The
Seventeenth Amendment of the
Constitution of South Africa (formally the
Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012) made a number of changes to the structure of the South African
judiciary. The bill for the amendment was passed by the
National Assembly on 20 November 2012 with the required two-thirds majority; because it is a constitutional amendment not affecting the provinces it was not required to be voted on by the
National Council of Provinces. The act was signed by
President Jacob Zuma on 1 February 2013, and a presidential
proclamation brought it into force on 23 August 2013. The amendment came into force simultaneously with the
Superior Courts Act, 2013, which implemented a major rationalisation and restructuring of the judicial system.