WATCH: SA’s Constitution comes of age
On Sunday 21 years ago the South African Constitution was signed into law.
Former President Nelson Mandela signed the final draft of the Constitution into law in Sharpeville, Vereeniging in 1996.
Constitutional law expert John Dugard describes the transition from the apartheid regime to a democratic system in his book, The New Constitutional Order in International Law, as "truly remarkable and one of its kind".
Two years after the first democratic election in 1994 and intense negotiations, a revised final draft was submitted the Constitutional Court for ratification which became the 1996 South African constitution.
Facts about the South African Constitution
- South Africa became the first country in the world to prohibit discrimination against sexual orientation.
- The Constitutional Court declared the death penalty as unconstitutional, as it was incompatible with the Constitution.
- The Constitution is referred to as a 'living document' by courts, as it adapts and is sensitive to the country's challenges and developments.
- Over 2 million people participated in the making of the Constitution.