An amendment is a formal or official change made to a
law,
contract,
constitution, or other
legal document. It is based on the
verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They are often used when it is better to change the document than to write a new one. Only the
legislative branch is involved in the amendment process.
Contracts
Contracts are often amended when the market changes. For example, a contract to deliver something to a customer once a month can be amended if the customer wants it delivered once a week. Usually
Contracts also are categorized for their promotion in a nation, such as the Treaty of Versailles.
Law
Legislation
In
parliamentary procedure, a
motion is a proposal to do something. The wording of such a proposal can be changed with a motion to amend. Amendments can remove words, add words, or change words in motions. All
main motions and some
secondary motions can be amended. An amendment can
be amended.
Constitutions
Some of the most famous constitutional amendments are the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution which added the
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
,
religion,
press, and
protest, the
Third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, which let
Ireland join the
European Union, and the amendment of the
German constitution as part of the
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
process in 1990. Constitutional amendments in some countriesfor example,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
must be approved by both the
parliament or
legislature and a national
referendum.
See also
*
Friendly amendment
*
Non-textual amendment
*
Second-degree amendment
*
Substitute amendment
In parliamentary procedure, a substitute amendment is an amendment that replaces a portion or all of the wording in a proposal.
Legislatures
In legislatures, a substitute amendment kills a bill by replacing it if the amendment is passed.
Legisl ...
References
Constitutions
Contract law
Legal documents
Parliamentary procedure
Statutory law
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