First Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The First Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made changes related to the oath of office of the Acting President and to the jurisdiction of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

It was enacted by the Parliament of South Africa, and signed by President Mandela on 28 August 1997.

However it was deemed to come into effect retroactively, from 4 February 1997, the date when the constitution itself came into force.

The Act made three technical modifications to the Constitution: This last change allowed the TRC to deal with various violent events, particularly the Bophuthatswana coup d'état and its aftermath, that had occurred in the run-up to the 1994 general elections.

35 of 1997, but the Citation of Constitutional Laws Act, 2005 renamed it and abolished the practice of giving Act numbers to constitutional amendments.