in accordance with Article 195, through two Declarations of Revision of the Constitution. Following this, the Federal Parliament is dissolved, and a new federal election must take place. After the election, the new Federal Parliament can amend the articles that have been declared revisable.
Other nations have their own unique processes for amending their constitutions. For example, in Italy, constitutional referendums are held, and in the Netherlands, the legislature must pass a law by a simple majority proposing to change the constitution, followed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament to make the actual change. In the United Kingdom, devoid of a written constitution, the final authority on all quasi-constitutional matters rests with the parliament itself, which can make changes by a simple majority.
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The US Constitution amendment process
An amendment is an addition or alteration made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments to a national constitution can fundamentally change a country's political system or governing institutions.
The US Constitution's Article V outlines the process for amending the document. The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from this article. The process consists of proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification.
An amendment may be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Congress decides whether the ratification will be by state legislatures or by popularly elected conventions in the several states. The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process.
Once an amendment is proposed, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration. When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state action, which is conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are in order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them.
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). The OFR then drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the Nation that the amendment process is complete.
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Amendments to the US Constitution
An amendment is an addition or alteration made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments to the US Constitution can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first 10 amendments being ratified simultaneously on December 15, 1791, and known as the Bill of Rights.
The process of amending the US Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. While the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive, and has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, including the President in some cases.
The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process, which involves submitting the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their state legislatures or call for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified. Once an amendment is ratified, the Archivist issues a certificate proclaiming it as an operative part of the Constitution.
Since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend it have been introduced in Congress. Thirty-three of these proposals have been sent to the states for ratification, with 27 being successfully ratified and becoming part of the Constitution. The process of amending the US Constitution ensures that any changes made are carefully considered and approved by a significant majority.
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Amending the Turkish Constitution
An amendment is an addition or alteration made to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments are usually submitted to an exact prescribed procedure, and in the case of a national constitution, they can fundamentally change a country's political system or governing institutions.
The Constitution of Turkey, formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye, was ratified in 1982, and it has been amended 21 times since then, three of which were through a referendum in 2007, 2010, and 2017. The Turkish Constitution establishes the organisation of the government, sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct, and establishes the rights and responsibilities of its citizens.
Article 175 of the Constitution sets out the procedure for its revision and amendment by either referendum or a qualified majority vote of two-thirds in the National Assembly. However, it is important to note that only members of Parliament can propose modifications to the Constitution, and it does not recognise the right to popular initiatives.
The 2017 constitutional referendum resulted in fundamental changes, including the shift from a parliamentary system to a presidential system in Turkey. This means that the executive, legislative, and judiciary powers are now under the control of the President, which has raised concerns about a potential decrease in democracy.
The Constitution also includes specific provisions that cannot be amended, such as Article 1, which establishes the form of the State as a Republic, and Article 4, which declares the immovability of the founding principles defined in the first three Articles and bans any proposals for their modification.
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Amending the Belgian Constitution
An amendment is an addition or alteration to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments to a national constitution can fundamentally change a country's political system or governing institutions.
The Belgian Constitution, dating back to 1831, has been amended 29 times since the coordinated text was published in 1994. It can be amended by the federal legislative power, which consists of the King (in practice, the Federal Government) and the Federal Parliament. The amendment process is governed by Title VIII of the Constitution, "The revision of the Constitution".
To amend the Constitution, the federal legislative power must declare the reasons to revise it, in accordance with Article 195. This is done through two Declarations of Revision of the Constitution, one adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, and one signed by the King and the Federal Government. Following this, the Federal Parliament is dissolved and a new federal election must take place, making it impossible to amend the Constitution unless an election has intervened. After the election, the new Federal Parliament can amend the articles that have been declared revisable.
Neither Chamber can consider amendments unless at least two-thirds of its members are present, and the Constitution can only be amended if two-thirds of the votes cast are in favour. The federal legislative power can also modify the terminology of articles that have not been declared revisable, to harmonise the Dutch, French and German texts of the Constitution, in accordance with Article 198. This process is called coordination.
Article 197 provides that the provisions relating to the King's constitutional powers cannot be amended during a regency.
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Frequently asked questions
An amendment is an addition or alteration to a constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments are usually submitted to an exact prescribed procedure.
The US Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process. Once an amendment is proposed, it is sent to the states for their consideration. Three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution.
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was drafted in 1787. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791.
Some examples of amendments to the US Constitution include the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed prohibition, and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which was witnessed and certified by President Nixon.
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