Constitutional Amendment
Definition of Constitutional Amendment
Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Constitutional Amendment legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia
A change in the content of the Constitution by adding an additional provision. A constitutional amendment can be pursued for many reasons, one of which is to reverse the effect of a Supreme Court decision. The process for amending the Constitution is set forth in Article V. It may be utilized in two ways. When two-thirds of both houses of Congress “shall deem it necessary,” they may propose amendments. All twenty-six amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been initiated this way. Article V also permits the calling of a constitutional convention “on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states.” For a proposed amendment to take effect, regardless of how it was initiated, it must secure the approval of the legislatures or specially called conventions of three-fourths of the states. Congress may determine which of these two modes of ratification is required and set any other rules for the ratification process. While all proposed changes to the Constitution have occurred by congressional resolution, it is possible that Congress may call a national constitutional convention to consider a balanced budget amendment if two-thirds of the states pass resolutions asking that such a convention be convened. A number of issues attend the convention approach, such as how delegates are to be selected and the scope of the convention's authority once convened. Each of the fifty state constitutions contain provisions for amendment. Most of them require approval by the electorate in a referendum.
See Also
Court “Curbing” (Law of the United States) Statutory Reversal (Law of the United States).
Resources
Constitutional Amendment Related Resources
- Constitutional Amendment in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Effects and Policies Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Policies Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary
Notes
- “Constitutional Amendment”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
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