Constitutional Amendments
A Constitutional Amendment is a modification made to the constitution of a country. The constitution of a country consists of rulings that are approved by the congress of a state that are put in place to govern its people.In order for these rulings to be modified, there are certain procedures that need to be employed, which can sometimes follow irregular proceedings from what would be enacted for ordinary laws. The decision to make an amendment in constitution is granted as a result of a request by either the members of congress or through the request of certain civilian bodies. However, some changes in constitution can only be approved with the direct approval of the electorate in a referendum.
The terms of a constitutional amendment may vary from state to state. In some states the laws require that a constitutional amendment must be approved by the governing body of a country on two counts wihtin two separate but consecutive terms, and is done through a general election. The legislature is then put on hold to accommodate a general election whenever it is being adopted for the first time. This is done in sovereign states such as Denmark, The Netherlands, Iceland and Norway and in individual states in America like Iowa, Vermont and Wisconsin.
In countries like the US three quarters of the legislature body have to agree upon an amendment in the constitution before it can be formally implemented. In countries like Switzerland, Canada and Australia, different requirements apply. In Canada, after a proposition is made by congress then the approval of a provincial legislature is needed. While in Switzerland and Australia, a constitutional amendment has to be approved by a majority of electorates including separate majorities in each canton within the country.
Many states also merge a series of different elements from each amendment procedure. In cases like the French, their constitution amendment system is arranged out of one or two procedures. It can either be done by a majority vote or by a referendum. In the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts a constitutional amendment has to be passed by a special majority of legislature during two back to back terms which is then sent to a referendum for a final approval.
In Austria, the Constitutional settings are much more moderate in regards to the recording of constitutional amendments. Almost any piece of parliamentary legislation can be voted in as part of the constitution if the required supermajority and other formalities for a change in constitution are fulfilled. An amendment may adopt to the form of a change of the centerpiece of the constitution, a change to another constitutional act, the B-VG, a new constitutional act, or a part of the legislative rules in a non-constitutional act.











